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A SILVERSTONE man who enjoys taking part in challenges for charity will be running the London Marathon.
Colin Bycroft, of Frog Hall, pictured right, will be finishing his charity challenge career on Sunday, after swimming the English Channel as part of a four man team and cycling from Land's End to John O'Groats.
He has raised around £11,000 for the Parkinson's Disease Society and £1,500 for Cancer Research UK in the past and hopes to raise £2,500 in the London Marathon for the two charities.
Mr Bycroft, 50, has chosen to run for the two charities because his father died in August 2005 after suffering from Parkinson's disease for several years. Mr Bycroft has also known six friends who have contracted cancer of different types.
He said: "I have been running between 30 and 40 miles a week and the longest run was three weeks ago when I ran for 20 miles. I have been following a programme from Runners' World."
Anyone wanting to follow Mr Bycroft's training efforts can visit his website www.colinsmarathon08.blogspot.com.

BICESTER firefighter John Nelson hopes to complete his third London marathon in less than four hours.
The 50-year-old King's End resident is looking forward to the atmosphere on the day and is following two training programmes.
He said: "There are people cheering you on all the way round the course. It's inspiring and I'd say to anyone who's thinking of running next year to give it a go."
Mr Nelson hopes to raise £2,000 for Children with Leukaemia on April 13 as part of the Mr Men and Little Miss Team, cheered on by his wife Angela. www.leukaemia.org

AN achilles tendon 'tweak' has not deterred Padbury runner Peter Wrigley from the marathon challenge.
The 44-year-old Gore Lodge resident has the help of a 'good physio' and is already £1,000 on the way to his £2,620 fundraising target.
He is raising money for Ali's Dream, a Padbury-based charity set up by the family of Alison Phelan, which funds research into childhood brain tumours.
Mr Wrigley said: "I did the Silverstone half marathon at the beginning of March and at around nine or ten miles it all started to seem a bit futile. I began to think 'why am I doing this?' but this time round I won't have that as I'm running for this fantastic charity."
Wife Julie and children Alice, 13, and Will, 12, will be supporting him on the day and Grace, four, and one-year-old George will be watching with grandparents from home. www.justgiving.com/peterwrigley

A BUCKINGHAM man will be running the London Marathon to raise money for two charities.
Nick Tanner, of Glebe Drive, in Brackley, works for Buckingham firm Racelogic and will be running in aid of the British Heart Foundation and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Both charities are close to Mr Tanner as his father, Bill, was diagnosed with terminal cancer last year and his girlfriend's younger brother died of a heart condition aged two.
Mr Tanner, 35, said: "I had always done a lot of running at school and wanted to have a go at the London Marathon. In September my dad was diagnosed with terminal cancer and that gave me the inspiration to apply this time around."
Mr Tanner's training has included martial arts which he says improves overall fitness. www.justgiving.com/mumraa www.justgiving.com/mumraa2

STRENGTH in numbers is the motto of a group of four from Bicester who will begin the marathon together.
They were inspired to take part by 14-year-old leukaemia sufferer Matthew Woolf-Holder and hope to raise thousands of pounds for Children with Leukaemia.
Langford Village resident Lyn Owen, 49, is one of those running.
She said: "This will be my second marathon which should mean it's less daunting. But I'm aware of the enormity of it now."
Leanne Millar, John Stocker and Debbie Curtis make up the rest of the group which has been training together for weeks. www.leukaemia.org

A GP will swap her surgery for the racetrack and run the London Marathon to help a charity assisting sufferers of cerebal palsy.
Dr Carol Mathews, who works at North End Surgery in Buckingham, is to raise money for Scope by running the 26-mile circuit on April 13.
Mrs Mathews, of Akeley Wood, Buckingham, ran the Silverstone half-marathon on March 9 to prepare for London. She said: "I am confident I will get round and am doing four runs a week at the moment with a long 22-mile run once a week. Training has not been without its setbacks," she added.I started training in June last year but had an injury in October which meant I was off for nine weeks."
Mrs Mathews plans to raise £1,500 and has already reached £1,000.

A FORMER Magdalen College School pupil from Brackley will be running his first London Marathon this weekend.
Stewart Jennings, 18, of Champion Court, has raised around £1,500 in sponsorship for cancer charity Children with Leaukaemia.
Mr Jennings, who works for Barclays Bank in Banbury, said he had always been good at running at school, including cross country.
He said: "I always to do the marathon and this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I thought a charity for children and cancer would be the best cause."

GETTING out in the cold and dark mornings instead of "flopping in front of the TV" has been the challenge for a runner from Silverstone.
Whittlebury Road resident Stuart Branch, 37, said anyone wanting to shed a few pounds should try the 'marathon diet' as he has lost a lot of weight since starting his training.
He hopes to raise more than £1,000 running as part of childhood leukaemia charity the Mr Men and Little Miss Team.
Having tackled the marathon twice before, in 2002 and 2004, the Silson Joggers AC member is hoping to beat the four hour barrier on April 13.
Mr Branch said: "To take a minute a mile off your running time is a big challenge but my training is going well. It's feeling achievable."
His wife Christine and seven-year-old twin daughters Megan and Sarah will be there to cheer him on on the day. www.bmycharity.com/stuartbranch

EATING lots of pasta has been part of the preparations for North Marston student Sarah Thompson.
The 20-year-old hopes to raise £1,400 for the charity Sense which helps the deaf and blind.
She has fit training in around her studies in English literature and counselling at the University of Kent and admits being nervous about the 26-mile challenge.
She said: "I've never done anything like this before but the training's been going really well. I've realised the secret is about conserving energy so I'm eating lots and lots of pasta!"
Her boyfriend will be there to support her on the day and she has already collected £1,100 in sponsorship. www.justgiving.com/sarahthompson2

A TOWCESTER man who runs a fibre optics company near Bicester will be the first marathon runner for the British Stammering Association.
Mark Limbert, of Graham Hill Road, will be taking part in his first London Marathon on April 13 to raise money for the charity which provides support for people with a stammer and promotes awareness.
He said: "I have had a stammer since the age of five which I am now 90% cured of. In the past four or five years I have become heavily involved with the association and through their help, my speech has improved significantly. I am at a point in my life where I am able to help the charity and raise awareness of the issues around stammering."
Mr Limbert is technical director at Launton-based firm Ridgemount Technologies.