The Waterside half-marathon had been called off, yet Danny turned up - alone - at the starting line on the day and did his 13.1 miles.

“Gerry Lynch and Noel McMonagle were waiting for me at the finish with my t-shirt and my medal,” he recalls. “They said they heard I was going to do it but couldn’t mention anything to me as the event was officially off.”

And so Danny is the only man to have done the half-marathon in Derry in each of the past 26 years - and he’s planning his 27th now in Gransha on Saturday September 13th. He’s also done the five marathons held in Derry.

“I believe in the gladiator approach,” he says, “Get out there and do it. It’s you and the road, there’s nobody else. Nobody else can collect your t-shirt and medal.”

Danny has his own approach. He’s doing six miles on the machine in Platinum gym four days a week, Monday to Thursday. He also had a five-mile round trip on the bike each day to do it. On Saturday he spends two hours on the exercise bike in the gym and does weights.

He says he’s jogging on the machine because his legs were feeling it a bit on the road.

He has a daily stretching routine “to keep the bones limbered up” and does his kata - a set of judo exercises - and relaxation. He’s a black belt in judo.

Danny’s aim is to finish the half-marathon in around the two hours ten minutes mark, about ten minutes a mile pace.

“I do it comfortably enough,” he says, “That time leaves you near the end of the pace - there are a lot of athletes in there!”

For him, it’s about a personal challenge.

“It’s a way of expressing yourself and about the enjoyment and pleasure you get out of it. It’s the time and effort you put in and the sacrifices in terms of your family, your social life, even your sleep! And of course the discipline.”

Danny has an extra challenge this time as his training is being interrupted - for a good reason. He and his wife Rose are off to Australia for three weeks soon to visit their son Daniel and daughter Annie, and see their little granddaughter Angelica Roe for the first time.

“I hope my training beforehand will be enough to carry me through,” he says.