A royal marine is setting out on a challenge to run five consecutive marathons to raise money for his sister's cancer treatment.
Mike Francis, from Newport, is taking on five marathons over five consecutive days starting on Wednesday.
The 37-year-old, who has never run a marathon before, is aiming to raise as much money as possible for his sister, Justine Jianikos, 30, who was recently diagnosed with incurable cancer.
Mother-of-three Justine, 30, first went to a GP with concerns about symptoms of breast cancer in March last year but didn't receive a diagnosis until four days before Christmas, despite making several follow up trips to the doctor.
Justine believes the seven-month delay in her diagnosis led to her condition worsening.
Her brother Mike has so far raised almost half of the £50,000 he aims to raise to help pay for her treatment.
"We have been training now for about eight weeks," Mike said.
"We have been doing lower mileage runs during the week and longer ones on the weekend. But this week that's been winding down ready to start tomorrow."
Mike will be running a planned marathon route from Gilwern to Rogerstone every day from Wednesday, April 14, to Sunday.
He will be joined by friends Rhys Richards and Jonny Hibbins who will run every mile of the challenge alongside him.
Mike said he has channelled his frustration and anger at his sister's diagnosis into positive action.
"Obviously I was really angry at first at the way she was misdiagnosed," he said.
"But the anger turned to thinking what is best for her. We're asking her to be positive and we need to do that as well. If we talk about it now we talk about it and then go back to how we would be before."
In the wake of Justine's diagnosis, family and friends have thrown their weight behind crowdfunding campaigns to raise money for alternative treatment options for her.
One Gofundme appeal has raised more than £45,000 to date alongside the £25,000 raised by the marathon running team.
Mike said he would also like to share the message that people should check symptoms of cancer at the earliest stage possible.
"Young women like my sister had all three main symptoms of breast cancer and she was still turned away," he said.
"Listen to your body. If you're in doubt, keep coming back and do whatever you feel you need to do to be heard."
To find out more about the challenge, visit Mike's Gofundme page.
