ONE man who completed the Istanbul marathon last weekend had the spirit of Steve Prescott in mind as he raised funds in memory of his mum.

Ray Stephens, 40, lost his mum Cynthia to cancer last New Year’s Eve aged 68 and decided to run the Istanbul “2 Continents” Mararthon in her honour and raise funds for Willowbrook Hospice.

Cynthia, originally from Havelock Street had lived in Sutton Heath since the 1970s and spent the majority of her working life was spent at BICC Cables in Lea Green and Prescot.

She was diagnosed with the disease in March 2009, courageously fighting the illness before she died, leaving behind Ray, daughter Tracey, husband Derek, six grandchildren and one great-grandchild.

Ray, originally from Sutton Heath, moved to Istanbul with wife Tracy and son Ryan, four, 18 months ago, raised funds for Willowbrook Hospice, who helped to care for Cynthia before her death and is aiming to reach £1,000.

And Ray was determined to overcome a hampered preparation with a few niggling injuries to complete the course in five hours and 20 minutes.

“The hospice is very close to my heart as my mum received the best possible care there and the staff at Willowbrook were brilliant and nothing was too much trouble,” said Ray.

“I went to St. John Vianney with Steve Prescott and hoped to summon a fraction of the determination he always showed.

"I'm happy with the achievement and got to run the last 50 metres with my son which was nice. I may do the Marathon here again next year but will definitely do the half-Marathon and a 10K that is coming up soon too.

“Mum was in my mind a lot during the run and my pain was a fraction of what she went through to try and stay with her family.

“We miss her every day and I hope that any of my old friends and mum and dad's friends from town, Thatto Heath Labour and St Austin's Church see this and would maybe like to donate to a hospice that we're very lucky to have in our community.”

Ray will be doing the run on Sunday, November 16. Anyone wishing to make a donation can visit www.justgiving.com/Ray-Stephens74.