It’s smiles all round for the Lancashire vicar who was running in the London Marathon at the weekend for a medical charity; and after prayer had led to the immediate, miracle recovery of his grandson Henry from jaundice, a complication of a heart condition.

The Rev Ian Enticott, who is Vicar of St James and St Paul’s in Accrington and also Area Dean of Accrington, was running on behalf of ‘Unique’, the rare chromosome disorder charity, which is supporting Henry as he continues to face ongoing challenges because of a specific 'chromosome deletion'. 

Ian completed the London Marathon in a time which was much better than he hoped for. His target was around 4hrs 30mins but Ian crossed the line in 4hrs 13mins and 41 secs.

More importantly, Ian has raised more than £5,000 for Unique.

Last week, Ian’s story of prayer and hope captured the attention of the local and regional media across Lancashire and the national Christian radio station, United Christian Broadcasters. The coverage also led to a last-minute spike in donations too. Read the original story here.

Speaking today, Ian reflected on his marathon adventure saying: “I am really grateful to everyone who has donated to support Unique as a result of my run.

“So far we have brought in more than £5000 – which is £2k more than my original target and with Gift Aid added in we hope to reach more than £6k as a final total.

"Between all the nine Unique runners we hope to raise more than £40k for the charity, which is absolutely phenomenal.

"I am delighted personally too with the run time I achieved. The London crowds really keep you going - and they included many members of my family, including my wife and daughters. 

"I give thanks to God for all that has been achieved. I was aware of people praying for me and particularly those people who were praying for a foot injury I was nursing - there were no issues with it throughout the whole 26 miles."

Ronnie Semley
01/05/2019