A father has taken inspiration from his fundraising daughter and decided to take on the Great Birmingham 10k on 26 May for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.

In December 2017, Peter Monaghan’s daughter, Amy, was taken to her local GP in Rugeley by her mother, with a chest infection. Whilst there the GP spotted a heart murmur and referred her to Burton Hospital where they were shocked to find out that six-year-old Amy had a hole in her heart.

The family was then referred to Birmingham Children’s Hospital, which has a world-renowned cardiology unit – one of the largest and busiest in the country – and six months after her diagnosis, Amy’s hole was closed during open heart surgery.  Following a successful five-hour operation, 32 hours in Paediatric Intensive Care Unit and a stay on the Cardiac Ward, Amy was released to go home and recover.

Pete said: “Amy’s surgery was one of the scariest moments in my life, but since coming out of hospital she has made a full recovery and continues to go from strength to strength. She felt compelled to raise money for Birmingham Children’s Hospital to thank them for ‘mending her heart’. Since September 2018 she has raised over £1,000 for the Cardiac Ward and I would like to follow in her footsteps, which is why I’m taking on the Great Birmingham 10k.”

“I’ve been busy training and found that taking part in my local Park Runs is an amazing way of prepping for the 10k. Every Saturday morning I am up early and I’ve found it is a great motivation to train and run with a whole bunch of people who help you to get stuck in and keep going.”

Serena Daw, Public Fundraising Manager at Birmingham Children’s Hospital Charity, said: “It’s always so touching to hear our supporters’ stories and what motivates them to fundraise for us. So many have a direct experience of our hospital, whether they have a child or relative being treated here, or were once a patient themselves. It’s lovely to see Peter wanting to give back and we’ll be there on race day to cheer him on.”

The Great Birmingham 10k run is part of the Great Birmingham Run series, also featuring a half marathon with a mini 1.5km and a junior 2.5km race.

This year’s 10k run is taking an exciting new route around the city with additional areas added such as Birmingham Cathedral and Colmore Row, the Jewellery Quarter, Victoria Square and – for the first time – will be passing Birmingham Children’s Hospital.