THE son of much-missed founding member of Okehampton Running Club Marilyn Cooper has ticked off the first in a series of endurance races he is running in his mum’s memory.

Peter Cooper, 26, who grew up in Inwardleigh near Okehampton where his father Paul still lives, ran the New York Marathon on Sunday in a time of three hours 48 minutes.

He’s so far raised £1,966.77 of his target of £3,000 for Cardiomyopathy UK, in memory of Marilyn who died aged 61 in March 2016 after suffering a heart attack.

‘Mum was a keen runner and later became a very good triathlete,’ said Peter. ‘Mum’s aim was to complete all six major marathons. Before passing away, she had already completed London numerous times, as well as Boston and Berlin, which we ran together.

‘I am now aiming to complete the remaining three majors for my mum to complete her bucket list challenge, New York, Chicago and Tokyo. I will also complete London and Boston to follow in mum’s footsteps.

‘Lastly I will be running the Ironman 70.3 Jonkoping in Sweden. Mum was selected to represent Great Britain in dualthons but sadly passed away one month before her race in Germany. She was also training to complete an Ironman 70.3 and I will now take on this challenge for her.’

Peter’s next challenges will be the London Marathon on April 28 and the Ironman 70.3 on July 7 in Jonkoping, Sweden. He is raising funds for Cardiomyopathy UK, which raises funds into research for hereditary heart disease.

‘I’ve been making sure I have been going out and training because my mum always said that if I trained I could get a good time,’ he said. ‘Also, because I’m doing it in mum’s memory I wanted to do it how she would do it, which is properly.’

He said this has proved challenging, as he travels the world for his job as a travel consultant. “I’m training, as well as trying to eat the right things and not drink too much alcohol!’

Peter and his brother were both tested for the same defect which their mother had, but were fortunately found not to have it.

‘Mum passed away in March 2016, she had just finished a half marathon and recorded a PB, not bad at 61 years old!’ said Peter, who lives in London.'After this, she collapsed and was taken to hospital. Shortly after she suffered a heart attack and in true mum style tried to fight against it, but passed away a few days later in hospital with her family by her side.

‘Following this, myself and my brother had to be tested for a potential heart condition. It was thought that I might have ARVC, a rare heart condition which means you can no longer do endurance sport. This is why I am raising money for Cardiomyopathy UK.’

The main medical cause of young people under 35 dying suddenly was cardiomyopathy, he said.

‘They are the only UK charity dedicated to providing support and information to those affected by Cardiomyopathy and support people with it to lead a long and fulfilling life, made possible by prompt diagnosis, treatment and medical education.’

Visit www.justgiving.com and search for ‘Peter Cooper’ for more.