A CULCHETH RAF veteran is running the London marathon around his village after the postponement of the event.

David Smithson, 72, was set to complete his ninth London marathon this year in the aid of Whizz Kids – a charity which provides disabled children with specialised wheelchairs.

However, after the event was rescheduled to October, David took matters into his own hands and decided to run a 6.2-mile-loop around Culcheth every weekend dressed as a fairy, as part of the 2.6 challenge.

He said: “It was a laugh! I’ve got to be honest, I was as nervous as hell, because [my costume] was never meant to be displayed anywhere else other than a [marathon].

“A lot of people thought it was funny, and then I thought I’d do the whole marathon over the next four weekends. If it goes as well as I hope it does, I think I’ll go out in the fairy outfit!”

The choice of a fairy costume has a personal connection to David. He spent fifteen years as an Avionic Technician, which are nicknamed ‘fairies’ in the RAF.

The RAF also got him running initially – he took up the hobby as a way to keep his fitness – and job – in the forces. When David left the RAF, his hobby stayed with him.

2020 was supposed to be the fifth time David had run in aid of Whizz Kidz, having seen first-hand the impact disabilities can have on children in a previous career as a college lecturer: “I had to cover for someone at a special school in Warrington for disabled children.

“One of our lecturers was doing a project to give some of the [kids] mobility, and I ended up going there.”

Then, having been refused entry to one edition of the marathon, David received an out-of-the-blue offer from Whizz Kidz to run on their behalf.

He felt compelled to take up their offer when he “remembered the school” he covered: “I remembered one child, and I thought she was about nine years old, but actually she was 21.

“Her disability was linked with cerebral palsy, and it was something that never really left me. I didn’t realise what cerebral palsy is like in terms of the range of disability.”

David, who is now a self-employed engineer trainer, was also driven by the cost of the wheelchairs: “The work [Whizz-Kidz] do is absolutely amazing. We managed to raise £3,000 last year, [but] these wheelchairs can cost anything from £3,000-12,000, so it costs a fortune.

“So even though we raised £3,000, that only paid for [one] little girls’ wheelchair that didn’t have any electronics on it.”