A WINSCOMBE couple are set to take on the London Marathon later this month to raise money for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT).

Husband and wife, Nick and Helen Faubel are both keen runners and have been training hard to prepare for the 26.2 mile race in London and are keen to raise funds for the charity, which funds research into new treatments with the potential to cure Parkinson’s.

The couple ran the Brentwood Half Marathon on March 17,and have both taken part in marathons and triathlons previously but this will be the first time they have teamed up to take on the famous race in the capital.

Speaking ahead of the race Helen said: "So far the training is going well, with our main objective being to stay injury free throughout.

"We have decided to run together, at least until mile 17; if one of us hits the wall, it will be dog eat dog - see you at the finish line.”

Helen and Nick have already raised more than £4,700 for CPT and the couple are keen to raise funds for the charity as they have experienced first hand the effect the condition can have as Helen’s father is currently living with Parkinson’s.

Helen added: “Over the past 18 years, Dad's condition has obviously deteriorated somewhat, however, he has never let this stand in the way of achieving his goals.

"He still plays golf regularly, goes fishing and travels around the world. But it was not just Dad who inspired me to run, having met CPT’s late co-founder, the inspirational Tom Isaacs.”

Helen Matthews, deputy CEO of CPT said the charity is 'hugely grateful' to Helen and Nick for taking on this enormous challenge.

She said: “Fundraising support is absolutely critical for the charity to enable us to achieve our goal.

"We aim to cure Parkinson’s and the only way we will do this is through the help of all our supporters - it’s as simple as that.”

CPT said around 145,000 people in the UK are living with Parkinson’s, and it is predicted that 1 in 37 people will receive a diagnosis of Parkinson’s in their lifetime.

The charity funds innovative research which is dedicated to finding new treatments that can slow, stop or reverse Parkinson’s.

Helen added: “We are really looking forward to running this marathon together for a truly worthy cause.

“When we're struggling to hold the pace in the final few miles, we will be thinking about the many hundreds of thousands of people with Parkinson’s. I hope that we can do them all proud.”

To donate to Helen and Nick visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/helen-faubel