A FATHER whose son died while serving in Iraq is preparing to run his first marathon.

John Hyde, 59, will enter the Nottingham Marathon on September 16. He has run for ten years and has already completed several half marathons but never attempted a full 26 miles.

Before the death of his son, Ben, he ran for pleasure and to keep fit. Now he runs to his memory and to raise funds in his name.

The Lance Corporal Ben Hyde Memorial Trust was set up about two and a half years ago following the Red Cap's death at the hands of an Iraqi mob in Al Majaar Al Kabir in June 2003.

It has since raised thousands of pounds for the Royal Military Police Benevolent Fund as well as local community and youth projects.

But while Mr Hyde runs 18 miles a week in preparation for the Nottingham Marathon, Ben's cousin, John Finney and his friend, Mike Phillips, are preparing to walk from Northallerton to Pickering and back to raise money for Ben's trust and Cancer Research.

And another group of supporters, including Ben's friend John Goldsbrough, will run the Middlesbrough Tees Pride 10K Race, which is also on September 16.

They are hoping to raise as much as possible for Ben's trust, whose beneficiaries include the Friarage Hospital, Northallerton Scouts and Guides, Northallerton Silver Band, the Queen Alexandra Royal Army Nursing Corps and the Garrison Church at Catterick Garrison.

He said: "I'm 60 in February and I've had a new right hip in two years ago. I'm not going to be able to do the sort of running I'm doing at the moment for much longer so now seems a good time because of the fitness I built up doing the Leeds half marathon. It's now or never.

"I'm always amazed at the support that the trust generally gets from the people of Northallerton. It is a constant source of amazement to me the feelings of the people in the town and the way they think about Ben.

"I see that in a financial respect but also with the way people leave flowers on his grave and things like that.

"I have got enormous pride in Ben and the fact that so many people obviously share that pride really does help me in dealing with what happened to him."