Staffordshire teacher to run London Marathon after daughters born prematurely

Two-year-old Constance and 11-week-old Esther were both born seven weeks prematurely.

They weighed just 3lbs1oz and 3lbs12oz respectively and both had to spend four weeks on the neonatal ward at hospital before going home with their parents.

Mr Woodward, aged 38, of Rugeley, is now planning to run the London Marathon next month to 'give something back' to the charity which helped his family.

"It's a traumatic time for parents for the first few weeks when their babies are in intensive care.

"They go home at night and there are all the congratulations cards but no baby. Bliss offers a lot of comfort to parents during this time," he said.

"I want to raise as much money as possible for this fantastic organisation as a gesture of my family's appreciation and so that other families may benefit from the level of service and care that we received.

"Organisations like Bliss are the cornerstone of this compassionate society that we live in. Without them so many people, babies and families in this instance, would be poorer without them.

"In doing what they do, they make a difference to the world and I hope that in some small way we will make a difference too," added Mr Woodward, who works in Sutton Coldfield.

Mr Woodward, who lives with wife Annaleise, said he began training for the April 26 event in July last year.

"The furthest I had run was 10k. I am now up to 14 miles. I am running three times a week although training had to go on the back-burner when Esther arrived as we were spending so much time at hospital.

"I am looking forward to the marathon because it will be a good experience and I want to raise money for the charity. But I will probably be relieved when it's over too, " he said.

Anyone wanting to sponsor Mr Woodward can log on to https://www.justgiving.com/leewoodward10/