Gary Courtney

My dad turned 50 this year and decided he would like to run the Belfast Marathon to mark this milestone. Training was going well until his knee began to hurt some time into his training regime. He attended a physiotherapist who advised him against running for 6 weeks. Ultimately dad had to pull out of his dream of running the full marathon and simply take part in the relay, which don't get me wrong is fantastic to take part in, but to dad it wasn't what he had hoped to achieve. Dad also travels to Uganda every third year with the Fields of Life team to help build schools and homes for children who have nothing. I was 11 when dad first went, my brothers were 9 and 7. Watching dad raising money and helping others inspired me to travel to India with the Leprosy Mission and inspired my brother to also go to Uganda, although he worked with street children who had aids. Nominating my dad to take part in the Olympic Torch Relay is my way of letting him know how much he means to me and everyone he has made a difference to at home and in Uganda. This would be his moment to shine.