‘On my death bed I am not going to say I wish I spent more time with my daughter’: Father with terminal brain cancer runs marathon with Kiana, 6, in a stroller… and WINS

Runner Iram Leon, 32, has grade two diffuse astrocytoma

Crossed finish line first at Gusher Marathon in Beaumont, Texas

Pushed daughter Kiana, six, in her stroller the entire 26-mile route

The father-daughter duo have completed half marathons and 10K runs

Saturday's race marked their first marathon as a team



A terminally ill father made sure his biggest supporter was with him every step of the way as he won a marathon - by pushing his six-year-old daughter in her pram along the entire 26-mile route.

Iram Leon, 32, was first over the finish line at the Gusher Marathon in Texas with a time of three hours, seven minutes, and 35 seconds, but insisted he 'came in second' behind daughter Kiana.

Keen runner Mr Leon, who was diagnosed with brain cancer shortly after turning 30, has already completed half a dozen races with Kiana, after deciding he no longer wanted to compete without taking his 'princess' along.

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Father-daughter duo: Iram Leon, who has brain cancer, crosses the finish line with daughter Kiana at the Gusher Marathon in Texas, U.S.

But Mr Leon had a battle on his hands to get the pair their first joint marathon medal even before the race began, as prams are not typically permitted on the lengthy routes.

He was turned down for entry four times before the Gusher Marathon agreed to let the father-daughter duo compete, according to a report on the Huffington Post .

The team of two, who completed their first half-marathon in October 2012, went on to take home gold in the marathon in Beaumont on Saturday.

Mr Leon, who has been told his cancer will not be cured, said: 'The one thing I'm not going to say on my death bed is, "I wish I spent more time with my kid".'

Proud: Mr Leon, a keen runner, decided he no longer wanted to race without taking six-year-old Kiana along

'My princess': Mr Leon crossed the finish line first at the Gusher Marathon, and Kiana was right beside him



Teamwork: Mr Leon and his six-year-old daughter have already completed half-marathons and 10K runs together

He was diagnosed with a grade two diffuse astrocytoma in November 2010. Doctors hope he will live to see his 40th birthday.

Mr Leon is divorced from Kiana's mother and his daughter lives with him the majority of the time at his home in Austin, Texas. The devoted father has told Kiana about his illness, and said he hopes to strike the right balance between protecting her from his experience and sharing it with her.

Kiana has witnessed her father suffering seizures as a result of his illness and the pair practice what to do in an emergency should Mr Leon suddenly need urgent medical attention.



'The one thing I'm not going to say on my death bed is, "I wish I spent more time with my kid"' Iram Leon

His brain tumour, which affects his memory and language skills, means Mr Leon can't drive, work, or play contact sports, but his cancer has not hampered his ability to run.

It's 'just one foot in front of the other', said the determined father, who writes a blog about his experiences of coping with cancer.

In it he described being 'floored' as he realised he was in the lead at the half-way mark on Saturday.

'Was there a possibility that I could win not a division, not an age group but a marathon with my inspiration directly in front of me?' he wrote.

Devoted: Mr Leon said cancer had not hampered 'my ability to run and love'

Mr Leon, who said he was 'sore' and 'grateful' after the marathon, recalled listening to Bon Jovi's hit It's My Life as he pushed his daughter ahead of him throughout the gruelling race.

'Turns out that maybe brain cancer, which has come with some nightmare scenarios, also has had some that are better than I could have ever dreamed,' he wrote.

'...At the Gusher Marathon, against the wind and up hill, with my princess and inspiration a step ahead of me, I ran on a highway even if I'm not allowed to drive on it.'

Inspirational: Mr Leon came first in a time of three hours, seven minutes and 35 seconds, but insisted his daughter was the real winner

Journey: Mr Leon was diagnosed with brain cancer in November 2010, shortly after his 30th birthday

'Grateful': Mr Leon, seen pushing his waving daughter as he runs, said the attention had left him feeling 'grateful, confused, humble and overwhelmed'

The runner has been inundated with phone calls and e-mails since news of his feat spread from a local newspaper in Texas via the sports pages of the Wall Street Journal to the international media, and the organisers behind the Gusher Marathon have set up a fundraising website with the aim of raising $30,000 for Kiana's college education.





'... Cancer and its side effects... haven't taken away my ability to run and love' Iram Leon

Over $1,000 has already been donated.



Her father wrote on his blog that the attention had left him feeling 'grateful, confused, humbled and overwhelmed'.

He said: '... There's something incredibly comforting about the fact that cancer and its side effects have ruined many things, but they haven't taken away my ability to run and love.

'... Perhaps the reason the universe was kind enough to let me win the only marathon that has ever let me in pushing Kiana was to remind me why it's letting me keep breathing, even if it's hard, a little bit longer.'

