A dad and son finished the Liverpool half marathon almost three weeks after the rest of the runners crossed the finish line.
Brian Sweeney and his son Ben ran the course of the Liverpool 'Skyline' half marathon on Good Friday (April 15) - 19 days after the event actually took place. The two missed the race, which starts and ends on Liverpool's iconic waterfront after snaking around the city's scenic parkland, for slightly different reasons.
Ben was with his partner waiting for the birth of their baby girl, while Brian was ruled out of the event with covid. Not wanting to miss out entirely, Brian contacted race organiser Alan Rothwell, who said he would escort the two around the course today.
READ MORE: Biker suffers 'serious injuries' in Mercedes crash
The father and son set off from the Pier Head at 9am on Friday and Brian, 64, from Wavertree, finished the race in 2 hours, 10 minutes and 29 seconds. Speaking to the ECHO after he crossed the finish line, he said: "The run was great. I always love doing the Liverpool half marathon - the city is fabulous and running through the parks, you can’t get any better - apart from when you’ve just had covid ".
"I must admit, I felt it when I crossed the finish line. It was great running with my son Ben, he’s done most of the half marathons that I’ve done and he always gets me across the line.
"We had to work hard to do that today. In all seriousness, I found that to be the toughest run that I’ve done, probably too soon after I’ve recovered from covid, but it was such a good cause, such an important thing to do, to earn the medal."
Brian will be donating the medal to his newly-born granddaughter and says that he is looking forward to the day that he can run alongside two generations of his family. He said: "It’s always a pleasure running with your sons and I’m looking forward to the time when I’m running with sons and grandchildren - they’re not far behind now."
The two were running to raise money for Claire House - the children's hospice that helps seriously and terminally ill children. Brian asked people to give what they could for the cause, saying: "I know it's a tough financial environment at the moment but it's a worthy cause and if anyone can give money it will really help."
You can donate to Claire House here.
