FORMER King Henry VIII comprehensive school pupil David Hodgins is warming up for not his first, not his second, not even his third, but his twelfth London Marathon.

It’s enough to exhaust a person just contemplating the weary slog towards Bermondsey, along the Jamaica Road before crossing Tower Bridge and carrying on the grunt and groan through Wapping, towards Limehouse, through the Isle of dogs, into Canary Wharf and…. well! You get the picture, just the thought of pounding 26 miles of the capital’s pavements on a warm Spring day is enough to make anyone break out in a cold sweat.

But the 40-something athlete takes it all in is stride. And so he should. Hodgins ran his first London in 1998 at the age of 29 when he was a keen cyclist.

He enjoyed it so much he immediately hung up his bicycle in favour of hitting the street on his own two feet.

As well as having 11 London Marathons under his belt, Hodgins has ran an impressive

hat-trick of Paris Marathons.

He has also ran the Amsterdam Marathon, completed six North Runs, and participated in a number of half-marathons from Plymouth to Dubai.

In 2012, Hodgins joined the small and select group of non-professional runners who have succeeded in breaking the magic three hour barrier mark in the London Marathon.

Running in his ninth London Marathon, he officially recorded a time of two hours and 57 minutes.

A feat which was rendered all the more remarkable considering Hodgins suffered from a bout of Pneumonia the previous December which seriously interrupted his training schedule and placed grave doubt on his ability to even participate in the 2012 event.

Now running in the Veterans category, Hodgins’ prime objective this year is to cross the finishing line with a time which will give him a starting place in 2019 when he’ll have the chance to do it all over again.