A secondary school teacher and his son have raised over £1,000 for charity by completing the Great North Run 2024. 

Tony Skelton is an English teacher at William Howard School in Brampton and alongside his son Rufus, has raised over £1,000 for charity by completing the historic 13.1-mile race in Newcastle on Sunday, September 8. 

Together, the father and son duo raised £1,062 for two charities as they ran alongside approximately 60,000 other competitors on Tyneside. 

Tony and Rufus raised money for Alzheimer's Society and Macmillan Cancer Support respectively, charities close to the pair's hearts after having family members who were affected by the illnesses. 

Tony completed the Great North Run in two hours and 28 minutes and after completing the race, he expressed his delight at being able to take on the event with his son. 

He said: "I watched my mother slowly succumb to this debilitating disease and it was hard to see her wonderful and loving personality slowly erode away.

"I’d done the Great North Run a few times over ten years ago, but it was good to do it again with Rufus. It almost felt like a rite of passage for Rufus as many of the 'Skelton boys' have run it in the past."

Rufus completed the run in two hours and eight seconds and also reflected on the atmosphere on Tyneside and set out his aim to complete another half marathon in Carlisle. 

He said: "I have suffered with cancer in my family quite a bit, both my Grandmother and Godmother have had cancer, luckily my Godmother has fought and survived twice.

"Unfortunately, my Grandmother didn't. Aswell as this family friends have also suffered from cancer. As well as this, I have always wanted to run the Great North Run.

"It was a really good atmosphere. Although it felt a little tense at the start, the crowds and bands playing along the way provided lots of support.

"We’re hoping to carry on and complete another half marathon next month – the Great Cumbrian Run."