TV coverage highlights duo's fundraising challenge for Claire

Claire’s widower, Dan Spincer, and close friend Stuart Hall got round the half-marathon course in wheelchairs at Sunday’s Great North Run, which Stuart described as ‘tough both physically and mentally’.

The duo finished the 10km Great Manchester Run back in May and the final stage of their Three Spokes Challenge is the Great South Run next month.

Posting on Facebook, Stuart, who is known to friends at ‘Pid’, commented: “It's quite a hilly course for a wheelchair and despite Dan having a flat tyre, we finished the 13.1miles in just under three hours.

"It was so emotional not to have Claire alongside us with so many memories we had created along the course but the support from the crowds kept us going – it was lamppost to lamppost just as you taught us Cuckoo (his nickname for Claire).”

Their fundraising challenge was highlighted in a special film aired during the BBC’s coverage of the Great North Run.

Dan and Stuart talked about Claire, who passed away last year aged 44 following an accident, and her inspirational life, in which she recovered from being paralysed in a horse riding accident to raise more than £950,000 towards research into a cure for paralysis.

In the film Dan says: “Claire raised money for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation so we want to carry on raising money for the same charity and hopefully see the cure, which is what Claire wanted, that was always her dream.

"I always have in the back of my mind, Claire used to say as a motivational speaker she wasn't always motivated, especially in the early days.

"That was the hard thing for us, having a reason to get out of bed.

"So, I have that in the back of my mind when training.

"It doesn't matter how tough it gets out there, we just keep doing that."

The pair have now raised £23.5k towards their £47.5k target.

Go to https://ajbellgreatmanchesterrun2025.enthuse.com/pf/threespokes to sponsor them.