RUNNER Andrew Campbell, 24, is to become the first person to run the London Marathon for Carlisle and North Lakeland Hospice at Home – and will be holding a fundraising evening at Carlisle Rugby Club to warm up.

He hopes to raise at least £2,000 for Hospice at Home before he takes on the marathon in April.

Andrew, from Houghton, said: “We’ve been really lucky in that we have had some good support from the local businesses.”

Among those coming together to provide raffle prizes are Vintage barbers, Parkgate, the Cumberland Building Society, Carlisle United, Lowther Castle and McVities.

Local band So What (of which Andrew’s uncle is a member) will be providing live music throughout the January 24 event.

He is considering doing other fundraising projects to boost the figure but there are no firm plans just yet.

Andrew said: “This fundraiser coming up is going to be the main one for me because you have to raise £2,000 by the end of April. “

This is the first time he has taken on a challenge like the London Marathon but he is excited to tackle it.

He has always wanted to take part in something like but it was after the Hospice got in contact with his workplace asking for people to get involved that he finally took the plunge.

“I’m really going from zero to hero with it to be totally honest,” he said. “I’ve wanted to do it for a long time and they were kind enough to give me the chance to do it.

“I was part of the Border Harriers when I was younger so I did running events with them, but aside from that I’ve had no real marathon experience at all.”

Training takes months but it is an aspect of the experience that Andrew finds satisfying.He’s increasing the length of his runs more and more each time. “I think there is a certain amount of satisfaction you get from training because the plan that I’m using is focused on increasing it just a little bit each time,” he said. “I started training in October by doing short runs and then week on week I’ve been trying to add to it a little bit more.”

Andrew is passionate about supporting Hospice at Home because he recognises the importance of its work. “It’s so important these days with people living longer that when they are at a point when their life is coming to an end that they are treated with respect and they are looked after in the best possible way.

“That is why Hospice at Home,and hospices, in general, are so important.”