By Scott Cooper
February 20 2005

WOLVESFC.CO.UK catches us with Phil Bant, the man who is running the London Marathon for Charity, following Wolves poor 2-2 draw with Gillingham. Phil needs your help.

"One of the biggest & best things I've ever been a part of!" Said Phil Bant in an interview with wolvesfc.co.uk after Wolves' shocking 2-2 draw with Gillingham at Molineux on Saturday.

Obviously Phil wasn't talking about the football. Just sitting in the stands at Molineux on Saturday was cruel. Instead Phil is talking about a marathon he will be running in less than two months time.

On a day where the guts of highly-paid Wolves players were put into question, Mr Bant was preparing for one of the most gruelling challenges of his life, but a challenge he'll do all in the name of charity.

Towards the end of last year Phil's son, 3, was diagnosed with mild autism and now he'll run the London Marathon, dressed as Superman, to raise money for The National Autistic Society.

"If I stop and think about the day I get butterflies in my stomach, because it will be one of the biggest & best things I've ever been a part of!" said Phil two months before the April 17th start date.

Phil is looking to raise £10,000 and has already raised an impressive £1,600. However Wolves fans are yet to dig deep. As the official marathon runner for Wolverhampton Wanderers, Phil is hoping Wolves fans will support him and sponsor him for the longest five or six hours of his life.

Wolverhampton Wanderers have donated a signed shirt, which can be won by you. Tickets cost £1 and can be purchased by emailing shirt@philsmarathon.com. A Charity Disco will also be held at Molineux on Saturday 2nd April. For more information email disco@philsmarathon.com

Phil really needs your help and your money. If you would like to sponsor Phil then doing so by his website http://www.justgiving.co.uk/pbant is the easiest way.

We will be working closely with Phil pre and post marathon, so keep checking back to keep informed with his progress.

Fans at the Watford game will be able to see Superman running around the pitch with his son, Harry, during the half time interval.

A transcript of the interview is below;

How is the training going?

It was going great, I was up to 37 miles over a week with my longest run 19 miles on a Sunday, but this week I've only done 9 miles as I've come down with this cough & cold, so I'm resting up, but hopefully next week I'll be back on track, my legs feel fresh from the rest anyway, and I was ahead of my training plan and I've got 2 months left!

What will the money raised be used for?

The money will all go to the 2 charities I am representing, The National Autistic Society & Autism West Midlands. It will be used on projects such as phone help lines, parent support groups/services, parent training classes, awareness campaigns, research and generally making sure people affected with autism & their families receive the support & services they need.

The 1st £1,500 I raise goes to the National Autistic Society. 75% of anything raised after the 1st £1,500 goes to Autism West Midlands who have promised to use the money specifically for projects in Wolverhampton. (The other 25% goes to the National Charity)

Do you have any idea of how much you wish to raise?

As much as possible (laughing!). I'm up to £1,600 already which I'm pleased about because it means the smaller local autism charity starts to get the majority of the money (75%) so I want to continue on so I can help them as much as possible too.

How have Wolves fans helped so far?

To be honest, so far, it's mainly been friends, family & work colleagues that have supported me together with local businesses (donating raffle prizes & sponsorship donations) & a couple of National companies making donations. But I'm appearing in the program notes for the Watford match and Rachel (Heyhoe Flint) at Wolves wants me to run round the pitch at half time with my little boy, Harry, so I'm hoping that the fans will support me then or when they see me out and about between now and April by buying a raffle ticket for the signed shirt or buying a disco ticket.
 

Are you looking forward to it/nerves etc?

If I stop and think about the day I get butterflies in my stomach, because it will be one of the biggest & best things I've ever been a part of! (apart from seeing Wolves promoted at Cardiff!) can't forget the wedding day & the birth of my little boy either!

Honestly I can't wait, but I know it will be here and gone before you know it, a bit like Christmas when your a kid, all the anticipation and build up and then you blink and it's over! So I want to make the most of it, really take it all in and soak up the atmosphere, as it's my first one. I think the Superman costume will add to making it more memorable and get the crowds behind me too! 4 or 5 hours running seems a long time but it will be culmination of months of training so, I know it will seem afterwards like its flown by.