A MARATHON man who's raised thousands for the hospice that cared for his late partner is getting ready for another challenge.

Warren Johnson has raised more than £20,000 for Prospect Hospice in five years and is still racking up the miles.

The 45-year-old moved to Swindon with his partner Sophie Vessey in 2012. A few months later, Miss Vessey was diagnosed with ovarian cancer. Within weeks, her condition had worsened and she moved into Prospect Hospice in early December. Sophie passed away on Christmas Day when she was just 41 years old.

Mr Johnson said: "When she was in the hospice, there was a leaflet about a 10km run in February, she persuaded me to take part in it to pay for her care and of course, you’d do anything for your partner. We raised £7,000.

"It was just going to be a one-off but I became addicted and tried to do one fundraising thing a year for Prospect. I imagine she'd be proud of me."

Prospect Hospice provides respite care for people with terminal illnesses.

Their Community and Events Fundraising Manager Genevieve Arney praised Warren’s dedication.

She said: “Warren has been a superb fundraiser for Prospect Hospice and it’s clear that he remains as inspired as he always has been by the care that Sophie had when she was a patient with us. We wish Warren and all runners who’ll be running for Team Prospect our very best wishes in next month’s London Marathon.”

This will be Warren's second London Marathon after also completing marathons in Bournemouth and Liverpool.

Warren added: "If someone had asked me five years ago if I'd like to run six marathons in five years, I'd have laughed at them, I didn't think I'd run a mile. My family are really happy, some of them think I'm mad.

"There are times when I think things are too tough and it's really hard, then I go back to the reason I started running and it helps me get through it.

"What they did for her while she was there and for me after she passed away, I don’t think I could ever pay them back for what they did, it’s priceless."

The planning and performance manager for Heathrow Express almost gave up running after he tore his calf muscle last year.

He said: "I was two miles into a Rough and Tumble event in Pewsey when it happened. I said I didn't want to do any more but when you get the chance to, you've got to try.

"When you think about all the training it takes to run a marathon, you umm and ahh over it but once you start training you begin to enjoy it in a strange way."

You can donate at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/fundraiser-web/fundraiser/showFundraiserProfilePage.action?userUrl=TeamSophie