Former Milton Keynes soldier completes multi-marathon challenge in memory of his 'smiling' mum

A British Army veteran who lost his mother to brain cancer has completed a year-long marathon challenge to raise money to help find a cure for the disease.

At the start of 2024, Jack Goodwin, 37, from Newton Leys, Milton Keynes pledged to run 15 marathons in 12 months for the charity Brain Tumour Research.

Debbie Goodwin, 61, died of a glioblastoma just six months after she was diagnosed.

Following her death, father-of-one, Jack, took on the role of Trustee for the Milton Keynes-based charity to “do more for the brain tumour community.”

"She was a runner as well so I grew up watching her do the Manchester half marathon, things like that and she did a lot of running for Cancer Research as well," Jack told ITV News Anglia.

"She went too soon, she was smiling until the last day. I'll never forget that smile, every run, every race is all about her."

Over the course of the challenge Jack pledged to run 2,740 kilometres and he is hoping to match those miles in pounds.

"In this country about 16,000 people a year will receive a diagnosis for having a brain tumour and yet since records began in 2020 only one percent of the money that Britain spends on research has gone to brain tumours" said Dan Knowles, CEO of Brain Tumour Research.

"So we have seen a real improvement in survival rates for other cancers, but we haven't seen that in brain tumours."

The former soldier finished the challenge at Caldecotte Lake, in Bedfordshire- the place where he started his training.

"I was running away from grieving but it actually helped me" Jack said.

"It gave me that time to just think by myself.

"It's been mentally more challenging than physically, lots of early mornings, lots of runs in snow and sunshine and sunburnt shoulders."

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