A WALKER dedicated his marathon trek in memory of his father who died from cancer four days before the 54-mile challenge.Tim Sheldon, 45, wanted to raise money for Cancer Campaign Suffolk to go towards the proposed cancer education centre at Ipswich Hospital.

A WALKER dedicated his marathon trek in memory of his father who died from cancer four days before the 54-mile challenge.

Tim Sheldon, 45, wanted to raise money for Cancer Campaign Suffolk to go towards the proposed cancer education centre at Ipswich Hospital.

Just four days before Mr Sheldon undertook the walk from Fort William to Loch Lomond in Scotland his father, John Sheldon, 82, of Kent, died from cancer of the colon.

Mr Sheldon, who runs the PR Works public relations company in Woodbridge, said: ''I had already decided to dedicate the challenge to him but the timing of his death was pretty emotional. He had been very ill for eight months.''

Mr Sheldon said he was delighted to raise £3,000 and he thanked the many former and present clients and contacts who supported him.

Mr Sheldon teamed up with his brother in law Matt Fleming, former captain of Kent county cricket club, George Vestey, of west Suffolk, and Will Thrupp, of Kent, to compete as the Southern Discomforts team in the Caledonian Challenge.

They took 16hrs 48mins to complete the course and were the 10th team to finish out of nearly 400 teams. The challenge is to finish the event in under 24 hours.

Mr Sheldon, of Spexhall, near Halesworth, covered nearly 600 miles in training with runs and long walks to prepare for the event and his wife Janey, a district nurse in north Suffolk, provided medical support for the team during the event.

''The conditions were ideal at 15C and cloudy with some light rain. We had thought very carefully about our diet and hydration as you have got to get it right otherwise you suffer. We were very determined to finish in a good time and I think our preparation helped us,'' said Mr Sheldon.