THREE sisters will be embarking on two half marathons in memory of their dad.

Sophie, 25, Louise, 23 and Charlotte Dodd, 21 will take part in the Basingstoke and Bournemouth half marathons to raise money for the British Lung Foundation who supported their father Simon during an illness.

Mr Dodd was diagnosed with idiopathic lung disease, with the only known cure being a lung transplant. Mr Dodd died in March this year, shortly before he was due to have the transplant.

Now the sisters, affectionately known as the Dodd Squad, who all work as nurses, want to raise awareness of the disease and the work the British Lung Foundation does.

Louise told The Gazette: “Even with us working in the NHS there was a lot of things I didn’t know about lung disease.

“The British Lung Foundation gave my dad amazing support and meant he could stay at home and only have to go to hospital for his regular check-ups.”

Mr Dodd received treatment at Basingstoke Hospital as well as at the specialist Brompton Hospital in London.

For the three sisters, it is quite fitting that they are returning to their home town of Basingstoke to take part in the half marathon, in the town where their father lived and received his treatment.

Louise added: “We were looking at weekends and events that were somewhere we could easily meet up.

“We signed up for Basingstoke then I thought I would have to go on a work course that weekend so we decided on Bournemouth, but the course got cancelled so we thought we would just do both.

“Doing the half marathon in Basingstoke will definitely be the cherry on top of our fundraising.”

Louise told The Gazette that Mr Dodd was known for helping others, so for her and her sisters, doing these half marathons was an opportunity to carry on his legacy.

Louise and her sisters are aiming to raise £4,000 for the British Lung Foundation and so far have collected more than £2,000.

The trio will take part in the Basingstoke Half Marathon on October 1, run in the Bournemouth event on October 8.

Donate at justgiving.com/fundraising/louise-dodd3.