RUNNER Joel Hewitt's plans to take part in the Asda Foundation York 10K this weekend were shattered when he came off his motorbike two weeks ago and fractured his pelvis.

But now his sister Emily has stepped into the breach and will run in his place - even though she hates running!

Joel, 29, of Huntington, said he had been planning to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support because his mother is in remission from cancer and his fiancé Gemma Holloway works for the charity at its fundraising support centre in Shipley.

But when he was riding his motorbike from York to Doncaster a fortnight ago, a bolt on the machine worked itself loose and oil was dumped on his back wheel just as he was riding around a roundabout at 20mph, and he skidded and crashed to the ground.

Despite agonising pain from his pelvis, he managed to drag himself to the centre of the roundabout to avoid being run over by anyone else, and he is now on the long road to recovery but obviously had to pull out of the race.

Having got more than £100 in sponsorship to take part in the race, he was worried the charity would miss out until Emily, a nurse, agreed to take on the run on his behalf.

Now she has trebled the amount of sponsorship money he had raised and is doing as much training as possible to get into shape for the race on Sunday. "She likes riding horses but hates running." said Joel, who plans to go along with Gemma to cheer her on.

Sally Millington, senior fundraising manager for the charity, said: "Emily is not a runner but she’s doing it for her brother and for people affected by cancer."

About 6,000 people are expected to take part in the sixth annual York 10K on Sunday, which is is organised by Jane Tomlinson’s Run For All.

Starting at Knavesmire Road alongside York Racecourse, the route takes in some of the city’s stunning scenery and historic landmarks including the Minster and Clifford’s Tower.

* See The Press newspaper on Monday for a York 10K supplement.