MARATHON runners have raised thousands of pounds to help terminally-ill children realise their final wish.

Running for the Round Table Children's Wish charity Bury trio Ray Porter, Mark Simpson and John Francis pounded the streets of London to bring comfort to tragic youngsters -- and John in particular went through agony to finish the gruelling race while wearing a near full-size model of a Citroen 2CV car which weighed 80lbs.

Dressed in a fireproof, heavy-duty racing driver's suit and wearing a green wig and a clown's mask John, from the Jericho area of Bury, lost most of the skin off his feet but finished the event in eight hours and 23 minutes -- four hours better than last year when he ran as Coco the Clown!

"I'll be back with an engine in next year," vowed motor sports fanatic John, an applications engineer in the paper industry.

"Last year we raised £4,800; this year I'm hoping its more than £10,000," he said.

Harvey's Taxis proprietor Ray and Hargreaves' quality control manager Mark raised more than £1,000 for the charity.

The two pals, both 35, now hope to run the New York Marathon.

Ray finished his fourth London Marathon in 3hours 51 minutes (personal best 3hrs 27m) and Mark ran his third in 3hrs 40mins (personal best 3hrs 32m).