A DAY at the beach is currently no picnic for a Bridport man who will be pounding the streets of London at the weekend.

Dorset’s NFU county adviser Matthew Uren is currently hard in training for the 2014 London Marathon.

He can regularly be seen on the coastal pathways between Dorchester and Lyme Regis.

The 26-year-old has put himself under a strict training regime for his first ever marathon.

And there have been quite a few sacrifices to get himself ready for his big day on the run in London.

Matthew has cut out alcohol and long training runs now take up a significant amount of his free time.

He said he couldn’t have done it without his girlfriend, Ciara, who has been joining him on training runs along the Jurassic Coast and has even taken up his super-healthy diet in support of his efforts.

He will be running for Farm Africa, a charity working with families in rural Africa, helping them to produce food more effectively, by providing training and support to help farmers improve the way they manage their crops, livestock, forests and access to water.

Matthew said: “Coming from a farming background, and now working for the NFU, I have a real interest in farming and food production.

“The work that Farm Africa is doing to help people produce their own food is something I really believe in, so I am delighted to be able to do my bit for the charity in this way.”

He said he has had a lot to learn in preparing for Sunday’s gruelling run.

“I’ve never done a marathon before, or a half, or actually even a 10k – so it has been a steep learning curve,” he admitted.

“But I’ve learnt a lot over the last four months. I am doing my best to eat the right foods and to train ‘smart’ with a mixture of long runs and interval sessions.

“Running the marathon is my way of raising awareness of the good work Farm Africa does, and I hope to raise a good amount of money too.”

When asked what he’s most looking forward to after he’s finished, Matthew said: “I haven’t really thought about it; I’ve been so concentrated on actually running the race it’s difficult to think about anything beyond that.

“A beer perhaps – and pizza.”

Donations can be made to his fundraising page at uk.virginmoneygiving.com/MattUren