It’s almost time for a marathon runner to grab his trainers for the third time and set off for the finish line.

Stephen Heath has finished training for Sunday’s event, in which he will run aiming to raise £2,000 for charity Children with Cancer UK.

The 59-year-old says he is the fittest he has ever been after gruelling runs on treadmills and through Jubilee Park in Edmonton, and hopes to beat last year’s time of completing the 26.2mile track in four hours and 58 minutes.

The nursery nurse, who works at The Brook on Broadwaters school for children with disabilities in Tottenham, said: “I’m ready to go. I’ve been resting for a couple of weeks, last year I only rested for a week.

“I’m not getting any younger but I think I’m fitter than last year. I’ve lost more weight.”

Mr Heath raised £2,662.20 in last year’s marathon for play equipment at the The Brook on Broadwaters and £1,740.52 the previous year to take children at William C Harvey Special School on a day trip to Southend.

He has raised £1,176 to date for this year’s charity, but hopes to raise at least £2,000 for the good cause.

The national charity, which is close to Mr Heath’s heart as he works with children, has raised more than £150million since it was set up in 1988 to help fight all childhood cancers.