PRESTON Athletic FC captain and ex-Royal Marine Dale Pennycuick is swapping his football boots for running shoes as part of a gruelling challenge.

Tomorrow (Friday) at 8pm, he will set off from his home and run four miles, before running another four miles four hours later.

That same pattern will continue for 48 hours, with the midfielder hopefully reaching the finish line on Sunday evening having completed 48 miles.

Dale will be taking on the challenge for Rock2Recovery, which offers support to serving members of the armed forces, veterans and their families with mental health issues, the majority encountered whilst serving.

He said: “I thought if I was going to do something like this then I would try to incorporate raising money for charity.

“One close to me with being an ex-Royal Marine is Rock2Recovery.

“It was set up by two ex-Royal Marines to support members of the armed forces with their mental health. It is something we have seen over the last few years that has taken a huge spike because we know a lot more about it.

“Mental health and ex-forces definitely needs to be looked at.”

Pennycuick, who is in his fourth season with the Pennypit side, was a member of the Royal Marines for five and a half years.

During that time, he served in Afghanistan as a signaller and took part in overseas training exercises.

The 31-year-old, who now works as an area manager for Openreach, told the Courier that he had received plenty of support from his East Lothian team-mates and manager Jack Lynch.

He said: “Everybody has been keen to support me.

“Most of the guys on the team have donated to the charity.

“It has been great and a few of them have said they will run a couple of legs with me.”

The former Dalkeith and Craigroyston player will set off from his home in Liberton tomorrow evening and will try to recover between his runs in the spare room at his home with wife Becky.

Pennycuick, who has already raised more than £800, revealed the hardest aspects about the challenge.

He said: “It’s the distance over such a short space of time.

“It is 48 miles but more so getting up at 4am, then 8am, and then at noon.

“In between the runs, you are going to have little time to recover and get sleep.

“Your body is going to be pretty beat up and it is a bit of a shock to the system and not sleeping as much in between the runs.

“You want to get food on board and get as much rest as possible.”

Manager Lynch praised his captain for his efforts, which come at a time when players at the East of Scotland Football League (EOSFL) club have not kicked a ball since Boxing Day, when they lost to Stenhousemuir in the Scottish Cup.

He said: “It is a fantastic thing that he is doing.”

To sponsor Dale, go to teamfortitude.uk/collections/team-members/products/dale-pennycuick