Alan Dowson wants to complete a marathon on Thursday to raise funds for Dartford.

The Darts boss is keen to support the women and youth teams at Princes Park, and will embark on 140 laps of the Princes Park pitch to raise thousands of pounds.

To make matters worse, Dowson will start his fundraiser dressed up as a Teletubby - but the affable 53-year-old Geordie will take it all in his stride.

“Ben Gerring used to play for me and he’s promised to donate an extra £200 if I’m dressed up as a Teletubby!” said Dowson.

“He’s put a costume at the club that I’ve got to wear at the start of the walk. They can call me what they want but if I raise some money for the club I couldn’t care less.

“It’s about raising money for different aspects of the club, from the women to the kids’ teams, it’s my way of putting something back in.

“I’ll have a crack at it. I’m not scared of doing some dirty work and raising some money. There might be other people out there with ideas who can help the club out in different ways. That’s what we’ve got to try and do, be as strong as we can on and off the pitch.”

Dowson might be first-team manager but he wants to help bring Dartford’s various sections together as one club.

His aim is to raise £3,000 although a calf injury means he might end up spending more time walking than running.

“When I got the job it was a massive divide and I need to get that closer,” he stated. “It’s a lovely club but I feel we need to be closer so I want to engage with everyone even more.

“People do good jobs around the place. We’ve got a long way to go still compared to other clubs.

“I know I’ve got to lift the club publicity-wise but we’ve got great people at the club and if we’re all together and making ourselves stronger then we might have half a chance.

“A club like ours has got to get the community behind us and I think I’ve got to lead from the front. We’ve got some great people at the club but we haven’t got a money man so we need to have that togetherness to make us stronger.”

Former Fulham and Hull midfielder Jimmy Bullard is another who has backed Dowson’s challenge with a sizeable donation.

To donate to the challenge, click here for more details.