Early riser Gary has a marathon mission

Pity then Gary Morton who will leap out out bed every day for a month at 3am. As if that isn’t exhausting enough, the reason for his early rise is ... to run a marathon!

Gary 43, challenged himself to run 10km every day for a year and has already completed more than 250 days since January. But throughout October Gary will leave his home at 3.30am each day to cover the 26.2 miles before starting work in Pemberton where he works as head of purchasing for DW Sports.

The father-of-two is aiming to raise money for Clatterbridge Cancer Centre in Liverpool, where his mum-in-law Gillian Walker, from Shevington, has been treated for melanoma.

Gary said his 10k challenge was going well so far. “It’s fine. The first few days were a bit challenging, but now it’s fairly simple,” he said.

“Then I decided to do 13 miles a day for 13 days which I did a few weeks ago. My body found it quite comfortable.”

But running a marathon every day - and then doing a full day’s work - could prove to be more of a challenge.

He plans to run from his home in Rossendale to work in Pemberton each morning to cover the 26.2 miles.

Gary, who has previously completed Ironman triathlons, said: “It will be tough. I will get up at three o’clock in the morning and have a massive bowl of porridge with fruit and a drink and off I will go with a head torch, all wrapped up.

“Once I get used to it, it shouldn’t be too bad.

“Mentally it’s a challenge I’m absolutely ready for, it’s whether the body holds up.”

Gary hopes to complete the marathons in four hours, so he has time to get ready for work.

On the final day of the month, Gary plans to run from Wigan to Clatterbridge to finish in style.

His wife Lindsay’s mother Gillian is making good progress after undergoing immunotherapy treatment and is supporting her son-in-law in his challenge.

To support Gary and make a donation to help him raise much-needed funds for Clatterbridge, visit his fund-raising page www.justgiving.com/Gary-Morton31.