Runners from across the community have come together to pay tribute to an inspiring individual, raising over £124,000 for Cancer Research UK and OPAL.
Gareth Dunn sadly passed away, aged just 27 last year. Whilst suffering from terminal cancer, Gareth raised £100,000 for Cancer Research UK by completing tough challenges including running the London Marathon with a prosthetic running blade.
After his death, his friends vowed to continue his legacy and have raised money through community events such as charity football tournaments and this week’s community run.
The run, which included a 10k slog and a 2k fun run, was completed by over 380 runners.
David Smart, one of the organisers for the event told the Yorkshire evening Post “The whole community got involved, it was a fantastic atmosphere. Gareth would have been proud and happy to see everybody there trying their hardest. We had people who had never run before who were doing it because they were inspired by Gareth. It is definitely something to build on for future years. We are hoping to have 500 people taking part in the main race.”
Alex Sobel, MP for Leeds North West (which includes Cookridge) started off the race. He said “It was a great honour to start the race and present the winning runners with prizes.
Gareth was clearly an inspirational young man who was taken from this world far too young. I was so impressed with the organisation and effort that went into this race and look forward to next year which I am sure will be even bigger. It is an amazing tribute to Gareth and continues his legacy of raising money for very important causes.”