26 MILES down and only another 228 to go for the brothers from Swindon aiming to prove that losing weight was just the beginning of their success.

Mark Kenna, 43, and his brother Ian, 36, both of North Swindon, made national headlines last year when they shed a combined total of 20 stone.

Last weekend they ticked off the first in an ambitious string of sporting challenges in aid of Cancer Research UK when they completed the Bath half marathon.

Mark said: “It was an amazing day, the sun shining, perfect running temperature, 12 degrees and blue sky.

“45,000 people in Bath, the city was buzzing -15,000 waiting to start the race, it was an incredible feeling.

“We were on pace throughout the whole run, our plan was to run a strong but steady 10 km at marathon pace to give us our sub two hour time.

“My knee issues were gone and we were feeding off the crowd who were just so supportive.

“High-fives, belly babies, water, music and dancing. We wanted to stop and join in, they were having so much fun.”

Next month the pair will take on the Brighton marathon, followed by the London marathon only a week after and rounded off with the Race to the Stones - a 62 mile ultra-marathon across the Wessex Downs.

Mark said: “Now we turn our focus to five more weeks of training, with three runs this week.

“We’ll do a one hour, a one and a half hour, and a three hour on Sunday before we taper it back again.

“We also will pick up the interval training and continue with our Freeletics bodyweight high-intensity interval training for core and upper body strength.

“The Bath half was certainly a wake-up call on how epic this challenge actually is.”

Not content with pushing themselves to their physical limits, the brothers decided to set themselves a financial challenge at the same time – their fundraising target is £5,000 all of which will go to Cancer Research UK.

On April 2 they will host a black tie charity event at the Village Hotel Shaw Ridge in Swindon.

The night will include a three course meal, welcome drinks, an auction, a raffle, live entertainment and a virtual reality lab tour.

Among the 80 fantastic prizes is a tour of Pinewood Studios including lunch for 2, a set visit and a walk-on part in a British horror film.

Also up for grabs is a guest seat for the Heart FM breakfast show as well as signed football and rugby shirts, top of the range trainers, a Dyson vacuum, photoshoots and more.

Full details of the event are available at justgiving.com/KennaBrothers and tickets can be purchased by emailing KennaBrothers@gmail.com