FITNESS guru Joe Wicks has given his support to three men preparing to run the London Marathon.

One of the runners is banker and father-of-two Niro Nirmalan from Chesham.

He is gearing up for the 26.2 mile challenge in April to support his brother-in-law Sam Suriakumar from London, who was diagnosed with brain tumour in 2020.

The men are joined by dad-of-two Ahilan Anpananthar, also from London, to raise money for Brain Tumour Research.

The fitness fathers named themselves the Sole Brothers, and each of them are following a training plan set by the running coach Lee Perry.

Sam, a passionate fundraiser and campaigner for the charity and also a dad-of-two, said: “It was all Niro’s idea. He wanted to run the London Marathon before he turns 40 in October. When he told me he wanted to run it for Brain Tumour Research, I felt bad and thought, ‘if he’s running it for the charity, I should do it with him’.

 “It’ll definitely be a challenge for me because I’m not a long-distance runner, but I’m fit and healthy and I’m going to use it as motivation to keep pushing myself.

 “I’m looking forward to seeing the crowds and running it with my brothers-in-law, but I imagine it will be quite a big, emotional day.”

Sam recently joined The Body Coach Joe Wicks MBE at a 5k run at Nonsuch Park close to his home.

READ MORE: High Wycombe: Hughenden Gardens Village resident shares life story

Joe told him: “You’ve got to keep going mate, the marathon’s coming. You’re strong enough, your mindset’s strong, your body’s strong, you’ve just got to get out there and do the miles. I believe in you mate and I hope you raise loads of money and have an amazing run.”

Joe’s best known for his uplifting exercise lessons during lockdown.

Sam, self-employed recruitment consultant and part-time musician, received the devastating diagnosis of low-grade glioma after he suffered a cluster of grand mal seizures whilst on the train.

His symptoms are now managed with medication, while his tumour is monitored on 'watch and wait' approach. 

Niro, who is married to Sam’s sister, said: “I had an inkling Sam would do it, that’s why I roped him into it. We did a kickathon for the charity last year, which was a lot of fun, and we were thinking of doing something else this year, so why not run a marathon? We’re both into fitness and it just felt like the right thing to do.

 “I didn’t quite realise the amount and intensity of the training we’d be doing. It’s a lot during the cold winter months but the motivation is that we’re doing it for the charity so, whether or not we feel like it, we’ll get it done.”

Sam continued: “Sam said: “Niro and Ahi are amazing. They would literally run through brick walls for me. They’ve carried me through this whole thing and continue to do so. I’m very grateful and overwhelmed but I shouldn’t be surprised by now.”

Support and share the Sole Brother's fundraiser here.