Stuart to run London Marathon for Dudley hospital charity

Stuart Perkins said he has previously had a "few failed attempts" at running the 26 miles through the country's capital, as he hoped to take part last year but sadly caught Covid the week before he planned to set off.

But on April 23 he plans to finally make his dream a reality and raise funds for Action Heart, a cardiac rehabilitation programme based at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.

Stuart, who is the digital sales leader at MNA Digital, said: "It's just going to be an amazing feeling, I've watched it on TV for years, everyone knows the London Marathon, I've always wanted to do it and I think crossing that (finishing) line will be an amazing feeling with all the crowds as well – I'm just really looking forward to it.

"The secret for any marathon training is having motivation certainly, we've had a tough winter so running in snow, rain and wind is difficult but you have to do it – it's (about) consistency, it's banking 50 to 60 miles a week.

"It's normally around a three-month training plan for me which was cut short because I was injured, but having that consistency over that period of time is what is important at getting you ready for the big day."

The father-of-two, from Dudley, has already surpassed his initial goal of raising £1,000 for the charity, and now hopes to raise as much as he can.

He added: "It's a really good local charity based in Dudley. They do a lot of really good work in the community and I just thought I've done all these runs before but never to raise cash for a charity.

"It's gone really well, I've had lots of support. I didn't expect to go over £1,000 before the event so now it's about raising as much as I can for them.

"The local community rely on that kind of service and they do so much good work for thousands of people every year so it's a charity close-to-home."

People can donate to support Stuart in his fundraising effort by visiting justgiving.com/fundraising/stuart-perkins2