RUNNERS during this year's London Marathon maybe alarmed to find themselves being chased by a great white shark.
But they need not fear, as it will be only Graham Hill, science officer at The Deep, who is running the marathon on April 21 dressed in a great white shark costume to raise funds for the Shark Trust.
Apart from generating £1,000 for the trust, Mr Hill, 42, wants to raise awareness of the plight of sharks and rays, now some of the most endangered animals on the planet due to the impact of humans.
Mr Hill said: "Many people don't know that sharks are endangered and that 100 million are killed each year, mainly for their fins or for traditional Oriental medicines.
"But these animals are at the top of the food chain, they give birth in low numbers and grow slowly, all of which leaves them incredibly vulnerable to illegal fishing and they are also victims of bycatch fishing."
A keen runner, Graham has already completed the London Marathon in 2008 and 2010 and the Paris event in 2011. His best time is three hours 50 minutes.
Mr Hill had to run a trial event at the Silverstone half-marathon, arranged by the London organisers, to see if his three metre-long costume with its two-metre overhang would impede other competitors.
Luckily, it didn't and Mr Hill finished in two hours and four minutes.
The cumbersome costume is made from PVC pipe work and garden canes forming the skeleton with plastic welding wire holding everything together. The "skin" is an air mesh material while the teeth and fins are accurately modelled from fleece.
Training was stepped up to five days a week towards the end of last year which was interrupted by Mr Hill spending most of October in Sudan working on a manta ray conservation research project involving staff from The Deep, Equipe Cousteau.
Despite sharks being feared by many people, Graham found donning the costume brought out the best in people during the half marathon.
He said: "I had fantastic support with people wanting to have their picture taken with me or shake my hand.
"Other competitors got me drinks at some of the drink stops because my costume meant I couldn't squeeze in to pick up water.
"All the way round the crowds chanted 'Come on Sharkman.' Several competitors gave me a shout to say they had picked up a drink for me."
Mr Hill has already been sponsored by The Deep whose logo is on the shark along with that of the Shark Trust.
Visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com if you wish to sponsor him.
Mr Hill said: "Any donation would be very gratefully received and if there are any local businesses who could donate that would be incredible."