London Marathon : Newark man aims to find 'closure' after wife's miscarriages

A man whose wife suffered four miscarriages before successfully giving birth says tackling the London Mararthon will help with closure.

Mr Steve Smith, 34, of Newark, will tackle the 26.2-mile race to raise money for Tommy's, a charity that conducts medical research into the causes of premature births, stillbirths and miscarriages.

He and his wife Claire experienced three early miscarriages and one that was late, before Claire gave birth to their daughter Amelia two years ago.

Mr Smith said they went through many difficult days and felt like they had nowhere to turn for advice.

"We suffered a lot of miscarriages over the years and at the time there was no one who could provide the answers," he said.

"That didn't help us, we wanted to know why we were losing our babies every time we fell pregnant.

"Tommy's seems to be a charity that's looking for answers and could possibly put parents' minds at rest.

"If we can prevent one family not having to go through what we went through then it will make everything worthwhile."

'I'm doing this race as some sort of closure'

Mr Smith competed in the Newark Half Marathon last year, and saw the London Marathon on April 23 as the next step.

"It was a bit nerve-wracking. The furthest I've run so far is about 18 miles. My wife dropped me off in Lincoln and I had a run back to Newark," he said.

"Currently I'm injured and been told not to run for a week. I will run the marathon regardless and hopefully it will all be OK.

"I guess I'm doing this race as some sort of closure after what we've been through."

To help, visit Steven Smith's fundraising page.