Retired Thetford GP Dr Giles Smith, 75, from Sapiston, to run his fifth London Marathon

A former Suffolk GP is preparing to run his fifth London Marathon at the age of 75 – despite a foot injury.

Dr Giles Smith, of Sapiston, is a retired Thetford GP and will be taking on the annual event on October 2.

The pensioner is looking forward to participating again for the fifth time, but is running against the advice of his wife, Claire Smith, and admits she is probably right.

Dr Smith is struggling with achilles tendinitis, which is forcing him to train in special shoes with no absorption on his heel, which he described as ‘not very comfortable’.

“My wife, Claire, thinks I’m crazy really and doesn't want me to do this," he said.

“I have completed four London marathons, and they were all a long time ago so I am probably silly.

“I’m 75 and it should be time to hang up my shoes but I just think it’s another thing I’d like to get done. Yes, it is a little mad.”

Dr Smith is determined to complete another London Marathon after previously participating in 1988, 1993, 2001 and 2003.

He said: “I want to run it again because I’m fairly strong minded. I’m determined to do this again as it will be my last.

“I’ve done quite a few marathons for charity and I just have these two charities that I haven’t run for yet and I feel I ought to.”

The first charity Dr Smith is running for is, Against Breast Cancer, due to personal reasons.

The second charity is Give a Kidney. Six years ago he was one of the first 500 people in the UK to donate a kidney to a stranger.

He has previously ran for St Nicholas Hospice Care, Addington Fund, and the British Heart Foundation.

The former GP who worked at The Grove Surgery in Thetford for 32 years, is aiming to finish the marathon in under five hours, while his son-in-law Tom Copping will also be running at the same time.

Mr Smith has also biked for charity, completing the Land's End to John o'Groats cycle route in 2019.

He said: “That was quite a challenge but it was tremendous to have done something like that for Alzheimer’s Society.”