KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 5 ― A man from Norfolk, England will be running the marathon this Sunday accompanied by a tattoo on his leg drawn using his son's ashes.
Kev Pitcher, who lost his son Benny to cancer last year, told Daily Mail that Benny's ashes were mixed with ink for the tattoo, which shows father and son walking off into the distance.
It also features the words: 'You don't have to be 6ft 6in to be a Superhero'.
The 47-year-old Pitcher, from East Runton, said the marathon he would be running ― Poppy Line Marathon ― was in memory of his son.
Proceeds will go towards East Anglia's Children's Hospices (EACH), Cromer Children's Charity and a third charity Kevin and his wife Julie are setting up called Benny's Battalion, which will support other families with children who have cancer.
With the tattoo, Pitcher, who runs a cleaning and laundry business with Julie, said Benny would join him in the event.
“He's going to run that marathon with me ― he'll start and finish the race with me,” he said.
Recalling the time when Benny was diagnosed, Pitcher said the family was on a holiday at Skegness.
“Everything seemed to be okay, but he came off the ride and the side of his face dropped.”
“Two days later we were told we had nine months,” he said, adding Benny was diagnosed with diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma (DIPG) - a type of tumour that starts in the brain stem.
