LOSING five stone in weight was just the start for 50-year-old compliance manager Mike Field.

Now he is planning to run the Windsor and Eton half marathon at Dorney Lake on March 16 to raise money for the charity Alzheimer's Research UK which powers world-class studies focusing on prevention, diagnosis and treatments for dementia.

Mike, of Aylesworth Spur, Old Windsor, has been training hard running three to four times a week distances ranging from five to 18 kilometers at a time.

He said: "I have been through a huge change in the last couple of years. Training is tough and it would be very easy for life to get in the way. But I am finding time to get the miles in on a weekly basis. I’m lucky living where I do as we have some beautiful countryside for me to run in. This will be a huge achievement for me as it is the first time I have ever done anything like this and before I started training I thought I was so unfit."

Mike is a father of two and he and his wife have both seen the affect Alzheimers can have on members of their own families.

Lizzie Handley, regional fundraising officer at Alzheimer’s Research UK, said: “We’re so grateful to Mike for supporting Alzheimer’s Research UK. Dementia affects a significant proportion of the population – one in three people over 65 in the UK will die with some form of the condition. Fantastic fundraising efforts like this will help us to make life-changing research breakthroughs for people with dementia.”

Mike hopes to raise more than £1,500.

To sponsor Mike visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-field3

For further information about Alzheimer’s Research UK, or to find out more about fundraising for the charity, call 0300 111 5555 or visit www.alzheimersresearchuk.org