A COUNCIL worker is set to run for 24 hours straight in memory of his dad.

Christopher Ball, from Orford, has staged a charity running challenge to mark his dad Derek’s birthday every year since his death in 2014.

And this year will see the granddad-of-three run for 24 hours straight in the Cotswolds, starting at midday on Saturday, August 4.

The 50-year-old said: “I kept saying I wouldn’t do it this year, but this opportunity came up and I had to take it.

“I promised my wife I would never run around Orford Park like that again, but this is nowhere near Orford Park so I’ve not broken my promise.

“She thinks I’m off my trolley, but she understands why I do it.

“This is the hardest I’ve ever trained - every morning I’ll get up at 4am and run five miles, then I run another five miles every night.”

Chris, a wellbeing worker with Warrington Borough Council, marked his dad’s 73rd birthday by running 73 one-hour loops of Orford Park in 2015.

Then, the following year, he ran 74 miles to Warrington from Llandudno - his dad’s favourite place - on what would have been Derek’s 74th birthday.

Last year he returned to Orford Park and ran for 24 hours straight, covering 124 miles.

His previous challenges have raised funds for the MS Society, with Derek having suffered from multiple sclerosis for more than 30 years before he died.

This year will see Chris also run a targeted 120 miles for Warrington Mela.

The dad-of-six added: “Last year I attended Warrington Mela, and it was an amazing event - we are lucky in Warrington to have a massively diverse community and we have to keep this event going.

“Every year people support me and I can’t thank them enough.

“This is the fourth run and hopefully the fourth of many more - but don’t tell my wife that.”

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