Athletics legends Steve Cram and Sally Gunnell have turned their attention to a new challenge this spring.
RUN FOR GLORY
Eight episodes, with an hour-long special to close the series on 24 April
Every Thursday at 1900 on BBC1
Starts 2 March 2006
Together they will train a group of 13 novice runners to compete in the London Marathon in a new show for BBC1, Run For Glory.
These would-be competitors have never attempted a marathon before.
The young, the old, the overweight, the unfit, the smokers and the party animals all number among them.
However, they all have one thing in common: they believe that if they complete the race their lives will change for the better.
Lost confidence will return, love lives will flourish and job prospects will improve.
Over a six-month training period under the guidance of former Olympians Cram and Gunnell, Run for Glory will follow every high and low, every test and triumph as the runners prepare for this great challenge.
Each of the would-be athletes has a compelling and emotional story to tell - and a point to prove.
The programme features a young man who wants to show the world that living with HIV is possible, a separated mum of two who is trying to rebuild her life after breast cancer and a former investment banker who became visually impaired after a serious road accident.
Gunnell and Cram will put the athletes through their paces
And the series promises to reach an emotional denouement on Sunday, 23 April 2006, when the runners line up with 46,000 other contestants for the start of the London Marathon.
Will they make it? How will they cope with the setbacks? You can follow their progress through the show, which runs every Thursday night on BBC1, starting on 2 March.
The 13 Run for Glory candidates are:
- Dean Smith, a financial adviser who is struggling to come to terms with his stepson's suicide - running for The Samaritans / If U Care Share Campaign
- JJ Luck, a 41-year-old party animal who has survived breast cancer - running for Breast Cancer Care
- Clint Walters, a young man who wants to show the world that living with HIV is possible - running for Health Initiatives
- Linda Ball whose son has Muscular Dystrophy and she wants to raise awareness for the disease - running for Muscular Dystrophy Campaign
- Jerry Hodgson, a grandfather and former Royal Marine who is battling a virus that can cause paralysis - running for The Musgrove Special Baby Care Unit, Taunton Hospital
- Julia Kerslake, a separated mum of two who is trying to rebuild her life after breast cancer - running for The Bob Champion Cancer Trust
- Steve Dale, a bereaved accounts clerk who wants to date again - running for CRY
- Preeti Brar, an overweight graduate who has always been bullied - running for ChildLine
- John Dawson, a former investment banker who became visually impaired after a serious road accident - running for the Greater London Fund for the Blind and Merton Sports and Social Club for the Blind
- Michelle Thomas, a chain-smoker who wants to change her current lifestyle - running for Number 28, a National Children's Homes' project
- George Ikediashi, an overweight law graduate and drag queen - running for Shine Theatre Trust
- Sarah and Jeremy Allen, Sarah and Jeremy, have been married for 33 years and believe the only way they will succeed in completing the marathon is to do it together - running for The Guy Hilton Asthma Trust and The Alzheimer's Trust