THE teenage son of former Jack FM broadcaster Ali Booker will take part to support the Oxford hospice where she died.
Miss Booker, from Wantage, was just 47 when she lost her fight with breast cancer at Sobell House Hospice in Headington, having chronicled her struggle with the illness in her award-winning Cancer Diaries documentary broadcasts.
Now her son Douglas, 18, a sixth-former at King Alfred’s College in Wantage, has vowed to raise money for the hospice.
Having done a 10,000ft sky-dive last year, he is now taking on a far bigger challenge, hoping to raise £3,000 by completing the 26-mile marathon through the streets of the capital.
He said: “Sobell House did my mum a favour, so this is about paying them back.
“They did so much for my family.
“I’m definitely inspired by my mum, and it is not so hard physically as it is mentally.
“The training is going really well, given I have never done anything on this scale before.”
He added: “I’ve had a lot of donations from people who knew my mum or used to listen to her on the radio.”
Stepfather Andrew Chapman said: “We are all really proud of him.
“Most 18-year-olds would not be focusing on something really positive like this, as well as enjoying life.
“When Ali used to get something in her head, she would make sure she saw it through to the end, and I think Doug has inherited that.”
To sponsor Douglas, visit his online fundraising page at justgiving.com/ Douglas-Booker
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