A schoolgirl pulled on her trainers and ran her heart out in memory of her beloved Granny Ann.
Rebecca Cook, nine, took part in the Cancer Research UK Race For Life last weekend alongside her Uncle Thomas.
Together the pair have raised more than £2,500 for the charity in memory of their granny and mum who sadly passed away last August.
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Despite doing no training, Rebecca managed to complete the 5k route with a massive smile on her face.
Her proud mum Maryann said: “In 2013 myself, my mum, my aunt and my niece all did the Race for Life.
“Thomas used to work for the British Red Cross and he’s done lots of charity things over the years.
“Our mum sadly passed away last August with cancer and since then he’s been looking to do something.
“When Race for Life came back up he said he wanted to do it for mum and asked Rebecca if she’d like to do it as well.
“We weren’t sure she would be keen but as soon as we asked her she said, ‘yes, I want to do it’ straight away.
“She didn’t do any training or anything, she just went for it.
“She goes walking a lot with my dad and Thomas is always running about.”
Ann died last August aged 71 from ovarian cancer. She had been receiving treatment which was going well but the cancer then spread to her bowel and sadly she never recovered.
On the day of the race Rebecca, her dad John and Maryann, who all live in Houston, as well as Maryann’s dad James and Thomas were early for the race and saw the 10k runners start before they set off for the 5k route.
(Image: unknown)
(Image: unknown)
“It was a great atmosphere,” said Maryann. “Everybody was just enjoying themselves and cheering.
“You could see it was emotional for people, there were so many tears at the end of the race but they were happy.
“Rebecca keeps talking about it and telling me things that happened on the race that she remembers. She just loved the whole experience.”
Rebecca, who is in P5 at St Fillan’s Primary in Houston, has raised a fantastic £1,310 for Cancer Research UK, and is so far beating her uncle’s total of £1,280 in a friendly rivalry.
Maryann said: “Rebecca is quite shy, she doesn’t like a fuss. But every so often she’d be checking her Uncle Thomas’s fundraising to see if she was beating him!
“She was determined to raise more than him, even if it was only by a fiver.”
She added: “We are all so proud of her. “I told her I would be shouting and waving my hands when she was running down the last stretch and I think she was worried I would embarrass her. But because she saw everybody else cheering she loved it.
“She’s a wee superstar.”
To donate to Rebecca’s fundraising, click here.
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