Very occasionally top-level sport has to be played behind closed doors.

It’s most common in football and the reasons may include punishment for a team found guilty of a certain act in the past, stadium safety issues or because a team’s supporters have misbehaved.

Marathon man Phillip Howells may well be running behind closed doors on Sunday – although not in the conventional sense – but rest assured that the 72-year-old hasn’t done anything wrong!

You see, the Tewkesbury Running Club member will be competing ‘behind closed doors’ because he’s taking part in The Green 26.2 Mile Shepton Mallet which will be run in and around a Victorian prison.

The race organisers describe it as “a one-off unique event” and Howells said: “It sounds like a bit of fun.”

Competitors are encouraged to compete in fancy dress and Howells, who once ran a marathon dressed as a nun, said: “I’ve got a skull mask, I might wear that.”

But while the race will clearly be fun – the prison closed in 2013 and is now a visitor attraction and event venue – for Howells the race will very definitely have a serious side.

That’s because he’s already run well over 270 marathons and has set himself the goal of running 333 by the time he retires from the sport.

He’ll have to go some in Somerset though because there’s a cut-off point of five-and-a-half hours and he’ll also want to conserve some energy for the following Saturday when he’s entered the intriguingly named Divorce Day Marathon.

That will take place in Telford and Howells said: “The race is over three laps. You run the first two laps with a ‘partner’ who runs at a similar pace to you and is selected by the organisers.

“At the start of the third lap we run in opposite directions and when we meet halfway round we have to decide whether to stop and talk to each other!

“It’s all a bit of fun.”

If Howells completes both marathons it will take the number he has run to 276.