At the double, Paul’s ready to go distance for Simpsons

Paul Bremner, who is taking part in the race with brother Michael and father Jimmy, hopes the money he raises will show his gratitude for the care given to Jessica and Jack, now five months old.

The twins were expected to arrive on July 22, but had to be delivered by emergency caesarean on April 14 after their mother, Lynsey, suffered bleeding.

They were rushed to the neo-natal unit, where they were put on ventilators in incubators to help them pull through.

Jessica, who was just 1lb 13oz at birth, stayed at the unit for 98 days, while Jack, who weighed in at 2lb 5oz, was there for 114 days, suffering setbacks including a stomach infection, bleeding on his lung and heart valve problems.

But thanks to the care of staff at the hospital they both pulled through, and are today healthy and happy at home with their parents in Corstorphine.

Paul, 29, decided that taking part in Sunday’s run would be the perfect way to show his gratitude: “Every year I’ve said I want to do a 10K run and it gets to the time I think I can’t be bothered. This year it just tied in, I thought I’d try and get some money for them.”

Lynsey, 31, said the staff at the centre had gone out of their way to look after not only the twins, but also herself and her husband. She said: “They did wee touches – we had them on 14 April and it was my birthday in May, and I got a birthday card from Jack and Jess with wee footprints on. The thought they put into it was really, really good and the doctors were great as well.”

The three runners have already raised £1200 for Simpsons Special Care Babies, a charity which supports the neo-natal unit, and hope to reach £1500 by the time of the run on Sunday.

They will be among around 10,000 runners taking part. The run will be broadcast on Channel 5, with a highlights show on BBC Scotland.

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