Coventry City physiotherapist Michael McBride is in the final stages of preparation for his fourth London Marathon - where he hopes to raise £2,000 for charity.
Michael has been training for the 26.2 mile run for several months as he aims to finish in a time under three hours and 16 minutes - his previous best.
The motivation behind the run is to raise vital funds for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and Macmillan Cancer Support.
Michael's family was affected by Leukaemia when his partner's daughter, Melissa, was diagnosed with the disease aged 11 and passed away.
Since then, Michael has been combining his interest in running with the chance to fund raise, and has been able to donate hundreds of pounds to the charity.
"Training has gone well - I've stayed injury and illness free so I'm hoping to get my best time," said Michael, who joined the Sky Blues in 2003.
"This is my fourth run and it's a big challenge. It's not totally ideal this year because we play away at Middlesbrough the day before so I've got to travel straight to London on the train after the game and won't arrive until around 11pm.
"But as long as I get a good night's sleep on the Friday night I'll be alright!
"I've been running around 45 miles a week, mainly by running to and from our Ryton training ground from my home in Leamington and then going for some evening runs and using the treadmill.
"The lads at the club have been supportive too - they've all had a bet on my time and the winner gets a bottle of champagne, so I appreciate that.
"I'm aiming for £2,000 to split between the charities and hopefully I can reach that for two very important causes."
Michael, who is also a physiotherapist for the Scottish national team, will have a final warm-up race in Leamington's Wright Hassall 10km run on April 11, which is two weeks before the London Marathon.
To send a donate and send a messages of support, log on to www.justgiving.com/michael-mcbride
Covsupport News Service have already donated via Steve Ogrizovic and Chris Coleman and are going for a time of 3hrs and 8 minutes.