A KEEN runner is to celebrate turning 40 by running 40 miles for charity.

Breton Holdsworth will take on the ‘massive challenge’ this Saturday, one day before his birthday.

He will run from Bolton Abbey to York Minster and will be raising money for the North West Air Ambulance in the process.

“This is the furthest I have ever run,” he said. “I’ve done a marathon before and I do a lot of running but this will be the biggest challenge yet, it’s massive.”

Breton, who lives in Worsthorne with his wife, Paula, 39, and two children, Roanna, 10, and Finan, eight, has been out for a run every day since the start of 2012, a total of 948 consecutive days.

He said: “My wife is used to me, she knows I take on these challenges. I do a minimum of two miles a day.

“It can be quite hard at times, when you’ve just got back off holiday or on Christmas Day or New Year’s Day.

“It tests motivation and your mentality, which is quite important with these longer runs.”

Breton, who works in communications for Ericsson, will set off from Bolton Abbey at 5am, and aims to arrive in York Minster for dinner time.

“We drove the route a couple of weeks ago and I was surprised at the number of hills,” he said.

“I’ve been doing about 60 to 70 miles a week and a long run of 20 to 22 miles at a weekend.”

He decided to support the North West Air Ambulance having seen first-hand some of the work they do.

“I’ve seen them helping people when I’ve been out on fell runs,” he said. “They are a fantastic charity who do a great job and are very worthy of support.”