FORMER United winger Danny Wallace insists he will complete the London Marathon by the end of the week.

The 42-year-old former Southampton and England star has multiple sclerosis, the debilitating condition which means he can only walk the 26-mile course and must take regular rest spells to combat severe fatigue.

Wallace, who had clocked up 15 miles by this afternoon to reach Canary Wharf, is hoping to complete the remaining 11 miles by Friday but knows it could be longer.

But if that means he will raise MS awareness, then the gruelling journey, which has seen his unsteady legs send him toppling to the tarmac on more than one occasion, it will be worth it.

He said: "I'm hoping to finish on Friday but it doesn't matter when I finish just as long as I do. So if it is Saturday that will be fine.

"To tell you the truth it has been easier than I expected. Don't get me wrong, it has been tough and my legs are very tired but I have done 15 miles now and am raring to go for the last 11.

"I'm more than halfway now so it is all downhill now. I have got to Canary Wharf so I can push on a bit.

"The support has been absolutely brilliant. We have been getting cars coming up to us and donating. We even had Frank Maloney stopping people to get donations."

Goal

Boxing promoter Maloney had been joined by another figure from the fight game, former middleweight champion Michael Watson.

And Watson, who famously defeated Nigel Benn in 1989, knows more than most what Wallace has been going through as he had struggled to complete the 2003 marathon, long after his career was ended in 1991 when he suffered brain damage in a title joust with Chris Eubank.

Watson was convinced Wallace would realise his latest goal.

He said: "I have been confident all the way.

"It's all about self-belief. It's all mental. All things are possible if you believe in yourself - and he does. So he has done the marathon already. He has crossed that line before he had already started."

Wallace, who lives in Manchester, has set up the Danny Wallace Foundation to raise money and awareness about MS and donations can be made via the dannywallacefoundation.org website.

He said: "A lot of people don't know much about the disease and to tell you the truth I don't either. The type I have is spinal MS, which affects the right side of my body.

"There are two forms of it. One is really aggressive and attacks the brain and the other the central nervous system. It is a terrible disease.

"I have just set up my foundation and we haven't really put a limit on how much we expect to get. As long as we raise awareness and raise as much money as possible the marathon will be a good start for us."

Wallace is unlikely to finish last in a race which was completed by most competitors on Sunday.

Another entrant is also still going - the man dressed in a suit of armour and towing a large dragon to commemorate St George's Day.

Wallace said: "We left him way back at Greenwich. He's doing really well. He's pulling a lot of weight too so my message to him is `Keep it up mate'."

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