Leighton Buzzard man all set for his 120th marathon this weekend - and says he's powered by blackcurrant

A Leighton Buzzard man will be pounding the streets of London this weekend in his 120th marathon.

Mark Kleanthous, 63, ran in the inaugural London Marathon in 1981, and is just one of a select group – mostly in their 80s – still taking part in the race. His ambition is to be the last man to be taking part in the event in years to come.

He expects to finish Saturday’s event in around four hours, just one hour within the time he set in 1981 (3 hours and 3 minutes). He last ran in the London Marathon in 1999.

The multi-sport endurance athlete and coach has put over 280,000 miles on the clock in his lifetime, equivalent to swimming, biking and running 11 times around the world.

Over the past decade, he has taken a blackcurrant extract from New Zealand, which he believes has allowed him to maintain peak performance.

Injury has also hampered his preparation, with a serious hamstring tear in October forcing him onto crutches for eight weeks. However, he has staged a remarkable recovery after 11 weeks without running.

Mark says: “I can race harder than my competition and would rather run a marathon without breakfast than not have my blackcurrant extract before the race. I’ve covered more than 14,000 miles of swimming, 201,000 miles of cycling and 65,000 miles of running, equivalent to completing the distance to the moon 2.5 times.”

Mark has also been coaching athletes from novice to professional for many years.