James Wood, 35, may have bitten off more than he could chew when he signed up to run the Brighton Marathon for Banbury-based charity, Dogs for Good last April.

But when the same charity offered him a place to run in the London Marathon too, held just two weeks after Brighton, he simply couldn’t refuse.

He also hadn’t anticipated training with a new-born baby at home, after his son, Bobby, was born on Christmas Day.

The owner of two dogs, Mr Wood, who works in Reading, immediately thought of helping a dog charity when he signed up for the events.

He chose to pledge any funds raised to Dogs for Good, who specialise in training assistance dogs to help make life-changing differences for people living with disabilities.

Mr Wood who lives with his Collie called Ronnie felt passionate about supporting the independent charity when he heard about them online.

“Doing both marathons was too good an opportunity to pass up!” says Mr Wood. “My wife ran the London Marathon last year which inspired me to complete one myself.  

"I quickly signed up to the Brighton Marathon thinking it would be too hard to get a place in London and was eager to focus on a new fitness goal.”

Mr Wood is hoping to raise as much money as possible with £1000 being the minimum target.

Fortunately, his employer Practice Plus Group, one of the UK’s largest independent healthcare providers which offers NHS treatment as well as a private option offers staff participating in charity events a fundraising match of up to £500 which will go a long way to help him reach his target.

James fits his training in around his Content Specialist role at Practice Plus Group’s head office in Reading, and finds the pavement pounding a great way to mentally switch off and provide him with some “me time”.

Regional and Events Fundraiser, Dogs for Good says Tina Williams “We are so happy that James has chosen to run for us and very grateful that James is running two marathons for us and raising much needed funds.

"Our charity counts on contributions and efforts from people like James, and the Spring marathon season amounts to some of the biggest fundraisers of the year.

"Support from our runners gives us vital funds to help train more dogs to help people with a range of disabilities. We wish him lots of luck for both events and will be cheering him on!”