Dad to run three marathons in memory of son

A man is set to run three marathons in three weeks to raise money in memory of his young son who died from a brain tumour.

Jax was diagnosed with the cancer in January 2021 just before he turned three years old.

After having the tumour removed in Southampton, Jax had treatments in Manchester and London but the cancer kept coming back and in April 2026 he died aged six.

His dad Dave Watson will run the Southampton, Manchester and London marathons to raise money for the Brain Tumour Charity.

Dave said his son started displaying symptoms including headaches, sore eyes and morning sickness.

"He ended up having a scan then diagnosed with a brain tumour, which was a shock, and that was on my birthday, so not a date I'll ever forget," he said.

"Me and my wife Sarah were obviously struggling a little bit, we didn't really know what was going on and it felt like we were in a bad film."

Despite going through surgeries and different forms of treatment, Dave said his son stayed positive.

"He was amazing, fun, kind and thoughtful," he said.

"He got a lot of presents during the time, he wasn't very well, but he always made sure his brothers and sisters got presents as well.

"It was tough when Jax died and we went through some bad, bad times and went to some bad places.

"My wife was amazing... she's kept everything together for us."

Dave has so far raised more than £7,000 for the Brain Tumour charity as he continues his training.

"I want to take on these marathons in memory of Jax and for the Brain Tumour charity to help people who are in the same situation, even if it's only a little bit," he said.

"The support's brilliant and it means so much to me, to my family and Jax - he'd be massively proud.

"It's going to be massively emotional when I finish because I wear my heart on my sleeve."

Brain tumours are the leading cause of cancer death in children and adults under the age of 40 in the British Isles, according to the charity Brain Tumour Research.

Kate Vousden, from the charity, said: "Unfortunately we hear these kinds of stories all the time.

"I think what Dave is doing with his fundraising actually really raises awareness of what a family goes through when something like this happens.

"Dave taking on this, quite frankly, unbelievable, amazing challenge and we're really, really pleased to support him with it.

"Hopefully this will mean other families don't have to go through what his family did."

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