FORMER York City defender Darren Kelly will run next month’s Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon in the memory of his murdered brother-in-law.

Kelly will tackle the popular York race in three weeks’ time to raise money for the Changing Lives charity despite having never run further than eight miles in one go.

The ex-Northern Ireland under-21 international, who now manages Hyde United after brief spells in charge of Oldham and Halifax, wants to help families who are suffering from addiction issues after his wife’s brother James Woodhouse was beaten to death last November for a £700 drug debt.

Woodhouse was a former Sheriff Hutton Primary and Easingwold Secondary School pupil who moved to Exeter in 2009.

But, having become dependent on heroin and crack cocaine during the last couple of years of his life, he went from earning a £30,000 annual salary at a company raising funds for charities to being an occasionally homeless drug user.

He was then killed at the age of 30 before his killers, who were both given 17-year prison sentences last month, tried to dispose of his body in a wheelie bin.

Understandably, the tragedy arising from Woodhouse’s addiction has caused Kelly’s family immeasurable pain, but the Derry-born, 38-year-old has already raised almost £1,700 of the £2,000 he hopes to donate to the charity’s York base at St Bede’s Pastoral Centre in Blossom Street.

On his motivation for undertaking the 26-mile challenge, Kelly said: “James was the funniest guy and a great uncle, son and brother, who was sadly, taken away from us at the age of 30. The last year has been a very difficult time for the family and I want to raise money for a worthwhile cause.

“We came across the charity after James passed away and I don’t want to see families suffer in the same way as we did by getting help for their loved ones, who might have a similar addiction. There is help there for people addicted to drugs, drink and other issues that can lead to mental-health problems and, if we can save just one young person and their family from the same heartache we have experienced, it will be worthwhile.”

Kelly, who lives in Slingsby, is also currently completing Race for Life’s 100-Mile-a-Month Challenge, having already clocked up more than half that target in September.

He will comfortably pass the three-figured objective as he gears up for the showcase race on Sunday, October 8, but admits it will be a venture into the unknown.

“I’ve never done a marathon and the furthest I’ve ever run is eight miles, so I’m not looking forward to it one little bit,” he confessed. “But the fact it’s for a brilliant charity will make all the pain worthwhile and I’m working hard to get my miles up in the coming days.

“I’ll be trying to do a 15-mile run next week. I’m also hoping it will help that I’m running around York, because I love everything about the city and I’m sure James will be egging me on from somewhere.

“I don’t know how long it will take me – probably about a week! But, seriously, if I can run a pace of about ten-minute miles, I’d like to finish in about four-and-a-half to five hours.”

Anybody wishing to support Kelly can visit his Just Giving Page at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/darren-kelly12?utm_source=Facebook&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_content=darren-kelly12&utm_campaign=pfp-share

Elsewhere, Josh Law has moved up to joint-top in The Press Player of the Year standings.

The 28-year-old right back is level with Sean Newton at the summit after winning our man-of-the-match award for the 1-1 home draw with Gainsborough on Tuesday.

Jon Worsnop (two points) and Louis Almond (one) were also recognised for their efforts as our second and third-highest rated performers respectively.

Keeper Worsnop won the two bonus Player of the Month points available after topping out Twitter man-of-the-match poll, strengthening his position at the head of that contest.

During last weekend’s 2-0 victory over Stockport, the Press points were shared between Simon Heslop (three), Amari Morgan-Smith (two) and Dan Parslow (one). Theo Wharton collected the bonus points.

The Press Player of the Year standings: Law 10, Newton 10, Worsnop 8, Parkin 7, Heslop 6, Parslow 6, Morgan-Smith 5, Almond 4, Bencherif 3, Rankine 3, Moke 2, Whittle 2.

The Press Player of the Month standings for September: Worsnop 12, Law 7, Heslop 3, Parkin 3, Felix 2, Morgan-Smith 2, Parslow 2, Wharton 2, Almond 1.

Goals: Newton 3, Parkin 3, Heslop 3, Morgan-Smith 3, Rankine 2, Almond 1, Felix 1, Law 1, Own Goal 1, Parslow 1.

Assists: Almond 6, Newton 3, Morgan-Smith 2, Parkin 3, Parslow 2, Heslop 1, Whittle 1, Worsnop 1.

Bad boys: Bencherif, Heslop both one red card; Newton, Smith, Wharton all one yellow.