A SHOP worker from York is preparing for his first marathon, to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust.

Ric Fisher, 32, works at Topman in Coppergate, hopes to raise thousands of pounds running for the charity in next month’s London Marathon.

Ric, who lives in Edgeware Road, in Fishergate, has worked as a creative specialist at Topshop for seven years, and said he was lucky to be chosen to take part in what will be his his first marathon, although his fundraising did not stop there.

He said: “I’ve never run any kind of marathon, or even half, so this is a big personal challenge. I have to raise £2,500 and my total so far stands at £2,250. I’ve also shaved my head and facial hair to show my dedication to this cause.”

Topshop regularly supports the Teenage Cancer Trust and the charity gave Topshop/Topman a choice of places to run for them this year.

Ric said: “After completing a 10k run with a friend last year, I decided to put myself forward for the marathon and I was chosen out of hundreds of other staff.

I’m chucking myself right into the deep end. I only started running in May when my friend Jodie took me to the Castle Howard 10k trial run and I had a run with a marathon runner to pace me.

“My fastest time was ten miles in 55 mins, and I shocked everyone how well I did for my first main run.

“My training is going okay, I still need to get a 20k under my belt. I’m competitive so that will carry me through.

“I’m very excited about the London Marathon and running with the Teenage Cancer Trust team, and would love to thank everyone for their help and support.”