A Carlisle bus driver is set to exhaust himself in the name of charity by running two marathons in the space of a week. 

Damian Rys spends his working hours sat down, transporting the people of Carlisle via bus - but reaches some of his highest speeds on his own two feet. 

The avid runner is set to take on both the Boston and London marathons in April with the aim of raising as much money and awareness as possible for two charities that are close to his heart; MND (Motor Neurone Disease) and Carlisle Eden Mind. 

The 30-year-old has known two people who have lost their lives to MND, and has had his own struggles with mental health, so wants to support two fantastic charities with his marathon challenge. 

Damian said: "I wanted to run them both because they're two of the biggest marathons in the world. I wanted to challenge myself to do something harder than I've ever done.

"I'm always trying to help people who struggle with mental health, as I have experienced it myself, I thought 'why don't I just run for two charities which are very close to me.'"

Damian runs for around one or two hours a day and Boston Marathon on April 15 will be his 11th marathon in total. 

He also wants to promote his life as a bus driver by running in his uniform, which will be 'mentally and physically challenging', but is something he is looking forward to.

He added: "Drivers aren't mentioned enough when it comes to mental health. I know so many drivers that struggle but unfortunately they are never heard.

"I want to spread awareness that you are being heard, you are not alone and if you need to talk then there are always people that are willing to listen."

Despite donning a bus driver uniform, Damian is still targeting a time of under three hours in each marathon.

He concluded: "I know at some point by body will switch off. I want to prepare myself mentally for hitting the wall and push myself to the finish line."