A MILITARY man is on a mission to run 50 marathons before his 50th birthday.

Ian Bloomfield, 36, from Middleton St George, first joined the Army in 2010.

This April, he will be running the Brighton Marathon to raise funds for the Army Benevolent Fund.

And as if the 26 miles weren’t difficult enough, Mr Bloomfield will run the distance wearing a 10kg plate carrier to replicate the current body armour worn by soldiers on operations.

In preparation for Brighton, Mr Bloomfield has been training at Snap Fitness Darlington and he believes his military career has instilled in him the determination that he needs to complete his 50 marathon aim.

He said: “I’d wanted to join the Army from a young age, it was just a case of life getting in the way.

“When I joined around the age of 26 I was classed as a ‘late comer’, meaning I was always competing against other younger and fitter soldiers.

"I think this instilled a lot of determination in me from the start.”

In Mr Bloomfield’s current role, he trains soldiers in preparation to be deployed in Afghanistan.

He decided to run the Brighton Marathon, his sixth full marathon, in aid of the Army Benevolent Fund, to support the work it does for serving soldiers, veterans and their families.

He said: “I chose to support the ABF as it’s always having to compete with some of the bigger name military charities and I just think it’s incredible how broad the spectrum of soldiers they support is.”

"I feel so proud to be able to represent the charity and hope I raise a good amount of money to assist them in their continued efforts.

“I must admit I feel pretty anxious for this marathon. This is not only the first one I’ve done for a charity, but I’ve never run this distance wearing a 10kg camouflage plate carrier.

"It’s incredibly uncomfortable to run in and I know that it’s going to be very physical demanding. The potential for injury whilst training and worse, on the day is very high.”

In order to prepare for the challenge, Mr Bloomfield has been wearing his specifically-modified plate carrier whilst on the treadmill at his local gym, Snap Fitness Darlington.

He said: “Practicing running with the vest on in a controlled environment at Snap Fitness has been essential to my training plan.

"The real challenge has been getting my body and mind used to running with it on, as it affects every aspect of my usual running technique.

"I’ve had to really focus on slowing my pace down, so that I don’t burn out halfway through.

Snap Fitness manager, Darren Edwards, said: “Ian is such a determined person, having done marathons in the past and now challenging himself by adding the weighted vest is just incredible.

“Each and every time he comes into train, he just gets his head down and puts in the work."

To donate to Mr Bloomfield's JustGiving page, click here