Forty-nine-year-old businessman Guy Wolstencroft broke his back after playing rugby seven years ago.

After months of agonising pain and two major operations, Guy made a promise that he would complete an Ironman competition following his recovery.

Tomorrow (Saturday), Guy aims to complete that promise as he takes on the Triathlon X, ’The World’s Hardest Ironman’.

The challenge starts at 4am with a 2.4-mile swim in Lake Windermere, followed by a 112-mile bike ride, finishing with a 26.2-mile run to the top of Scarfell Pike, over 21,000ft, and back down again. He hopes to complete the challenge by midnight.

Guy decided to team up with DKMS, a charity dedicated to the fight against blood cancers and blood disorders with a mission to provide a matching donor for everyone in need of a blood stem cell transplant to help raise awareness.

Instead of asking people to donate funds Guy hopes to encourage 226 people to register as a potential blood stem cell donor with DKMS. The figure represents one person for each kilometre that he swims, rides and runs on the day. Help Guy with his challenge and register for your home swab kit at dkms.org.uk/guyironman.

Every 20 minutes someone in the UK is diagnosed with a blood cancer, such as leukaemia. It is the third most common cause of cancer death in the UK but less than half of the UK population are aware of blood cancer issues.

Guy, a father of two daughters and owner of Isle of Man Hearing Solutions, said: ’Life is so precious, to help someone who is in desperate need will be the greatest gift you could ever give. That’s why I’m asking people to register as a potential lifesaver with DKMS. You could be the match for someone who desperately needs a life-saving transplant. Imagine how great that would feel knowing you’ve helped to extend someone’s life by giving them a second chance.’

Guy isn’t a stranger to a challenge in 2014 following two years of extensive rehabilitation he came up with the ’Fancy Sharing a Pint’ challenge. Guy ran a full marathon and urged 1,400 people to donate a pint of their blood within 30 days.

The campaign was a success and saw more than 10,000 people register.