A Letchworth runner is set to take on his longest route yet - the Grand Union Canal Race - in support of the Alzheimer's Society which supported his friend's family through a dementia diagnosis.

Kazimierz Layton will take on the 145-mile race between his home city of Birmingham and London, raising money for the charity which supports those living with Alzheimer's after a friend of his was affected by the disease.

He said: "A close friend of mine recently had to go through a horrid year while his father-in-law very quickly succumbed to dementia so I wanted to do something small to help.

"Thankfully his father in law is now in a home and receiving the support he needs but seeing what they went through was a real eye opener as to how quickly life can change."

Kaz started running around five years ago and has taken on a number of smaller challenges for Alzheimer's Research, NSPCC and the British Liver Trust in the past.

"I've always chosen charity causes close to events that may be impacting friends and family," he continued.

"My friend and the whole family went through a really rough six months. His father- in-law took a turn really quickly. One week he was fine and the next he was struggling.

"The Alzheimer's Society has really helped them."

Kaz uses the Greenway and surrounding trails in Hitchin and Baldock for his training, running around 25 miles a day.

"I'm pretty nervous," he continued. "The drop out rate for the race is about 50 per cent normally, so there's quite a high chance of failure - but still worth giving it a go.

"When I started running a few years ago, just doing 10k was a massive achievement. I'm a really slow runner which is why I try to do longer distances.

"I've never tried to raise anywhere near £5,000 before, but given the distance I thought it was worth it and people have been quite generous."

Alzheimer’s Society is the UK’s leading dementia charity. It campaigns to fund research to find a cure and support people living with dementia today.

For more information on the Alzheimer's Society, go to alzheimers.org.uk.

To support Kaz, click here.