From world champion boxing to the Black Country Half Marathon: Marcus Portman on why he's taking up the unique running challenge and how he hopes to inspire others
A former world champion boxer is hoping to inspire people and raise much-needed funds for an important Black Country cause as he takes on the unique Black Country Half Marathon.
The former WBF light middleweight world champion Marcus Portman has been putting in the miles around his home in Wombourne in preparation for the Birmingham Black Country Half Marathon on Saturday, July 5.
The half-marathon is unique because it will see runners tackle the canal towpaths from Wolverhampton city centre to Brindleyplace in Birmingham on a time trial course.
Marcus, aged 44-year-old who is originally from West Bromwich, said he had completed a half-marathon course in Sutton Coldfield a few months ago and wanted to take on another run and raise money for a cause, so was inspired to do the run for Acorns Children's Hospice after talking to his mother-in-law.
He said: "I did the Sutton Coldfield one and I thought about doing a second run, but actually having a purpose and a cause, rather than just running for the sake of it.
"It was then that my mother-in-law, who is quite close with Acorns in Walsall, advised me to do it for that charity, so I looked it up and went there to look around and meet some of the kids and I just thought it was amazing what they do there.
"It's the first time I've ever done something for a charity, but it's really special and I'm hoping to raise about £1,000, of which I've raised £135 and also have a couple of sponsors donating as well."
Marcus said he had been putting in the training for the event, doing around 45 miles a week, and said he wanted to beat his time of 1 hour and 44 minutes from the Sutton Coldfield event and, if possible, finish in 1 hour and 35 minutes.
He said his boxing background helped in terms of the training, and said keeping fit had been second nature to him and hoped he could inspire other people to do the same.
He said: "We did a lot of push ups and running up the hills when training as there was a huge hill outside the gym and we went up there plenty of times.
"A lot of professional boxers, when they stop, they get overweight, but I've never stopped and never taken my foot off the gas as after boxing, I went into bodybuilding, then started running.
"I've always been inspired by someone or something over the years, so I'd like to be able to inspire more runners to get out there and do more marathons and events like that."
To find out more about Marcus Portman's challenge and to make a donation, go to his Facebook page.
