A Huntingdon man has planned a rather unusual way of celebrating his upcoming birthday, by running the London Marathon.

Nathan Bevan, from Stoney Close, will join thousands of other runners as he tackles the 26-mile course on his 38th birthday, on April 24.

Nathan is running to raise awareness for the charity that helped him after he was diagnosed with skin cancer in 2013, as well as providing him with support as he lives with the debilitating condition, congenital melanocytic naevi.

He said: “I was so ecstatic when my name was pulled out to run the marathon for Caring Matters Now. As an organisation they do so much to raise money for research towards the syndrome and help those who are affected by it.”

Nathan was born with congenital melanocytic naevi but, in 2013, he discovered he had two stage four melanoma after suffering a seizure following a challenging bike ride.

Nathan, who works at Huntingdon signage company Borney, said: “My wife is a bit scared about me taking on the marathon after the last time I took on a mammoth challenge but my friends are all willing me on – I just wish I had their confidence.”

Since the discovery Nathan has had to go through three-monthly check ups but that hasn’t stopped him from pushing himself with training.

“I run to my work at Borney every day so I get four miles of practice in everyday but I do longer ones every three to four days – so far my longest is 18 miles.”

Nathan hopes to finish the marathon within four and half hours before finding a pub to celebrate his big day.

To donate, log on to www.justgiving.com/Nathan-James-Bevan/