Great South Run: The man in gold takes on the Great South Run with only ten days notice

Tom Macpherson, 34, from Gosport, decided to take part in the 10 mile run when he saw a post of Instagram on 10 days ago, but when he went to sign up he thought the challenge was only 10k.

After realising its real length – the significantly longer 10 miles – he went for it anyway, and has raised more than £300 for Dougie Mac Hospice in Stoke.

His wife’s grandad needed the support from the team at the hospice, which sparked the idea to raise money for them, and he even managed to double his donations from friends as they dared him to wear a fully gold outfit.

He said: ‘It was my first time doing it. The people are amazing. It was when I hit eight miles, I started to struggle a bit, but the crowd kept me going. I think I deserve a beer now.’