Matthew Loddy is keen to stress he is not a long distance runner - but as the 46-year-old Kings Langley businessman sets off for his 91st marathon in as many days this morning (Friday), it is hard not to take that claim with at least a slight pinch of salt.

The scaffolding firm boss of Watford Road is nearing the end of a test of endurance so gruelling, few have ever attempted it and even fewer have succeeded.

All being well, he will cross the finish line of the London Marathon on April 22 having completed 100 marathons in as many days, running more than 2,600 miles from the Algarve, Portugal to the finish line on The Mall.

Mr Loddy is running in memory of former colleague Phil Latham, who died of stomach cancer in 2010 aged just 36, and hopes to raise £100,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust and St Francis Hospice in Berkhamsted.

Speaking on Wednesday after completing his 89th marathon the day before he crosses the channel back into England, he said: "It’s definitely another milestone coming back to England but I have learned to take each day as it comes.

"I have been thinking about the end but I cannot let myself think too much about that, every time I do something else goes wrong so I’ve just got to get through this."

Along the way, Mr Loddy has had more than his fair share of adversity, he has been attacked by birds of prey in the French countryside and suffered numerous muscle injuries which he attributes to the strain of the challenge.

He lost three days of running owing to three separate hospital visits for treatment on an infected blister but last Monday he finally caught up his marathon-a-day average having increased daily distances by 25%.

Throughout this, his support team has consisted of one man, his 84-year-old father Tom.

""There are bits of me that aren’t working but that’s to be expected after 89 marathons," he added.

"When I finally cleared the backlog by doing a marathon and a quarter for four days, that felt good. That was one of the high points.

"Whenever I have had a lot of problems, just getting it done is a high point.

"Phil passed away two years ago on April 6 and that was the day I did my fastest time, although I managed to beat it the next day."

Most surprisingly, Mr Loddy, once a promising young footballer, only began long distance running in September last yearand completed his first training marathon on October 26.

He said: "After the first run I did a marathon on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and the day after.

"I used to run along the canal down to Denham and ran the dogs around Cassiobury Park and West Herts Golf Club."

TO donate please visit www.frameworkfoundation.co.uk Waiting at the finish line will be his wife Karen, 46, and daughters India, 20, and Jemima, 16.

And asked what he was most looking forward to about finishing, Mr Loddy’s answer is clear: "I haven’t had a drink since August 31, so a pint of London Pride will do nicely."