TWO brothers who lost 20 stone between them are encouraging Swindon’s businesses to back their bid to raise a massive £5,000 for Cancer Research UK.

Motivated by their staggering weight loss success, Mark Kenna, 43, and his brother Ian, 36, both from North Swindon, set themselves a fundraising target on the same scale.

Their first challenge will come on Sunday when they take on the Bath half marathon, however that is only the start of the physical tests to come.

Next month they will take on the Brighton marathon before heading to the capital for the London marathon only a week later.

Mark said: “The running has been very tough, we’re not runners but we set out on this 19 week programme after Christmas and we’re still going.

“I’m a nightmare for sticking to programmes and I had some real issues with knee pain in about week four or five but Ian has been really encouraging, he kept me going.

“In week eight we hit this massive wall, just from over-training – we took out a midweek run, replaced it with a cross training session and really focused on our diet as well.”

For two men who had been focused entirely on eating to lose weight, changing their mind set towards eating to fuel their bodies for running a marathon has been a big mental challenge.

Mark added: “Ian was 25 stone and he lost it all, he looks at food like the enemy – it feels psychologically wrong.”

The physical test ahead of the pair is only one part of the challenge, raising £5,000 is going to push them further still.

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 two, 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.

Kevin said: “We have been really ambitious, we’re looking to get 244 people down for what should be a brilliant night.

“We’ve had a lot of support from Swindon with the prizes but it would be great if the businesses could get behind us too.

“Each table takes 12 people, it’s £40 a head and more than half of that goes to charity – what a great way to treat your staff or entertain clients.

“We’ve got companies coming up from Bristol and it would be fantastic to get Swindon on board.”

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