The U's iconic mascot Eddie the Eagle is gearing up to the enormous feat of running the Virgin London Marathon in April in order to help raise some money for St Helena's Hospice.

To reach this tough achievement Eddie is training every day so that on Sunday, April 25th this spring Eddie will complete the 26.2 mile course.

We wanted to find out some more about Eddie's plans for the run.

What made you want to run the London marathon?
It will be a personal challenge for me in running for such a long time. Also it would be great to raise some money for St Helena Hospice.

Is there any particular reason for choosing St Helena Hospice as your charity?
St Helena's Hospice is a Colchester based charity, so it's close to home. Colchester United already has a good relationship with the charity, supporting fundraisers like the Midnight Walk, so it would be great to continue this further.

What preparations have you been doing?
Every day, I have been running around 2 to 5 miles.

How are you finding it?
I'm finding it very tough as we only decided to run the marathon nine weeks before we are due to run it! Yes, it has been and will continue to be hard work, but in the end it will all be worth it.

Are you running on your own?
No, I will be running with the Colchester United Retail and Ticket Manager, Lee Hyde. However Lee only found out he was running the London Marathon yesterday!

How much are you hoping to raise for St Helena's Hospice?
Between Lee and me we are hoping to raise at least £2,000 for St Helena Hospice.

How fast are you looking to run it?
Lee and me are looking to complete the 26.2 miles in under eight hours but just getting round the course and finishing it will be a great achievement.

How can people show their support for you?
Both Lee and I have got 'just giving' pages set up; www.justgiving.com/eddietheeagle or www.justgiving.com/leehyde.

Supporters will be able to sponsor us on sponsor sheets located in the Club Shop at the Weston Homes Community Stadium and our U's Central shop at Sir Isaac's Walk.

Any donations, however small will be much appreciated as it is all going to a brilliant cause.

Are you looking forward to running the marathon?
We're not looking forward to the intense training so much but we are really excited about running the marathon on Sunday 25th April.

Any good luck messages for the boys would provide them with huge support. After all, they're going to need all the support they can get!

So please get behind the boys and send your messages to media@colchesterunited.net to help them complete the London marathon and raise lots of money!