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Mark Woodward has been burning off the calories as he trains for the London Marathon.
The 29-year-old is tackling the winter weather, determined to fundraise for the fiancée of his best friend.
He is raising money in support of a charity tackling the muscle-wasting condition muscular dystrophy.
His lifelong friend Liam Wadeson is engaged to Dawn Chisholm, whose facial muscles, right arm and lower abdomen are affected by the illness.
The area sales manager has been training since October, saying working out in the winter before and after work is tough.
He said: “It may be hard, but it’s not as difficult as life for my friend.”
Mark has been running four times a week and is on a diet of gluten-free oats, almond milk and bananas. The 29-year-old even went out for a run at 6.30am on Christmas Day, saying it was the excuse he needed to indulge over the festive period.
The London Marathon marks its 40th anniversary on Sunday, April, 26, with more than 40,000 people tackling the 26.2-miles.
The resident of Upper Church Hill, Greenhithe, added: “I’ve just started hitting 18 miles per run, getting to 16 miles is fine, but it’s definitely becoming a push.”
Muscular Dystrophy UK (MDUK) offers practical and emotional support for people at every stage.
Mark said: “I think the charity is working for a great cause and doing such a great job helping to support people who suffer.
“I’m an active person and have done half marathons, tough mudders and spartan races in the past, so thought I would really push myself to see if I could run a marathon.”
Mark and his wife, Becca, met Dawn through Liam, and both couples are very close.
Dawn, 28, said: “Day to day I struggle with simple things such as reaching shelves higher than my eye-line, washing, brushing my hair and sleeping.
"I felt so overwhelmed when Mark told me he was running the marathon for MDUK.”
So far Mark has raised £820 of his £1,750 target.
Click here to donate or find out more.
