Arbroath youngster Kyle Smith is pounding the streets in a bid to help his sick friend who is waiting for a liver transplant.
Kyle, 7, who attends Warddykes Primary, decided to help brave classmate Kenzy Oliver and his family by taking part in the #RunEveryDay initiative.
Seven-year-old Kenzy was placed as a high priority on the transplant list after a check-up at the beginning of the year revealed the liver condition he was born with brought on a serious breathing complaint.
Kyle decided to take up the October challenge which captures the spirit of Ron Hill who has run every day since December 1964.
Mum Vicky said she was so proud of what her son was doing while gran Maureen described Kyle as “an inspiration.”
Maureen said: “Kenzy will hopefully get the phonecall to say they have one for him soon.
“It was very much brought to light how much additional financial help the family would need.
“Kyle decided to help Kenzy and his family by taking part in the Ron Hill run everyday in October to raise funds for the family.
“His progress and pictures are being put on his mum’s Facebook page every day and many people in the local community are donating money through or simply handing in cash.”
Kyle has already raised over £697 for Kenzy’s family who are waiting by the phone.
Maureen said: “All of Kyle’s family and friends and friends of friends are so proud and inspired by what he is doing.”
Kenzy was born with biliary atresia, a condition in which inflammation develops within the bile ducts around the time of birth. How he contracted it is unknown.
At six weeks, he was flown from Ninewells to King’s College Hospital to undergo an operation on his liver.
Since then, along with his parents, Nicky and Michelle, the Warddykes Primary School pupil has been attending regular check-ups at Ninewells Hospital as well as King’s College Hospital.
The young lad is the only case Dundee’s Ninewells Hospital has seen with both debilitating ailments, according to his parents.
At any given moment, the phone of the Arbroath family could ring telling them a liver has been made available.
From here, Kenzy would be airlifted from Ninewells straight to London’s King’s College Hospital where he would undergo the transplant.
Donations can be made to paypal.me/kylesmitharab
Legendary long-distance runner Ron Hill, 78, from Accrington, Lancashire, has held world records and European titles.
Hill was the first Briton to win the Boston Marathon in 1970 and in the same year claimed a world best marathon time of 2:09:28 in Edinburgh in the Commonwealth Games.
Off the track he established Ron Hill Sports, pioneering the use of synthetic fabrics in sportswear, and he has run every day since December 1964, clocking up more than 160,000 miles.
In 2012 Hill was given the Freedom of Accrington and two years later a street was name after him.
Hill was honoured with the Order of the British Empire for “services to athletics”.
His final Olympic games was at the 1972 Munich Olympics, where he finished sixth in the marathon at the age of 33.
