Alun Cairns MP, who is set to run his 9th London Marathon on Sunday, has joined Marathon runners from across the House of Commons as they prepare to take on the challenge to raise funds for good causes.

The Vale MP is running to raise funds for the event's official charity Macmillan Cancer Support and also for Atal Y Fro, a women's aid charity based in his constituency.

In total, 22 MPs and two Peers are set to run the 26-mile course. This includes 17 Conservative, 5 Labour and two Scottish National Party representatives. Ahead of the run, seven cross party MPs met outside Parliament on College Green to discuss their preparation and the challenge ahead.

This year there will be a mix of veterans and newbies. Alun Cairns, the fastest of the parliamentarians in 2016 with a time of 3:28:02, will be running his 9th London Marathon, while there are also 11 first time competitors. All will be running to raise funds for local and national charities.

Alun Cairns, a member of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Running, stated, "It is fantastic, after a two-years away to see the return of the London Marathon. Although very tiring, you get such a buzz to run the world-famous course."

He added, "It was great to catch up with fellow MPs and Peers who'll also be running on Sunday, to share tips for training and running the race. Some colleagues are faster than others, but it is just such a great opportunity to challenge yourself while also importantly raising money for charity. Charities have greatly missed the London Marathon and the millions of pounds that are raised as a result. Hopefully we can all raise more money than ever this year."

Former MP Matthew Parris holds the record for the fastest MP to run the London Marathon with a remarkable time of 2:23:57. Mr Cairns stated that, "it was very unlikely for anyone beat that time this year. That time is almost Olympic standard!"