Two friends from Derry who were reunited by chance at the London marathon will return to the banks of the Foyle this weekend to take on the Walled City Marathon together.

Paul Nelis (pictured), who is originally from the Bogside area, and David McGillan, both moved to London after being friends whilst attending St Columb’s College.

However, both men lost contact with each other until 2008, when they met by chance at the London marathon.

Both have remained in contact ever since, sharing a passion for running, which has seen Paul complete the London marathon six times and also take part in the Dublin marathon.

After having completed the London marathon last month, both then signed up for the Walled City Marathon where they will run under the banner of the “Legenderry Exiles.”

In addition to a welcome return to his home town, Paul, who now lives in Reading where he is married with three children, now hopes to use Sunday’s event as a stepping stone to qualify for a much sought after place on the Boston marathon.

“I've been running on and off for several years but now that I'm hitting 50 next year and I wanted to try and qualify for Boston,” he said.

“Boston is the oldest annual marathon and you need a ‘good for age’ time to qualify for it.

“Qualifying for it is an achievement in itself, so I'm aiming for 3 hours 20 minutes and then I go into the ballot.”

Paul added that he and David are looking forward to seeing a few familiar places – and faces – along the 26.2 mile route at the weekend.

"Running a marathon in my home town is going to be very special,” he continued.

“The combination of spotting friends and family in the crowd and running past so many of Derry's landmarks will hopefully spur me on to a good time.”

Liam also issued a call for other ex-pats from Derry to join him and David on other runs, the next in line being the Dublin marathon later this year.

Both men are also aiming to raise funds for Amnesty International by completing the Walled City Marathon.

If you would like to run the Dublin marathon with the “Legenderry Exiles” contact Paul at pnelis@rocketmail.com.

If you have a story or want to send a photo or video to us please contact the Derry Now editorial team on 028 7129 6600 for Derry City stories Or 028 7774 3970 for County Derry stories. Or you can email gareth@derrynews.net at any time.