East Ayrshire’s super fundraiser is at it again as he attempts his eighth consecutive London Marathon to raise money for a children’s cancer charity.

Craigens man Derek Montgomery is raising money for Children With Cancer UK as he gets ready for perhaps the strangest London Marathon he’s had to run on Sunday, October 4.

The London Marathon will not be taking place just in London this year. It will be happening across the UK as each runner races in their own area due to coronavirus impacts leading to a cancellation of the official event.

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Derek’s own family has been ravaged by cancer. He has lost a brother, father, and an uncle to the disease, and for the past eight years he’s been using his love of running to help families overcome their battle with cancer by raising much-needed funds for charities.

Derek said: “It’s hit so many people hard here. I’m just glad to be able to raise a bit of cash to help out.

“I wasn’t really running with charity in mind when I started out, it was more just for my own exercise. I’m a lorry driver, you’re sitting in your truck for hours on end, piling on the weight. I did it to keep active.

“Then people started saying to me you should do that for charity and I thought well that’s a good idea, lets see what I can do.”

Cumnock Chronicle:

Derek is particularly grateful for the support he has received from local business W & E Lammie.

They have stepped forward every year to sponsor Derek’s training programme for a charity close to the family’s heart following the illness striking their son Jack as a child.

Fortunately, Jack recovered and is now a fighting-fit teenager. But the family’s brush with cancer has meant the efforts of charities that help prevent and cure it have never been far from their thoughts.

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In his tireless efforts to raise money for the charity, Derek has spent days and weeks organising fundraisers and this year he has secured the help of both sides of The Old Firm divide, with both Neil Lennon and Steven Gerrard signing memorabilia for him to auction off.

Derek was keen to praise the generosity of the public, who he said have played a massive part in him raising more than £35,000 in the past eight years.

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He said: “The local public have been amazing, whenever I’m off out on a run I’ll come across an old guy or an old lady and they’ll say ‘you’re the guy that does all the running’ and they’ll give me a tenner or something to go towards it.

“It’s heartwarming. So a massive thanks to them and everybody else who has donated.”

Anybody wishing to donate to Derek’s fundraiser can do so via his Just Giving page at www.justgiving.com/angel08.