Hemel Hempstead dad among top fundraisers at London Marathon raising £43.5k in memory of his son

Jim King from Hemel Hempstead, has raised over £43.5k for Ewing's Sarcoma bone cancer research, in memory of his 15-year-old son Ethan, who tragically died from this disease.

Jim ran the Boston Marathon on Monday and is running the London Marathon, just six days later. He is currently the number one fundraiser for all London Marathon entrants. https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/jim-king

You can find details of Ethan's diagnosis and cancer journey in the above link to the fundraising page. Ethan was nearly 16 and was a student at The Hemel Hempstead School, due to take his GSCE's this summer where he was predicted 8s and 9s. He was under the care of Great Ormond Street Hospital from the age of nine but then moved over to University College London Hospital in 2024. He has been supported by Watford Hospital since his diagnosis in 2018. On the fundraising page if you click on the London Marathon icon top right it takes you to another page and if you scroll down it shows the top fundraisers and Jim is number two.

In addition, Jim’s family have been supported by the Hemel community. Ethan was a keen runner and completed 75, 5k park runs before the age of nine. In his honour on March 29, Gadebridge parkrun asked people to run for Ethan in Watford FC shirts (he was a season ticket holder), or Oasis t-shirts (his favourite band). In total, 503 people turned up, approximately four times the normal capacity, including Ethan's teachers and medical teams. Luther Blissett, the ex-Watford player who Ethan's middle name is named after, also turned up to show support.

At the Watford vs Hull Match, the hosts organised a minute’s round of applause for Ethan during the 15th minute of the match to represent his age.

His mum, Clara said: “This story, although filled with great sadness, shows the Hemel Hempstead community coming together in so many ways to show their support for our family.”