A HEREFORD man is set to complete his 100th marathon to coincide with the centenary of the RAF- while raising money for charity.

Cpl Jon Ward is closing in on his target of running his 100th marathon on April 1, 2018.

Jon, originally from Hereford, first ran the London Marathon in 2007 and joined the RAF seven years ago.

It was after his sixth marathon, in Dublin, that Jon first considered attempting to achieve membership of the 100 Marathon Club.

By September 2016 he had completed 21 marathons and decided to take on the challenge of completing his 100th marathon on the 100 year anniversary of the RAF.

“I ran my first marathon in four hours 56 minutes and gradually over the next 82 I’ve managed to get my personal best down to three hours and one minute. I’ve ran in some amazing places.

"My 50th marathon was in St Lucia in the Caribbean where I ran seven marathons in seven days in six different countries.

"And I’ve ran the original marathon route in Greece – that was great; the route went from the town of Marathon to the Olympic stadium in Athens, and with a crowd cheering me on as I ran in to the ancient stadium it was an amazing feeling."

Ever since his school years Jon has been interested in sport. He attended St Mary’s RC High School and Hereford College, and was a regular competitor in middle and long distance running events as well as being in several football teams.

He represented Herefordshire and Worcestershire in cross country championships, and played football for Hinton FC and Hereford Lions.

Jon ran his personal best time whilst on Exercise with 1(Fighter) Squadron in the USA earlier this year. As a logistician it was Jon’s responsibility to ensure the correct supplies and equipment were available to personnel during the exercise. But he was able to take in another marathon when he had some spare time.

“I will be taking it a little easier over Christmas as well, but I’ll be keeping myself ready for the five marathons in 2018 and especially the final one that will get me into the 100 marathon club,” added Jon

Jon is raising money for the RAF Benevolent Fund during his 100 marathon challenge, so far he has raised £1350. Anyone that wants to support him can do so online at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Jon-Wardraf100challenge.