Nick Anderton is beginning to wind down his tough training schedule as he prepares to pound London's streets in the annual marathon.

He has been gradually building up his strength in longer and longer runs from his Idle home as part of months of training for the event on April 18.

It will be the second time he has taken part the ultimate test of endurance which needs special attention to detail to avoid health or injury problems.

Last year 4,000 people needed treatment for injuries after the London Marathon. Major traumas are extremely uncommon but blisters, friction chafing, pulled muscles and strained tendons can all hamper the would-be long distance runner.

Nick, 32, who juggles training around work as a senior developer at the Halifax in Pudsey, will use experience he gained last year for the run in aid of the National Heart Research Fund.

He had already taken part in the Three Peaks challenge for the charity before he was given a special reason to take part in the London Marathon on its behalf when his fiancee Ann, 40, had a triple heart bypass in 1997.

He hopes to complete the effort in four-and-a-half hours beating his time six-hour time last year when he ran with a heavy cold.

His training has included a competitive stretch-out in the Dewsbury 10K as well as 11, 14 and 18 mile runs from home, averaging about 40 miles a week.

He is also on a special slimming diet which has already seen his weight reduced.

"People go into the marathon without doing enough training beforehand but you need to put a lot in," he said. "I've been taking it up in stages, building it up very gradually. It's better doing a bit often rather than doing ten miles straight away.

"I do a circuit from home trying to put in a couple of elevens during the week and 14-15 miles at weekends - it does take up a lot of time.

"I'm lucky in that I've not had many injuries, just the usual aches and pains from long distance running in the knees and ankles.

"I'm on a Slimming World diet as well which means I have less weight to carry and I do feel a lot stronger this year."

Experts advise budding marathon runners to start training as far in advance as possible, which could be anything up to ten months before the off.

If you have any doubts or worries about your health, consult your doctor.

If you are a complete beginner the main aim is to increase the amount of time you can run for without stopping until you can do a 20-minute run and then build up training in blocks of months and weeks, wearing a good pair of running shoes and making sure not to overtrain.

For more information read Marathon Manual by Cathy Shipton with Liz McColgan, published by Thorsons, priced £9.99.

Anyone who would like to sponsor Nick can call him on (01274) 413529.

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