Tenth marathon in five years for fundraiser Richard
He started running five years ago in memory of his late wife who died of breast cancer.
Nine marathons later, Richard Guest from Great Wyrley will take on his tenth tomorrow in London in a bid to raise funds for the Wellbeing of Women charity.
It will be the second time the 64-year old has run the London Marathon and he plans to do it in style after dying his locks to match the colour of the charity.
"My daughter could see how down I was after losing Wendy so she invited me along for a fun run and I got carried away from there," he said.
"Over the years it's been a mixture of highs and sadness but I've done as much as I can and I love the sport. I'd do 10 marathons in a day if I could but I'm not built for that.
"London is one of the most fantastic marathons in the world. It's spectacle and it's great to see the elite runners. It just has so much character."
The former soldier of the Royal Engineers has run round the world in Auckland, Sydney and Berlin and even alongside Olympic sprinter Iwan Thomas at the Great South Run in Portsmouth.
Now semi-retired to focus his time on charity fundraising, Mr Guest only found out that he was doing the marathon five weeks ago but has set his sights on a £2,000 fundraising target.
He won entry to the marathon through a competition.
The Wellbeing of Women charity invests in special research projects and allocates funds towards the training of specialist doctors and midwives.
He added: "I'm very excited about it. The last one I did was Edinburgh in May last year and after London I'm doing Stoke in July.
"Wendy was beautiful and had an infectious laugh. Every run is a dedication to her and my personal fight to help control this terrible decease."
Wendy died in 2010 at the age of 54.
The 35th London Marathon is expected to attract around 30,000 runners. Weather forecasters say conditions will be cloudy with highs of 13C (55F).
To donate go to virginmoneygiving.com/richardguest1
