He may have captained in an FA Cup final and been capped nine times for England, but now ex-Rochdale midfielder Geoff Thomas is facing a very different type of challenge as he prepares to tackle this year's Flora London Marathon. 

Diagnosed with chronic myleiod leukamia in 2003, Thomas defied doctors to survive past the six months they gave him to live, and has since been dedicating his life to raising money and awareness to battle cancer through his charity, the Geoff Thomas Foundation. 

Thomas said: "My battle against the disease has been the toughest of my life and that is why I have dedicated my five years in remission to raising money and helping those who are less fortunate than I was.  

"Central to our fund-raising is running the London Marathon in April - this will be a huge task, not only physically, but also preparing mentally for the challenge." 

If you want to make a donation to the Geoff Thomas Foundation you can do so by going online and visiting www.geoffthomasfoundation.com/donate.html. 

The marathon undertaking comes on the back of cycling the gruelling Tour de France route last year along with fellow ex-England star Ian Wright, as well as running the Great North Run in 2006 with his wife Julie. 

Thomas is running with friends, but wants to go a step further in his fund-raising efforts by encouraging ballot-place runners to support his charity.  

The minimum levels of fundraising do not apply to ballot place runners, but this means that anything they can raise will be a bonus for that charity.  

In addition, running for a charity means that they will have company on race day, and may even find support from the knowledge that every mile you run is helping a worthy cause.

Thomas added: "We are hoping to encourage keen participants to sign up with the Geoff Thomas Foundation to help us drive fundraising and bring more money to medical research into cancer and cancer treatments."

For more information on the Geoff Thomas Foundation, visit www.geoffthomasfoundation.com. If you are interested in running for the Foundation, contact Becky Frewing on 07796 681299 or email info@geoffthomasfoundation.com.