FUNDRAISERS laced up their running shoes to raise £15,000 for a charity that helps families stay with their sick children at Oxford’s John Radcliffe Hospital.

The team of nine completed the Rome Marathon for The Ronald McDonald House, which provides accommodation for parents at the hospital.

The sponsorship cash is enough to pay for three of the family rooms, on the top floor of the hospital, to stay open for a year, helping up to 200 families.

Charity fundraising co-ordinator Andrew Tee was among those who took part.

The father-of-two said: “Doing things like this really puts things in perspective.

“Training for Rome has been hard, but at the end of the day it was five hours out of my life. The money we have raised will make a massive difference to the families who come to Ronald McDonald House, who can stay close to their sick child instead of having to sleep in their car or travel hundreds of miles each day.

“We feel very proud.”

He was joined by Sergeant Lee Amey, who is based in Wiltshire, who was given accommodation by the charity at the hospital when his 18-month-old son Finley was treated for the rare condition Apert Syndrome.

The condition affects one in 10,000 children and disrupts the normal growth of bone before birth, resulting in deformities of the head, hands, feet and face.

Sgt Amey returned from Afghanistan on the Friday and after a night at home, was back on a plane heading for Rome on the Saturday.

He said “Ronald McDonald House at Oxford has been a lifesaver for me and my family while Finley has had to undergo a number of operations.

“The house enabled myself, my wife and Finley’s older sister to stay close during his life-saving surgery and became a real ‘home from home’ on the weeks we have stayed there.”

He added: “I was so delighted to take part in this challenge.”

Sgt Amey and Mr Tee, of Bicester, crossed the finish line together on March 20 with a time of four hours and 53 minutes.

awilliams@oxfordmail.co.uk