AN INSPIRED father-of-three ran the Great North Run for Prostate Cancer Charity. David Johnson, of Somerdale Avenue, Weston, lined up with 36,000 competitors last month.

AN INSPIRED father-of-three ran the Great North Run for Prostate Cancer Charity.

David Johnson, of Somerdale Avenue, Weston, lined up with 36,000 competitors last month.

The 53-year-old decided to run for the charity after an old friend died from prostate cancer in his hometown of Devon and another friend was diagnosed earlier this year.

He has completed a number of half marathons and has trained for 12 weeks leading up to the event.

David said: "As I was running from Newcastle to South Shields, with my name displayed on the front of my running vest, I lost count of the number of times I heard the phrase 'come on Dave', but each time I acknowledged it with either a wave or a thank you.

"I was attempting to better my best ever half marathon time of 1:28:52, but in the end I had to settle for a time of 1:33:31, which gave me a finishing position of 1071.

"Not bad for a 53-year-old."

Dave hopes to have raised over £1,600 for the charity when all the money has been collected.

Dave said: "I would sincerely like to thank everyone who supported me by making a donation.

"The money raised will definitely assist the charity in continuing to raise awareness of this dreadful disease and in doing so help to save future lives through early diagnosis."

Donations can still be made online by visiting www.justgiving.com/davejohnson1 before October 31.