Scottish Widows investment dealer Paul Dunn is entering the Virgin Money London Marathon on April 13th to raise funds for Anthony Nolan, the blood cancer charity and bone marrow register.

For the Douglas 33-year-old father of one with a second child due soon this will be his first marathon. He was inspired to enter by Eugene Wilson, paediatric services lead nurse at Noble’s Hospital, who lost his daughter, Lisa, to leukemia in 2005. Mr Dunn said: ‘Lisa was a friend of mine and having got to know Eugene, who’s been a tireless fundraiser for Anthony Nolan, I wanted to show my support.

‘In preparation for the marathon I’ve been playing football and going on runs, but over the past 16 weeks or so I’ve ramped up my training, running four or five times a week. I recently did my first 20-mile run and am hoping to complete the marathon in around four and a half hours maximum.

‘Colleagues at Scottish Widows have been very supportive and thanks to their generosity, as well as that of family and friends and with some matched funding from the Lloyds Banking Group, I’ve already raised ?1800…Then there’s a cake bake sale in the office on April 7th which should hopefully help pile on the pounds in every respect.’

Scottish Widows’ managing director Juan Clarke said: ‘The Lloyds Banking Group has a long tradition of community engagement and actively encourages colleagues to get behind charitable causes. We all applaud Paul’s decision to raise funds to help Anthony Nolan’s lifesaving work and wish him every success on April 13th.’

To support Paul you can make a donation to Anthony Nolan by visiting www.virginmoneygiving.com/PaulDunn1.