BRIERLEY man Joe Worthington has just completed eight marathons in nine days - culminating by running the London Marathon in sandals on Sunday - but he’s showing no signs of slowing down.

The 46-year-old has always been a keen runner but it’s fair to say his latest mission has certainly been his toughest.

He has been raising money for the MS Trust for the last decade after his wife, Debbie, was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis 20 years ago.

He’s raised more than £35,000 in the process - and he’s raised more than £4,500 during his latest fundraiser.

That started with seven marathons in seven consecutive days - and it wasn’t as bad as he thought it would be.

He said: “I’m doing surprisingly okay.

“I don’t know how.

“The toughest day of the week was end of day one.

“I had lots of friends running with me for support for most of the days so that was really nice.”

He took a deserved break on Saturday - but not for long as he geared up for the biggest challenge of the lot, competing the London Marathon in barefoot sandals.

The footwear he chose were minimal and are designed to allow your feet to move and flex naturally, as if you were walking barefoot.

And he amazingly managed to complete the marathon in three hours 41 minutes.

“My feet are doing okay - it was actually quite surprising,” he added.

“I had a couple of blisters but nothing major.

“I got round in three hours 41 minutes which is about an hour faster than I thought I’d be able to.

“We’ve raised over £4,500 - the target was £2,500.

“I didn’t even think it would reach that so it was so nice to see the support.”

But despite the mammoth challenge, Joe’s showing no signs of slowing down.

“I’m still out running,” he said.

“I’ve got a marathon planned in June so I’m preparing for that.”