A FORMER Lymm man who won a three-year battle with cancer is to take part in the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity Leukaemia Care.
Alistair “Ali” Harwood aims to not only complete the run, but to do it in a “competitive time.”
Ali was born and grew up in Lymm and was a pupil at Ravenbank Primary School before moving up to Lymm High School and then Staffordshire University.
He was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma in 2009 – just weeks after starting a new and exciting life in Surrey.
He went through three years of gruelling treatment, including a stem cell transplant, but is now in full remission.
He sees running the marathon as a way of returning some to the wider cancer sufferers’ community.
He has set himself a target of raising £2,000 and has already raised 96 per cent of it.
A former Scout, Ali worked as a chef at the Church Green and Jolly Thresher pubs and was a regular at the Golden Fleece.
He is well known around Lymm.
His father, former parish council chairman Tim Harwood, said: “I’m sure his many friends would be more than willing to help him raise much-needed funds for such a deserving cause.
“Any marathon is a challenge to even the fittest, but for someone who has been through such an ordeal, we are all finding his efforts that much more remarkable.”
Now 28, Ali is getting married to Lara at the beginning of April, and is living in Banstead, Surrey, working as an IT Professional in Central London.
Anyone who would like to support Ali can do so through his Justgiving page http://www.justgiving.com/owner-email/pleasesponsor/ALISTAIR-HARWOOD
