Got to run! Wednesbury father misses daughter's birth

But one fitness fanatic missed the birth of his baby daughter, because he was taking part in one of the country's toughest triathlons.

Bharat Rai, from Berkshire Crescent in Wednesbury, had always wanted to do an event like the Outlaw Triathlon in Nottingham, which involves a 2.4-mile swim and a 112-mile bike ride, finished off by a marathon.

Bharat, aged 37 and an engineer, said: "When my wife found out she was pregnant I had committed to the event.

"The doctors gave the due date and we found out it was four days after the triathlon, on July 31.

"We had a sit down and a chat, considering that it might all happen on the one day, so we had to put a plan B and C in place.

"Seema understood all the training I had put in already, and she said she would get her mum and sister in to fill in for me if it happened while I was away.

"And of course that's what happened."

Two days ahead of the event Bharat had packed his bags and was getting ready for an early night. But shortly after getting in to bed Seema told him her waters had broken.They headed to hospital, where doctors told them to go home as the baby was not ready. After a few hours' sleep Bharat headed up to Nottingham to register.

He said: "I got back to my hotel room to get some sleep as the event started at 6am, but I couldn't really sleep. Then she phoned me at 10.50pm saying she had given birth to a lovely baby girl.

"I was ecstatic and couldn't get to sleep for quite a while, even though I had to be up at 3am.I was considering driving back home to see the baby, but I realised I wouldn't get any sleep at all."

He added: "I knew I was going to hit the wall at some point and I needed something to get me through. So Seema sent me a photo.

"Nirvana looked beautiful. I kept that in my head, and during the cycle ride when I really started to struggle, my legs were like jelly, that picture kept me going."

He eventually made it around the course in 14 hours and 28 minutes, and his other two children, eight-year-old Aryan and Aaliya, six, were there to run him across the line, as well as his niece Alyssia, aged three.

He met his daughter for the first time the day after the event on July 27.

Seema added: "A few of my relatives were saying I couldn't let him miss the birth, but I've seen the hard work that he's put in.

"And with his training and what the kids had missed out on with him while he was doing that, I wasn't going to let him put all that to waste."