Richard Dare will be wearing his Sunday best on 1st October.

And no, he’s not going to a christening or a posh nibbles and drinks party at one of those fancy houses in the Cotswolds.

He is, in fact, taking part in the Cheltenham Half Marathon, which gets under way from Cheltenham Racecourse at 9am – it’s almost a case of who dares wins!

So why will he be dressed up like an accountant?

“I’m doing it for charity,” chuckled the 36-year-old, who owns James of Montpellier menswear shop in Cheltenham. “Some of my customers raise money for Maggies and I was wondering what I could do to help.

“That’s when I thought, ‘I’ll run the Cheltenham Half wearing a suit and raise some money for a good cause’.”

Now before anyone runs away with the idea that Richard will be there just to make up the numbers at the racecourse and will trail in among the stragglers finishing some time after midday, think again.

Because Richard, who is a member of Cheltenham Harriers, is a pretty serious runner. So serious, in fact, that he is hoping to set a new world record on Sunday.

So, how’s he going to do that?

“Well, there’s an official world record for someone running a half marathon in a suit,” he chuckled. “The record is held by Australian Michael Tozer with a time of one hour, 18 minutes, 10 seconds and I thought, ‘Why not have a go at it?’”

Not that it’s all been straightforward since he decided he’d try to join the likes of Usain Bolt and Mo Farah as world record holder.

“I rang up the Guinness Book of World Records and they’ve given me some pretty strict guidelines,” he added.

“To qualify I have to run in a suit, waistcoat and tie and my top button has to be done up.”

And that’s not the only requirement Richard needs to meet.

“I have to have my picture taken at the start of the race, in the middle and at the end and I have to video the whole race as well,” he said.

Phew, that sounds tiring enough even before Richard, who will have a GoPro camera attached to his chest to video his run, has started putting one foot in front of the other.

And talking of feet, what will Richard be wearing when he pounds the 13.1-mile course?

“I’m going to wear trainers,” he laughed. “That’s their one concession. It’s good news because I didn’t fancy a stress fracture after a couple of miles running in brogues!”

His target time is one hour, 16 minutes, which is two minutes slower than the time he achieved a couple of years in the same race – his personal best over the distance.

Richard, who went to the University of Gloucestershire and has stayed around here ever since, has only been running for “six or seven years”.

“I started because I thought I’d better get a bit more active,” he said. “I entered a 10K in Cardiff and although I didn’t do much training I did quite well and I thought, ‘I can be quite good at this’.”

He was right. These days he is part of the Harriers distance running training group and runs under the watchful eye of coach Dave Newport.

And a pretty decent set-up they are too as they are among the top 10 distance running teams in the country, numbering international Graham Rush in their ranks.

Richard, himself, has run for Gloucestershire in national cross-country events although he was sidelined for eight months at the end of last year and the beginning of this with a hip injury.

The dad-of-three, who is married to Sophie and lives in Upton St Leonards, is up and running again now though and recently won the Gloucester 10K.

And if he follows up by setting a new world record on Sunday, that won’t be the only crazy running achievement on Richard’s CV.

“I ran the Marathon du Medoc a few years ago,” he chuckled. “It’s quite a famous race. It takes place in Bordeaux and it’s the longest marathon in the world.

“Instead of water stations and stewards, it’s run through vinyards and past all these wonderful chateaux where you can stop off and have a glass of wine and a few oysters. Everybody gets so drunk that they’ve run 28 miles by the time they’ve finished!”

Richard will be stone cold sober on Sunday of course and the weather will be slightly different as well, which should also suit (if you’ll pardon the pun!).

“I want it to be unseasonably cold on Sunday,” he laughed. “I definitely don’t want any rain. I don’t want to ruin a £400 or £500 suit. Mind you, come to think of it, I’ll probably never want to see the suit again anyway!”

If you’d like to support the work Maggie’s in Cheltenham do in their provision of free practical, emotional and social support to people affected by cancer by sponsoring Richard, visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/jamesofmontpellier

Maggie’s Cheltenham relies on voluntary donations and fundraising to support and grow its network of centres and to develop its unique, high quality programme of support. The charity’s aim is to make the biggest difference possible to people living with cancer and their family and friends.

To find out more about Maggie’s Cheltenham and to see how the centre supports people with cancer across the Three Counties visit the Centre at Maggie’s Cheltenham, The Lodge, College Baths Road, Cheltenham, GL53 7QB or get in touch on 01242 250611.