When my father Ken died aged 70 from asbestosis 10 years ago, it had a big effect on my husband Ray Edensor, 48.

Ken had been cared for in his final weeks by the nurses from Macmillan Cancer Relief and Ray said: “I want to give something back.”

My father had been strong and fit for most of his life and Ray, an ex amateur boxer, thought he was pretty fit too.

“I’m going to run a marathon to raise money for the Macmillan nurses,” said Ray.

Little did I know what he was getting himself – and me – into.

That was 10 years ago and he successfully completed the London marathon in a time over six hours.

He raised £4,500 but at the end of it he said: “I can’t run for toffee. Never again!”

Famous last words.

He had got the bug and I didn’t know it then but I had a budding Forrest Gump on my hands.

This house is like a shoe shop now – a training shoe shop.

Ray is a fitness fanatic who does marathons – and all sorts of other crazy challenges for charity.

He gets through trainers like nobodies business and he always has six or seven spare pairs lying around just in case his current pair wear out – which is frequently.

His last challenge for the Dreams Come True charity was to run 26 marathons in 26 days finishing with the London marathon.

It’s no wonder he wears his size 11 trainers out is it?

His is a full time paramedic for the Staffordshire Ambulance Service and completes all his challenges in full paramedic outfit with a two stone pack of medical equipment on his back.

Over the last few years he has done some absolutely crazy runs including Stoke-on- Trent to London in a paramedic decontamination suit.

They are the special suits they have to wear at a chemical spill or gas fire and it

means he breaths through a ventilator on his back.

We’ve got some video of him doing a run from The Eiffel Tower in Paris to the Blackpool Tower in his normal paramedic kit.

That was funny because he got lost and he was filmed asking directions – and his French is not that good. That was really funny. He made it in the end though.

He never stops running, even when he’s not doing a challenge he is always in training and he runs about 50 miles a week.

Not bad for someone who said he “couldn’t run for toffee” after he did his first marathon.

People think he is a bit mad – in fact I do too. In fact more than a bit.

His running gear takes up more space in our wardrobe than my clothes.

His toe nails drop off fairly frequently because of all the running and keeping his running kit clean is a full time job – he has dozens of socks and vests and shorts – piles of the stuff.

On top of that I have to fill him full of carbohydrates so that he has enough energy.

That means big bowls of pasta for dinner – and he is not even that keen on the stuff!

After one of his challenges he hobbles around a bit because his feet are always swollen up and sometimes his toe nails are black – then they drop off. They always seem to grow back though. Yuk!

I haven’t found any black tow nails on the carpet yet – I have to admit his personal hygiene is pretty good about that sort of thing.

And his powers of recovery are pretty good too so he is back to normal within a few days usually.

He is 48 now but he is not showing any signs of slowing down.

I think that is because he is driven by wanting to help Dreams Come True.

That’s the serious side of Ray.

He has been a paramedic for 25 years and in that time there have been people who he knows he cannot save.

So helping raise money for the charity is his way of doing a bit more.

He is aiming to raise over £200,000 in total with his challenges and the money goes towards helping the dreams of desperately ill children come true, be it going to Disneyland or swimming with dolphins.

We have two kids of our own, Jade, 16, and Liam, 9, and so we know how precious kids are.

Ray told me once: “I see hundreds of people who I can’t do anything for. A nurse once told me that she saw an improvement in children in hospital as they looked forward to Christmas.

“Their blood pressure got better and symptoms we not as bad. It made me realise that if kids have something to look forward to it helps them a lot. That’s why I run for Dreams Come True. There can be nothing better to look forward to than a dream coming true – especially for a little boy or girl.”

He might be a bit mad but I’m very proud of him.

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