A PRIDE of Britain nominee is using his participation in a challenging road race to raise money for the charity that cared for his late wife.

William Arnold, 40, from Braintree, is running in this weekend’s Virgin Money London Marathon for Farleigh Hospice – a charitable organisation that provides support to those suffering from life-limiting illnesses.

His introduction to the hospice first came in 2017, when his wife Katie was admitted into the nursing home after being diagnosed just five weeks prior with bowel cancer.

The disease had quickly spread to her liver - drastically diminishing her chances of survival - and after it was ruled that chemotherapy would debilitate more than it would aid her short battle, defiant Katie’s cancer was subsequently rendered incurable.

William said: ‘‘Katie did everything she could not to let that cancer define her.

‘‘She kept going, she stayed positive, she saw her friends and family and we continued to have days out.

‘‘We also got married and I was so proud of her on our wedding day because her energy was amazing and she talked and laughed and danced and had the best time, just like she always did.’’

Following the accommodating care the hospice afforded Katie until the 29-year-old’s untimely death just three days after the couple married, William has since contributed more than £13,000 to both the Farleigh Hospice and campaigning charity Bowel Cancer UK.

He is now tackling the 26.2-mile slog for a second time with the hope of generating a further £2000 for the specialist hospice, which spends more than £16,000 every day on providing physical, emotional and social support to 1400 terminally ill patients throughout Essex.

William said: ‘‘Farleigh Hospice created an environment that was friendly, comforting and reassuring and when we arrived we were seen by the loveliest doctor and attentive nurses who spoke to Katie and did their best to make her feel at ease at what was such a distressing time.

‘‘It’s a great comfort to know that during the last few hours of Katie’s life she was given the best possible care, but this kind of environment takes a huge amount of work and money and with only 40% of funding coming from the NHS, they rely on fundraising for the majority of their budget.’’

If you would like to sponsor William Arnold’s participation in this Sunday’s Virgin Money London Marathon, please visit: justgiving.com/fundraising/mrwillarnold