A MOTHER and son team from Powys will be joining thousands around the UK taking part in the virtual London Marathon this weekend.

Dan and Melanie Graham will be doing their marathon a little differently – trail running across the treacherous and challenging Epynt mountain range near to their Builth Wells homes as opposed to most people who are sticking to as flat a route as possible.

The peaks and trough nature of their run is Dan’s payback after his mum – a 59-year-old veteran of the London and New York marathons – entered him without him knowing.

“Mum originally got a place at London – she’s run it before and wanted to do it one more time before she turns 60,” said Dan of Mel, a fitness fanatic and former gym class instructor who reaches the landmark birthday in January.

“She said she’d still do it locally like a lot of people are and asked me if I’d join her, and I said I’d at least try and do some of the journey with her.

“But then she went behind my back and entered me into the full marathon and didn’t tell me until after. She only told me three weeks ago.”

Dan is no stranger to fitness challenges himself. He’s a keen mountaineer and has entered several races held around mid Wales over the years – including completing the world famous Man v Horse race in nearby Llanwrtyd Wells solo last year (the race, similar in length to a marathon at approximately 22 miles, is typically run in a three-person relay).

The 36-year-old has also previously completed the Fan Dance, a civilian fitness and navigation phase mirroring the selection process for the UK’s Special Forces, which is held each year in the Brecon Beacons.

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“If I was going to do this I wanted to do something a little different,” said Dan, a member of the grounds team at the Royal Welsh Agricultural Society.

Mum and son, both members of Builth and District Running Club, will begin their route in Tirabad, near Llanwrtyd, heading over the Epynt Way to Cwmowen, coming over Pant-y-Llyn Pool and back down off the range into Builth.

“When we get back into Builth we should have covered around 24 miles so we’ll head over the bridge to Llanelwedd and back and finish on the Groe,” he added.

“Mum’s done the London Marathon once, as well as Amsterdam, Edinburgh and New York whereas I’ve never run a marathon, but Man v Horse is close – but mum’s ran that 10 times.

“There’s going to be around 3,700 feet of climbing I think and the last third of the run will be the toughest, and it could be bleak up on the Epynt if the weather’s bad.

“But it’s just something to overcome and we’re not bothered by what time we do it in, I just want to have a good time with my mum. We’ll go at her pace and I should be fairly comfortable.”

Dad/husband Kerry will be leading the support team, offering help along the route on his mountain bike, while Dan’s wife Jade will also be assisting at food stations along the way.

The virtual marathon takes place this Sunday, October 4, with participants up and down the UK running their race any way they see fit, and as slowly as they like. It just has to involve a route comprising 26.2 miles and be completed within 24 hours.

Participants still apply to London organisers for a spot and get sent a bib number and a medal for taking part, while each runner can be tracked via an app.