A Cure For Holly AD's Marathon Ort For His Girl

He vows to run until she can walk again

- Julie Jacobson

It should have been a day like any other for the Pretorius family of Auckland. Instead, their lives changed forever. Sisters Alexandra and Holly, along with their little brother Adam, were being driven home from primary school by their grandmother when their car was involved in a head-on crash.

Tragically, four-year-old Adam was killed, while Holly, then six, was left paralysed from the waist down.

“The horror never goes away,” shares their father David, who has made searching for a cure for Holly, now 14, his main priority ever since that awful day in 2010.

Next month, the dedicated dad will board a plane to New York to run his third marathon to raise money for the CatWalk Trust, which aims to find a solution to spinal cord injuries.

David did it last year and the year before that, and he imagines he may well be doing it for years to come. “I swore I would continue running until Holly walks again,” he smiles.

While Holly’s mum Natasha, 46, and older sister Alexandra, 16, will follow his every step from home, David’s sister Lisa and 26 other Kiwis will be pounding the pavements with him.

“Lisa is not a runner, but she has been ruthless in her training and prep work,” the Dairy Flat stockbroker explains. “She is doing more than 50km each week despite being sore, full of pain and hating it. But she is inspired by her little niece and is driven to do this for her.”

Meanwhile, David’s mum Karen, 69, is heading over as part of a support crew. People are showing their encouragement by donating at dave.catwalk.org.nz.