A STUDENT from Grappenhall Heys will take on the London Marathon later this month in memory of his late granddad, Doug.

Doug Wallis died in December 2017 after suffering from a rare form of Parkinson’s disease which denied him the ability to speak for the final three years of his life.

And to honour his memory, Benjamin Wallis, 19, will be raising money and awareness for the national disability charity, Sense, when he lines up on the streets of London on Sunday, April 28.

“Running the London Marathon for Sense will be a humbling experience, both to push myself to the limit and to honour my granddad Doug,” said Benjamin.

“My granddad loved all things sport, so to honour him through a sporting event as iconic as the London Marathon will be fantastic.”

“I am also really looking forward to running for Sense who help people to communicate and experience the world.”

Sense exist to support children, young people and adults living with complex disabilities to communicate and experience the world.

This is through education, holidays, arts, sports and wellbeing programmes as well as campaigning for the rights of people with complex disabilities to take part in life.

Richard Kramer, the charity’s Chief Executive, praised Benjamin’s motivation for heading down to the capital and wished him well for the big day.

“We’re delighted and grateful that Benjamin has chosen to support Sense by taking on the incredible challenge of the London Marathon,” he said.

Benjamin is currently in his second year at the University of Leeds, where he is an accounting and finance student, but he has not used this as an excuse to miss training.

“At the minute, I’m training roughly five or six days a week,” he said.

“My base fitness was pretty good when I started, so in total I’ve been training for around 14 weeks.

“The toughest part though has been dealing with injuries as I’ve not been a regular runner in recent years.

“If all goes well on the day, I’m confident of finishing the 26.2 miles in my target time of three hours and fifteen minutes.”

In total, Benjamin is aiming to raise £1,700 for charity, and is organising a ‘guess my finishing time’ sweepstake at the Warrington Golf Club where he is a member.

But he has already smashed through the £1,000 barrier.

“Having raised more than £3500 for St Rocco’s Hospice as Junior Capitan of Warrington Golf Club between 2015 and 2017, it feels even more personal this time following my grandad’s passing.”

Benjamin has set up a Just Giving page and is still hoping to increase his fundraising total further.

If you would like to support him donations can be made here.