Singer Barry Edmondson from Wimborne won’t be running the London Marathon – he’ll be walking. And if it takes him seven hours to finish on April 26, he’ll be happy.

Because Barry has entered the London Marathon twice and both times had to pull out because he suffers Crohn's Disease.

Although he raised more than £3,000 for the charity Bowel & Cancer Research last year, this year he says he has unfinished business with the 26-mile event.

“It’s just about the most important thing I have ever done. I simply have to finish it,” said Barry, 30, who is the lead singer with rock band The Benedicts.

“My family thinks I’m insane for even attempting this a third time. But the disease has taught me that sometimes there are battles in life you just can’t win. I cannot fight my illness – I can only live with it.

“Finishing the London Marathon is about accepting that Crohn’s Disease is now part of me. It’s about closing this chapter in my life, letting go of the things I’ve lost in the past few years and appreciating the things I now have.

“I will probably walk most of the way. I have crawled through a hell that most people can’t imagine, so this will be a walk in the park in comparison.”

Barry, from Stapehill Road, Wimborne, fell ill in April 2011. It was 18 months before he was diagnosed with Crohn’s, a chronic inflammation of the intestine for which there is treatment but no cure.

He spent weeks in hospital and now manages his condition with medication, a strict diet and IV infusions every eight weeks. He has also suffered from depression.

His mum and dad, Julie and Bryan, have been hugely supportive, along with his three sisters Heather, Hazel and Holly.

So have his fellow band members. The Benedicts have just come back from a five-week stint on a cruise ship around Northern Europe. And they’re performing in Bournemouth the night before the marathon.

“It means I’ll be knackered – the whole thing is ridiculous, but if I don’t do this now, I’ll never do it,” said Barry.

He has been given a marathon place by the charity Bowel & Cancer Research, for whom he raised more than £3,000 last year before being forced to pull out.

“I can never forget the people who supported me last year – it was unbelievably generous,” he said.

The Chief Executive of Bowel & Cancer Research, Deborah Gilbert, thanked Barry for his support. “We applaud Barry’s courage and determination. Crohn’s Disease is a lifetime, chronic condition and what he is doing is truly heroic.“

Anyone who wants to support Barry can do so at http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/RunBarryRun

www.bowelcancerresearch.org