FORMER County Gazette news editor Tamsin Hodge is running Taunton Half Marathon in aid of Kidney Research UK in memory of her father.

Tamsin, 45, from North Petherton, whose dad Don Curtis died two years ago from kidney failure, only took up running a few months ago but has already clocked up 110 miles during three-times-a-week training sessions.

She said: “The hardest part is getting up and out at 6am before work when it’s dark and raining, but I just dig in and think of my dad – I want to make him and my three sisters proud.

“A few months ago I couldn’t even run to the end of the road without collapsing in a heap, but I was determined not to give up.”

Tamsin said she is taking on the fighting spirit of her father, a structural engineer and project manager involved in projects such as the Thames Barrier and Channel Tunnel.

She added: “It’s not going to be easy, but I’m really determined and it’s great knowing the research I’m helping fund will benefit millions of people in the UK affected by kidney disease.”

Mr Curits, who also lived in North Petherton, underwent dialysis three times a week at the renal unit at Creech Castle, Taunton, and was also treated at the Royal Devon and Exeter Hospital.

To sponsor Tamsin in the Taunton Half Marathon on Sunday, April 6, or for more information on Kidney Research UK click on the links.