Kenilworth's marathon man to break £100,000 fundraising barrier

This year’s London Marathon on Sunday April 23 will be David Phillips’ 477th marathon, just 23 away from his ultimate goal of finishing 500.

His other goal was to raise £100,000 for the Brain and Spine Foundation, and this looks all set to be achieved once he crosses the finish line at The Mall.

David could not believe he was about to beat his target.

He said: “I didn’t think it was possible, but it’s a real relief.

“It’s great to think people will benefit from the charity of others - there’s a lot of people out there who need help with brain disorders.

“But the fundraising is the easy part - I’ve still got more marathons to run.”

David, who has run an accountancy firm based Kenilworth for the last 37 years, ran his first marathon in 1982 in Coventry, and believes his 500th will take in place in Stratford in 2019.

He would often see the same faces at various marathons around the country, and a group of them challenged each other to see who could run 100 marathons first. Once he reached that mark, he had no intention of stopping.

And he said he especially loves the London Marathon due to the sheer scale of the event.

David added: “It’s a huge occasion - it seems like millions of people are out supporting you. I’m really looking forward to it.”

This is the 17th consecutive year David is running the London Marathon for the Brain and Spine Foundation, after first doing so when he answered an advert from the charity in a newspaper asking for runners.

He was drawn to the small charity’s friendliness and support, as well as the work they do in helping people with neurological conditions.

David stayed loyal to them ever since, and was recently made a community ambassador by the charity.

This year, David will be running with fellow members of Massey Ferguson Running Club in Coventry Jenna Pogue and Kelvin Elliott as part of ‘Team Phillips’. They will be part of the 45-strong group running this year’s marathon for the Brain and Spine Foundation.

The group will be led this year by double Olympic gold-winning rower Helen Glover, who with a break in tradition will also be running with the team.

Anyone wishing to donate should visit David’s Virgin money giving page here