Mark (46) and his 19-year-old daughter Molly will be taking on the Royal Parks London Half-Marathon in October to raise money for Coeliac UK, which provides help and information for sufferers across the country.

He was diagnosed with the coeliac disease at the age of 30 after he lost a lot of weight and was finding it difficult to work in his high pressured job.

The condition causes the body to react to gluten, which is found in cereals, wheat, rye and barley, damaging the gut and causing a number of different symptoms.

Sufferers can feel abdominal pain, tiredness or have hair loss and a lot people can also find the disease, which can also cause depression and infertility, very debilitating.

Mark said: "I had lost a lot of weight, was finding it difficult to work and my wife was finding me difficult to live with too. I was 30 at the time with a young family and a busy job in print for Marks & Spencer so I didn't have time to be ill."

Since being diagnosed the charity Coeliac UK has provided support and assistance to help Mark maintain a good diet and build back his fitness.

There is currently no cure for the disease and sufferers have to maintain a gluten-free diet in order to stop any recurring symptoms.

He added: "The internet was not there back then and there was not so much knowledge of the disease. There were no gluten-free products and without the charity it would have been very difficult.

"This run is my chance just to give something back to the charity which has helped me."

Mark will take on the half-marathon on October 1.

He will also be taking part in the Coast to Coast cycle ride from Workington across the Lake District to Sunderland in three days in September.

To sponsor Mark visit the web page at www.justgiving.com/streetteam.