Our motivation to run the London Marathon for the British Heart Foundation is driven by the memory of our father, Alastair Cameron, who was and remains a huge inspiration to us all in our various and diverse walks of life. Survived by our irreplaceable Mum, Elizabeth, he is sorely missed but never forgotten.

Alastair Cameron was a hugely respected surgeon at the Norfolk & Norwich and West Norwich Hospitals, where he was known not only for his medical skills, but also for his great compassion. At the early age of 48 he suffered the first of a series of heart attacks leading to major bypass surgery at Papworth Hospital.

After returning to work for seven years his health deteriorated and he was forced to retire. A further emergency bypass followed after a second series of heart attacks, and we were told to expect the worst. Somehow, however, with the help of pioneering surgery and advances in coronary care, he pulled through and survived happily to the previously unimaginable age of 70. In 2004 he died peacefully at home with his loving wife.

When this series of events began we were all young children at primary school; the twin youngest boys, Hamish and Dougal, were only 5 years old. When eventually he died in 2004 he was a Grandfather to Duncan’s children and all of us had left home to establish our independent lives. We all feel extremely lucky to have been given the chance to grow up as such close friends to our two amazing parents. This would not have been the case were it not for the invaluable research into the causes and treatment of heart disease; a cause championed by the British Heart Foundation.