A nine-year-old boy from Whitley Bay is running 46 miles in memory of his uncle who passed away due to brain cancer.
Lucas Wilkinson's beloved uncle, Andrew Hornsey would have been-46 years-old this year, but a brain tumour and battle with cancer ended in tragedy in 2019.
And Lucas, who was very close with his mother's brother, decided he wanted to pay tribute his dear uncle this year - running one mile for every one of Andrew's birthdays so far.
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Not to overdo himself, Lucas has spaced the challenge out over the span of the month - running a couple of miles each day to gradually reach his target. His father, Mark Wilkinson, says he has paced himself well - whilst juggling the challenge with other activities such as school and hobbies.
Speaking to Chronicle Live, Mark said: "Lucas' uncle Andy passed away three years ago from a brain tumour, and would've turned 46 this month. So that's the figure.
"I went out with Lucas last night, and I'm not a runner so he kind of left me behind. He was going to do three [miles] but he did four, so he's up to 41."
He continued: "He's going to go out and try and run as much as he can this weekend. He's actually at a football camp with Peter Beardsley, so he's doing that all day then he's going to be doing the running on the night time."
Lucas' mum, Emma, added: "It's not just an 'oh I'm out today, I'll do a little run' - every day he goes and he's got a plan over the month with his rest days, how far he's going to go and what else he has on that week. He's doing his football training, and he's been at school.
"He's been up at 6.30 in the morning and doing a couple of miles before school, and the Monday before the hottest day of the year he did three miles at 8 o'clock at night as he knew he wouldn't be able to get any in the next day. So, he's really planned it and he's taking a very serious approach to it.
"Andrew was very much like that, he was very meticulous and organised - so I think it's a sense of him coming out in Lucas as well. We're very proud."
And it's not just Lucas' family who have expressed their profound pride in his decision to run for his uncle's memory - with the power of social media allowing numerous others to read about his cause and journey. One of which, was none other than Newcastle United FC co-owner Mehrdad Ghodoussi - who took to Twitter to share his words of encouragement.
In a post made on the platform, the Iranian businessman wrote: "Good luck Lucas!! #superhero."
And Lucas and his parents were absolutely overwhelmed with joy at the successful mogul's kind words. Mark, said while chuckling in disbelief: "It was just last night, a post had kind of took off on Twitter and then it started going quite steadily - and Merhdad had replied."
Lucas and his family have also set up a fundraiser alongside the youngster's endeavours - with all proceeds going to Brain Tumour Research. Lucas initially set out to raise £460 in line with his 46 mile goal, however, he has at the time of writing raised 309 per cent of this - with £1,425 so far going to charity.
The shout out from Merhdad has also helped spread the news to those further afield who may admire Lucas' efforts - with one alleged Saudi donor putting forward £10. With his donation, Abdurrhman Qahtani (Saudi Arabia) wrote: "God bless you lad, keep going."
To find out more about Lucas' story, or to donate to his fundraiser - visit the official Just Giving page here.
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