A DEVOTED dad is set to undertake his one hundredth fundraising event for the charity that helped his son.

Mark Gallimore, of Acomb in York, will be completing the See York Run event at the University of York, for Candlelighters Trust, which supports the families of children with cancer.

He started raising funds for Candlelighters after his son, George, was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2013 at just two years old. Along with friends and family, he set up ‘Team George’ to raise funds for the charity, which provides emotional, practical and financial support to families affected by childhood cancer.

Subjected to daily chemotherapy and medication every four hours, George led a far from normal life. Amazingly, in November 2016, George was finally given the all-clear, although he still needs regular check-ups and medication to ensure he remains this way.

The run take place today (Friday September 24) and will also be Mark’s 1265th mile for Candlelighters, with his aim being to complete two thousand miles for the charity.

When asked which events were his highlights, Mark said that they include “the Rock and Roll half marathon in Liverpool, the Great North Runs, the Yorkshire Dales 100, the York 10ks… there’s so many to choose from.”

Mark and his wife, Helen, said that as parents, they were torn daily between supporting George and their other children, as well as attempting to hold down jobs and deal with the normal pressures of family life, and that without the support of the charity, “life would have been impossible”.

Mark said: “I started running to give back to the charity and bring awareness to childhood cancer. Friends and family have also joined us on events, and we will have hopefully raised £39,000 since 2014.”

Now ten, George himself is even known to join in on the fundraising action, scaling Penyghent alongside eleven of his friends and his sister, Grace, earlier this year.

A Candlelighters spokesman said: “We are so incredibly grateful for the amazing fundraising Mark and the rest of the Gallimore family have done in the years since George finished his treatment. This kind of support is what enables us to continue to be there for families from that initial point of diagnosis and for as long as they need us, ensuring no family faces their child’s cancer diagnosis alone."

You can donate at justgiving.com/teams/george