Ingleby Barwick man running London Marathon for The Teesside Charity
Sean Skelton is among thousands taking part today
A Teesside man says taking part in the London Marathon today is going to be tough and emotional but worth it.
37 year-old Sean Skelton, from Ingleby Barwick, is among the thousands taking part in the London Marathon along with his friends at the Teesside Running Club.
He will be raising money for The Teesside Charity, who supports disadvantaged families and helps fund community projects.
Sean said: "For me, I've got a couple of challenges that I want to achieve. I've ran a couple of the other World Marathon majors and I'm hoping to complete all six in due course, so by completing London, this will be the third star that I will tick off.
"It's also the first marathon in which my family have been able to come and support me; so my two girls will be coming along with my wife to cheer me on and hopefully meet me at halfway on Tower Bridge, which again will be a wonderful family experience for us all.
"When I started to look into The Teesside Charity, I just realised how much their ethos and mine align. Now I set up Teesside Running Club around three years ago with a couple of friends, so I know firsthand how difficult it is to run, organise, and most importantly, fund these projects.
"We've met so many different people from different backgrounds, different walks of life, and we know firsthand how vital these community groups are in bringing people together and giving people an outlet or a release and it's so rewarding to see.
"Training's been a funny one if I'm honest. It's going to be challenging. Back in October, after completing the Chicago Marathon, I ended up with an Achilles tendinopathy, which stopped me running for the best part of five months. And even up until the end of February, I was 50-50 as to whether or not I would even take part in the London Marathon.
You can find Sean's JustGiving page here.