A full marathon is a massive achievement for even the fittest of runners but, for brave Gareth Bishop from Bangor, the 26.2 mile Belfast Marathon is nothing short of a herculean effort!

In March 2007, Gareth was involved in a serious car accident. Having broken his back, Gareth faced a very long road to recovery. He underwent a gruelling course of treatment, which included having two titanium rods and fourteen screws fitted to support the lower area of his spine (the lumber region). Although Gareth only suffered minor scarring on his spinal cord and retained around 70% of his overall body strength, he lost a considerable amount of motor ability in his right leg, which means he now walks with a limp.

Gareth, is a franchisee for Tubz Brands Ltd, a manufacturer in the vending business that is best known for its No. 1 selling Tubz products. Since May 2013, Tubz has been a corporate supporter of national children’s charity Starlight and, hearing about the charity’s work, Gareth decided to take on this brave challenge to raise funds for Starlight.

On 5th May, Gareth will take on the Belfast City Marathon, which is a 26.2 mile course that sees 17,500 runners pound the streets of Belfast for good causes. It will be an enormous challenge for Gareth but he is determined to reach the finish line and to raise funds for Starlight, which grants wishes for seriously and terminally ill children and provides entertainment in hospitals and hospices across the UK. With 92p from every pound going directly to Starlight’s children, the money that Gareth raises really will make a huge difference to very poorly children across the UK.

Gareth commented, “I never thought I would be in a car accident. Those kinds of things happen to other people sure, so nobody was more shocked than me with the overwhelming road to recovery which lay ahead. When I look back at how far I have come, I could never have done it without the help and support of loved ones, friends, doctors, nurses and strangers alike. So with the completion of the marathon and ultimately the closure of this dark chapter of my life, I will move forward knowing that we really are all here for each other and together we can conquer anything; that is why I want to use this challenge to help Starlight make the wishes of some very poorly children come true.”