A Budleigh Salterton woman has launched her bid to raise £2,000 ahead of her first attempt at a marquee endurance challenge.

Debbie Newson, 44, is looking to cycle 2,000 miles - on both stationary and moving bikes – in an effort to raise the £2,000 she needs to generate for Oxfam ahead of her first attempt at the London Marathon.

A requirement of her place through the anti-poverty charity is that she reaches the four-figure sum; following a static cycle on Exmouth seafront, the nurse has reached 165 miles so far and raised more than £360.

Debbie, who works at Halsdown Nursing Home, in Exeter Road, Exmouth, said her entry into the London Marathon next year took her by surprise, adding: “I wasn’t expecting to get in. I just realised that I really wanted to get fitter myself and having a goal like competing in a marathon is a good way of achieving that.

“Running isn’t something I have massively taken up in the past.

“I want to use it as a chance to encourage others to get into exercise.

“When you make the decision to apply it is such a good feeling and gives you that feeling of self worth.”

It was when Debbie was training for the Three Peaks Challenge, which involves climbing the tallest mountains in England, Wales and Scotland, that she watched this year’s London Marathon on television and was instantly hooked.

“While I was training for that, I ran eight miles and I thought if I can run eight miles I can run 26,” added Debbie.

“I turned up for the Three Peaks challenge and I was absolutely terrified but I managed it and it was absolutely fantastic.”

Since then, her training has centred on building up her muscles and stamina ahead of the 26-mile race in the capital next year.

Debbie has also competed in the Great West Run, recording a time of two hours and 26 minutes.

She will take part in another static cycle on Saturday, November 24, in Budleigh town centre, as she looks to take a step closer to her £2,000 target.

Anyone who wants to donate can go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/debbie-newson