BONE cancer survivor John Applebee from Badshot Lea will run his 100th marathon this Sunday since a bone marrow transplant from his 16-year-old sister saved his life.

In 1988, John was taken ill with advanced leukaemia and was told he had a 50-50 chance of survival. But thanks to the skill of the doctors, and the incredible generosity of his sister, he made a steady recovery and in 1990 he decided to raise money for Leukaemia Research, now called Bloodwise Research.

John decided to train to run marathons and succeeded in finishing his first London Marathon in 1994.

Since then he has run another 98 marathons in various countries around the world, each time raising cash for research into the disease that nearly cost him his life.

As a result of these sponsored races, he has raised tens of thousands of pounds for cancer research.

On Sunday, John will be participating in Farnham’s now-famous Pilgrim Marathon wearing number one.

He said: “I’m really excited. It’s like, imagine you’re seven years old and it’s five days before Christmas.

“There are also mixed emotions too (approaching the 100th marathon) thinking about how I was told after the transplant and the chemotherapy and radiotherapy that my lungs wouldn’t be as good as they were. Also, thinking about people I’ve met along the way with leukaemia who have sadly passed away.”

By the end of 2013, the brave Badshot Lea man had run 52 marathons since 1994, meaning in the three years that have followed he has run 47 marathons – 20 in 2014, 18 in 2015, and nine so far this year.

The dad of two to eight-year-old twins Lily and George said Sunday’s race is a bit of a swansong with plans to run less marathons. He intends instead to train for an ‘ultra marathon’.

And when asked about what the best of the bunch was, the 52 year old was hard pressed in trying to name his favourite.

“I’d have to say the toughest are my favourites. I ran in South Africa in 2005, the Comrades Marathon, and I’ve also run London 11 times, New York twice and Paris once. I’d say the Pilgrim Marathon is one of my favourites, because it’s my local marathon.”

This event is organised by the Rotary Club of Farnham Weyside and was voted the ‘Best New (running) Event’ of 2010 by readers of Runners World magazine.

John has helped race organisers since its inauguration by acting as the “sweeper” to run at the back to ensure that no-one gets lost or left behind.

The event starts and finishes at The Sands recreation ground and everyone is welcome to cheer John and the other runners along.

Another runner notching up a record in this event is Farnham man Hillary Carter, who will be running his 200th marathon.

Hillary designed the original Farnham Pilgrim course and ran his own 100th marathon at the inaugural event in 2010.

The marathon starts at 9.30am on Sunday and the half-marathon at 10.30am.

The route passes through Seale, Puttenham, then on to St Martha’s Hill near Guildford via the North Downs Way, and returns along a parallel route.

The organisers are keen to minimise the disturbance to residents and all signage will be removed within a few days of the event.

To support John, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/apples100.