An injured runner who has overcome a rare lung condition to compete in marathons has turned to aqua jogging to get him back on the road.

Bingley athlete Chris Cariss has just had a sprout-sized growth removed from his heel after a year of agony which curbed his road training.

Chris, 29, is one of Britain's best marathon runners but he has not run competitively for 12-months since fracturing his heel, which loosened a bit of bone that turned into a painful growth. Now the rogue bit of bone has been removed Chris is desperate to bounce back in time for next year's World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

To help him achieve it, he has been a regular visitor at Bingley baths where he straps a special float belt to his waist which means he can run up and down the full length of the pool, building up his strength and stamina.

"Before my operation I was in the pool three or four times a week doing aqua-jobbing but the wound was so large I couldn't go in the water after my operation. I was told to wait for it to heal properly before getting back in."

In 2004, he missed out on his Olympic dream to represent Great Britain in Athens - by an agonising eight seconds - but he has put that disappointment behind him and is looking forward to sprinting into the future with the help of his new aqua sport hobby.

What makes Chris's determination to run for his country so remarkable is that he suffers from the rare lung condition bronchiectasis which means he has to be on antibiotics for the rest of his life and have his lungs cleared twice a day.

His wife Helen, 26, runs with Bingley Harriers and has been inspired by him to run this year's London marathon in aid of the British Lung Foundation. She hopes to raise £1,000. Although he cannot run it himself, he has been helping her train and will be following her round the route.

Anyone supporting Helen should log on to www.justgiving.com/helencariss