‘The Force was strong in marathon man Paul’s legs’ as he runs in aid of those who helped his son

A grateful dad has run his own marathon through his South London haunts to raise money for the hospital which saved his son’s life.

Paul Clark mapped out his own 26-mile course from Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) out of gratitude to medics there – and the friend who suggested a diagnosis of Eddie’s rare condition.

He took five hours 30 minutes to pass through the Lambeth and Croydon streets, where he and his wife Nikki were raised, to their home in Nutfield, near Redhill, to raise cash for Hunter Syndrome – it means the body has difficulty breaking down sugars, slows speech and reactions, and afflicts only 2,000 sufferers worldwide.

The money will go to the MPS Society, which supports families with a similar range of conditions. Eddie, now aged four, was diagnosed in March with the rare and incurable condition. He has undergone several procedures at GOSH and now has a weekly infusion of the vital enzyme that he is missing.

Paul said: “You feel really helpless as a parent when this happens, so raising money for the MPS Society was one way of trying to give something back. “They have held our hands throughout and reassured us we are not alone.”

The family has raised more than £8,000 through the run and a JustGiving page – with a great deal of support from followers of Crystal Palace Football Club, which Paul’s family has supported for generations.

They have even had a donation from ex-player and TV pundit Mark Bright. Financial adviser and former painter and decorator Paul said: “It couldn’t have gone any better.

“The weather was perfect – overcast with a light drizzle which kept me cool all the way.

“My good friend Allan Wood who is a motorbike chauffeur kindly offered to follow me all the way and got a load of pictures too, updating the people interested online as we progressed south.”

He set off at 7am from Great Ormond Street, via The Strand, across Westminster Bridge, down the A23 via The Oval, through Brixton, Streatham, his parents’ home in Norbury, Croydon, Purley, Coulsdon and out into Surrey.

“Nutfield village did us proud and turned out to cheer me home – we even had Darth Vader turn up.” he joked.

A cake bake, raffle and a theatre night in the evening take the total past £8,000. There were donations through social media, Palace fan sites and the village notice board.

“We were really pleased Palace got involved. “When I started going there were only 6,000 fans in the ground – my dad used to go regularly – but now we are at our peak.

“Eddie has been a very brave boy and has inspired me to raise funds for the MPS Society, a charity that is supporting us and around 1,500 other families in the UK dealing with an MPS condition.

“Being able to train was a blessing of lockdown. But it has been an awful time for everyone – my wife lost her mum in the MayDay Hospital and we could not see her when she was ill. “So this is a way of trying to do something in this situation.”

He also thanked the friend who suggested Eddie might have Hunters Syndrome. “It took a lot of courage to say because it is a serious condition,” said Paul.

Pictured: Paul Clark and Darth Vader