A GROUP of eight Pembrokeshire friends have raised more than £6,000 for Prostate Cancer UK after running the Marathon du Lac, in Annecy, France.

They smashed their original target of £2,500, and now they want to raise even more.

Sisters Hiba and Sahar Khan were inspired to run in memory of their father, Tariq Khan, who died in October 2018 aged 60 after a six-year battle with prostate cancer.

Miriam Brown ran in memory of her father, John Brown, who sadly lost his battle against the same disease in January 2017, also aged 60.

The three were joined by close friends Edward Clements, Emily White, Tess Bamber, Eleanor Williams and Becky Nicholas.

Tariq, a gifted and well-known surgeon at Withybush Hospital, was also a keen runner. It was not uncommon for him to get up at 6am to go for a run, even when on family holidays.

He loved being outdoors and used to say running made him feel free, "like flying".

Lake Annecy held a particularly special place in Tariq's heart, after he visited the mountains there several times. He always said he wanted to run the marathon there, but sadly never got the chance.

It was an emotional time at the finish line, with Edward crossing in 2:52, Miriam in 3:46, Sahar in 3:57, Hiba in 5:00, Tess in 5:25, and Eleanor in 5:25.

Becky and Emily ran the marathon as a relay in a combined time of 4:05.

Tariq was diagnosed with the disease in 2012, and was given only three years to live. Despite this, he continued to live life to the full and carried on working. He died after living with the disease for six years, and lived long enough to see both Sahar and Hiba get engaged.

Miriam was inspired to take up endurance sport after she watched her dad, John, fight his disease with strength and determination. The two-time Ironman Wales finisher wanted to run the Marathon du Lac in memory of her "hero" dad while raising awareness of the disease.

Sahar and Hiba said: "Too many men - husbands, fathers, brothers and friends - are affected by prostate cancer. Having gone through the journey with dad we have first hand experience of the incredible new treatments that are being developed to prevent and treat the disease.

"These really are helping to keep families together for longer."

The fundraising efforts continued with a successful jazz and cocktail evening fundraiser held at Studiowz in Clabeston. A further £630 was raised bring the running total to £6733.77.

You can still donate to the team on their just giving page at: https://www.justgiving.com/pembsteam