For Richard Merchant-Hanney, the Bristol Half Marathon will mark the end of a year in which he has turned personal tragedy into positive fundraising. He talks to David Clensy

Everyone running in the Reebok Bristol Half Marathon has their own story to tell – often life's harsh twists and turns can give the impetus to raise money for charity.

When Richard Merchant- Hanney runs along the Portway this weekend, he will be thinking about his late wife Helen, who died at the age of 24 last year.

The couple had been married for just a few weeks when Helen lost her fight against cancer.

"We had been together for three years," explains the 32-year-old from Easton. "We were planning the wedding.

"Helen had suffered from skin cancer, but it seemed as if we were coming through it.

"For a long time she seemed to be responding well to the treatment. But then in April last year Helen started to feel very ill.

"She went to see a doctor, who explained that the cancer had spread to her brain and they would not be able to treat it.

"We had to face the news that Helen might be dead within the week."

The couple brought forward their wedding. "I don't know quite how we did it, but I made a lot of phone calls, and we made sure our wedding went ahead within a few days," Richard says.

"We had three very happy weeks of married life.

"But then one day, Helen came back from the shops saying she felt bad. She went to her room, and never came out again.

"For another three weeks her condition deteriorated, and she eventually slipped into a coma before the end.

"I was so grateful to the nursing staff at St Peter's Hospice, who were able to come to the house to help me care for Helen in her last few weeks.

"Without them, she wouldn't have been able to stay at home to die in her own bed.

"Thanks to them, I was able to be there, holding her, as she took her last breath."

Richard was keen to find a positive way to honour Helen's memory. "The people at St Peter's Hospice had become good friends, and after Helen was gone I spent a lot of time up at the hospice as a volunteer."

Richard pledged to raise £10,000 for the charity, and quickly set about organising fundraising events.

"I wanted to help their work, because I'd seen how important it was at first-hand," he says.

"It was also something to throw myself into as I tried to come to terms with losing Helen."

Richard organised a series of events, including a charity music concert, and met the £10,000 mark within just a few months.

But earlier this year the charity asked if he would like to take part in the Bristol Half Marathon to raise further much-needed cash.

"I'd never run anywhere in my life," he says. "But I said 'yes' before I really had chance to doubt myself."

Richard, who works as a teaching assistant in Bath, found the time to start a strict training regime. "I was very lucky," he says. "I was invited to join a special course in the Forest of Dean, organised by Bristol City Council, to help runners get into their training for the half marathon.

"We were given lots of guidance by Olympic marathon runner Liz Yelling.

"She gave me so much confidence, showing me that distance running is largely down to technique and can be learnt if you put your mind to it.

"Over the past few months, I've gradually built up the distance I run each day, and I'm confident I'll be able to make it through the full half marathon.

"As I cross the finishing line, I think a lot of emotion I've been holding in is likely to bubble up to the surface.

"But it will be a good experience for me.

"If Helen can suffer the way she did in those last weeks, without ever complaining, I think 13 miles of running is nothing in comparison.

"And I know she would be proud of me. We will be very close as I run those 13 miles."