A MARATHON runner hopes to raise £1,000 for medical charities to beat the disease that took his mother's life.

Richard Hosey, 39, will run the London marathon in April in memory of his mother Anna Pickup, who died last year of a massive heart attack.

Mrs Pickup, of Cherry Tree, Blackburn, had suffered heart problems for years when she died aged 63.

Richard, of Alderbank, Witton, Blackburn, said: "We knew she was ill but it still came as a shock when she died. I decided that if I could run the London marathon there was only one charity I would want to do it for - the British Heart Foundation."

More than 145,000 runners apply for 40,000 places and Richard, who has twice run the Manchester marathon, was thrilled to win a place in the 26 mile race around London.

Richard is fitting in his training around shifts as a wallpaper printer at Graham and Brown's, Blackburn. He said: "I'm training harder than I have done before and I want to beat my last time of three hours 45 minutes. This year, I'm aiming for three hours 30 minutes."

If anyone wishes to sponsor Richard, he can be contacted on 01254 676811.

Converted for the new archive on 14 July 2000. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.