RUNNING the London Marathon was never really on my bucket list of activities – especially as for years the only things I ran for was the bus, last orders or down Westfield Street to Burchalls.

But I am signed up for next April which means I will have to get my joints oiled and get moving for quite a few cold early mornings between now and spring.

I am running it to raise money for Shelter. Click here to donate.

I have always been in awe of Marathon runners ever since, as a child, watching documentary footage of Czechoslovakia’s Emile Zatopek complete a long-distance treble at the Helsinki Olympics to the cries of ‘Za-to-pek’.

Two years of the school cross country was as far as that inspiration took me before picking up a ball. A dodgy left knee cartilage was my excuse to pack my running shoes away in the box marked “the past” for a long until being inspired by writing about Steve Prescott’s marathon exploits.

I was lured into Widnes Park Run at first with running becoming quite addictive and so aged 50 I managed my first half marathon.

Even then a full marathon was a pie in the sky idea – and to make it even more unlikely, within three months of crossing the line at the Golden Gates in Warrington I was on my back in Whiston Hospital with drips in my arm as a result of Sepsis, pneumonia and pleurisy.

It has been a long way back and apart from that – with just one or two Widnes Park Runs but plenty marsalling for the juniors, meaning the running shoes have been packed away for the past five years…until now.

Aged 56, with knees that need WD-40 and tipping the scales midway between 16 and 17 stone it is a challenge.

But it is now or never - and what was Precky's mantra - "A challenge is not a challenge, unless it is challenging."

And I wanted to take that challenge on to raise money and awareness for the work of Shelter – a subject that is close to my heart.

So training is going to be slow with a lot of split walk/running to start off with – and sustaining Plantar Fasciitis in Week 4 was not in the script…but I will get there, even if I have to walk and hop the last 10 miles.

You can sponsor me and support Shelter, the charity I am running for, by clicking here.