A man inspired by his father in law’s battle with Parkinson’s is preparing to run the London Marathon 2018.

Daniel Quint, The Rise, Edgware, is running in memory of his late father-in-law, Mark Monk, a long-term supporter of The Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT).

The 44-year-old was inspired by Mark who was diagnosed with early onset Parkinson’s at age 35 until his death in 2014 at the age of 73.

The 44-year-old said: “He and my mother-in-law established the Barnet and Brent Parkinson’s Support Group and she continues to chair this group.

“My father-in-law was a very special man, he achieved much despite the challenges of having Parkinson’s.

“From establishing the Barnet and Brent Parkinson’s support group to completing a BA and MA at The Open University, Mark used the challenge that life had presented him to refocus his efforts of living life to the full.

Daniel hopes to complete the London Marathon in under four hours, he has been waking up every day at 5am for an hour of training, and running for two to three hours every Sunday.

He has already raised over £5,000 for CPT and hopes to raise more until the marathon on April 22.

He said: “I have been utterly obsessed with my training and have trained six days a week at 5:00am in the morning for nine months. The training has become part of my life routine.

“Persistence and commitment are two attributes that I have needed to get through the last nine months of training.

“My father-in-law’s example has acted to spur me on to allow me to reach for my goal of a sub-four hour marathon. I hope I can deliver.”