A Sidmouth retained firefighter plans to run a gruelling 26.2 miles in the London Marathon, raising money for a cause close to his heart.
Allan Kay, a member of Sidmouth Running Club, has already started training for the challenge and hopes to raise £2,000 for The Fire Fighters Charity, which offers a wide range of services and supports fire and rescue personnel and their families.
The father-of-two, who is a full-time firefighter with Exmouth Fire Station, has already raised a quarter of his target through his Just Giving page.
Allan will be holding a coffee morning on Saturday, October 5, at Sidmouth Methodist Church Hall from 10am-12.30pm. There will be craft stalls including Kyle Baker Photography and Potty Joy alongside a raffle, books, cakes, jigsaws and bric-a-brac.
At 11am Sid Vale Folk choir - of whom Mr Kay's mother Ann is a member - will be singing.
On his Just Giving, Allan said: "As a young man running around the coast paths of my home town I had two aspirations in life (I had other dreams but these two were long term), the first was to become a firefighter and have a great career saving lives.
"The other, to run the London Marathon in a reasonable time before the age of 30.
"As life carried on around me my career took a different path and running became something for younger people to do. In 2014 I found myself joining Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service as a retained firefighter at Sidmouth Fire Station,
"I have since also become a (temporary) whole time firefighter at Exmouth.
"Through this time I have been introduced to The Fire Fighters Charity and some of the people they have helped, their stories have inspired me to give something to the charity.
"Also during this time I have started running again and have found a level of fitness I thought had long gone.
"I have been enjoying the challenges of running and decided to attempt my long forgotten dreams of completing the London Marathon, 16 years after I had hoped to complete it.
"I have an opportunity to raise money for the charity, help them continue their great work and spread the word of the great mental health work they do with firefighters and their families."
Visit justgiving.com/fundraising/allan-kay43 to donate to Allan's cause.
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