Why running always fits the Bill for Flora

FOR Flora Turnbull, heading out on a training run for the London Marathon offers a chance to remember her famous father.

-  LIZZIE CATT

The 31-year-old is the daughter of BBC Breakfast presenter Bill Turnbull, who died last summer almost five years after being diagnosed with advanced prostate cancer.

Bill, who would have been 67 today, was a keen runner himself, with five London Marathons under his belt, completing one in 3hr 45min.

His passion for running, says Flora, was passed on to her and brothers Henry, 34, and Will, 33.

Flora, a teacher who lives with husband David, 28, in Suffolk, will be running this April for Prostate Cancer UK in honour of Bill, continuing his mission to raise awareness of the disease.

She says: "I used to go out for runs with Dad when I was a teenager and I do think about him a lot while I'm running.

Encouraging

"It's such a shock when someone dies, even if you're expecting it. We all lead really busy lives and I've found that when you lose someone it's nice to have that time where you're thinking of them in a reflective way and not always in a sad way. It gives me a sense that I'm doing this for him."

Bill was diagnosed in November 2017 and Flora described that time as the "worst days of my life"

"Dad had been getting aches and pains for a while," says Flora. "Eventually my brother asked him to go to the GP."