DETERMINED Joel Hewitt is lacing up his trainers to run in this weekend’s York 10k, three years after a motorbike accident prevented him from taking part in the annual event.

Former Huntington resident Joel, 32, now of Barlby, near Selby, was planning to enter the York 10k in 2014 in aid of Macmillan Cancer Support but had to pull out after coming off his motorbike and fracturing his pelvis.

His sister Emily Clark decided to run in his place and raised £300.

Following the crash, Joel got back to health with the goal of his wedding to keep him going. He and his wife Gemma tied the knot on August 1, 2015 in York’s Rowntree Park.

Now Joel, who works in IT at Aviva in York’s Monks Cross, is fully fit and set to finally tackle the York 10k this Sunday.

He said: “It’s going to be emotional.

“I was training so hard to do it last time. I’m not as fit as I was three years ago. I get pain in my back and my hip is still not 100 per cent. I lost a lot of muscle in my left leg while I was unable to walk.”

Joel will run the York 10k with his friends Tom Smith and Mick Moran and his uncle Nigel Hewit.

He said: “I’m not doing it for charity this time. I’m doing it as a thank you to the people who spurred me on while I couldn’t move and followed my journey on Facebook.”

Recalling his crash, he added: “It could have been a lot worse.”

Joel came off his motorbike on a roundabout between York and Doncaster. 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.

The York 10k will get underway at 9.30am on Sunday, with the race office opening from 7.30am. It starts and finishes in Knavesmire Road, near York Racecourse. The route will take runners through the heart of the city. Last year, more than 5,000 men and women ran in the event.