A FATHER will pay tribute to his “talented” daughter who died from cancer today with a special Parkrun in her memory.

David Kemp, 59, will run around Hove Park at 9am today as a way of remembering Josie, 21, who enjoyed taking part in the group runs.

He will be joined by hundreds of other enthusiasts running the 5km course in 29.25 minutes – Josie’s personal best for it.

She died on January 17 after a courageous battle with cancer.

Mr Kemp, of Hove Park Villas said: “There was a spell where we just tried to cope with the grief but it translated into wanting to do something which would honour her life and what she accomplished.

“We had support from local runners and she had completed 21 Parkruns in her build up for Race For Life 2014, raising money for Cancer Research.

“And when Parkrun organisers checked her record she had actually done a personal best, which was really good for someone who had just finished her chemotherapy.

“For the rest of the time she was struggling to get under 30 minutes. So that’s where the idea came from for a 30-minute run.”

The architect plans to run 4km at 30-minute pace before speeding up in the last kilometre to finish in 29 minutes 25 seconds.

Josie died unexpectedly two days before her 22nd birthday following a successful small operation at The Royal Marsden hospital in Chelsea.

The talented artist had a benign tumour removed, aged eight, before it came back years later as an aggressive cancer.

The former pupil at Cardinal Newman and Lancing College, where she attained grade A and A* in photography and art, fought a brave battle through her treatments and had been stable for the last two years of her life.

She had been working at the Lancing College art department and enjoyed sharing her love of ceramics with pupils.

Her family are set to showcase her artwork at her service in the college chapel.

Mr Kemp said: “We are very proud of her and of what she achieved in her short life against huge odds. She rarely told people about her cancer as she did not want to be defined by it.”

She also leaves behind her mother Annie and brother Tom, 19.

Josie will also be remembered on March 17 when the Hove Park Parkrun organisers dedicate their annual St Patrick’s Day run to the Teenage Cancer Trust, which gave her much of her medical support.