The TV barrister is looking to make the semi-finals of Strictly Come Dancing this weekend with a silky Samba routine with professional partner Oksana Platero.

Rinder is desperate for his Strictly adventure to continue, but if it is to be the end of the road, one of the first things he will be doing next week is digging out his running shoes to see if all that dancing has had an effect.

A keen runner, Rinder ran this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon, finishing in a very impressive time of 3:16:07.

That is not the 38-year-old’s fastest time over 26.2 miles, however. He ran 3:12:47 in London in 2011 and even went sub three hours at a marathon in Switzerland.

After a fairly frantic and physically exerting year, Rinder is not planning to run London in 2017 but is intrigued to find out if his dancing has helped his running.

“I have been surprised at how physical the dancing has been,” he said. “This might seem quite strange, but I never found running the marathon quite as challenging.

“Strictly does not require the endurance but it does get you very fit. Because I have been doing the training so intensely, I have not yet had time to find out whether it has improved my running or not, but it would be interesting.”

Rinder said he is loving the experience of performing on Strictly and though both the hit BBC show and the Virgin Money London Marathon are competitive events, that’s where the similarity ends.

“When I have run the marathon I don’t have any expectation on the Start Line,” he revealed. “I either underestimate myself or don’t have any expectation at all, that way I can never be disappointed.

“I’m surprised by people who get incredibly stressed on the Start Line. You have to remember that it is a test against yourself, not anybody else. You are not Mo Farah, you are not going to win it, so it’s purely a personal test.

“But Strictly is different. You are up against other people and the feeling before a dance is one of absolute terror. It’s the knowing that if something goes wrong halfway through the routine, you can’t stop for a drink or some Jelly Babies like you can do in the marathon!”

Rinder obviously has a natural talent for running. His training for London in 2016 defied the usual school of thought for marathon training – and yet he still recorded a time that many would envy.

“I didn’t do much training,” he said. “I went to Boot Camp and I was doing a lot of high intensity training but I only really started doing long runs about six weeks before the marathon.”

Rinder beat Ed Balls, another London Marathon veteran, in the dance-off last weekend to reach the final five in Strictly Come Dancing and he said he would be going into this weekend’s show with a simple message ringing in his head.

“I will do my best and enjoy it,” he said. “I think people should remember that about the London Marathon, too. People get so caught up in performance – and that’s great – but they forget to enjoy it all the way round.

“It is an amazing opportunity to run through London, parts of London you don’t know too well, and to enjoy the enormous goodwill of the spectators.

“Coming off Tower Bridge really is an amazing experience, as is coming on to the Embankment at mile 23. I don’t know a single person who has got to there and not found something extra.”

So it appears the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon is off the cards for now for Rinder, but he will be back at some point – and he may well bring one of his Strictly friends along with him.

“I spoke to Greg Rutherford about it during the show,” he said. “Greg is my best friend on Strictly and a fantastic guy and he said he would love to do the marathon one day, once he has retired. So one day we may do it together.”

Source: Virgin Money London Marathon