TWO years after Franny Benali's epic Big Run he and his family are preparing to go through it all again.

Franny's 1,000-mile trek to every Premier League club during three memorable weeks in August/September 2014 was a challenge like no other, for Karen and their children, Luke and Kenzie, as well as the head of the family.

Benali's Big Race is even tougher: a 1400-mile-plus odyssey to every Premier League and Championship football club on foot and bike in just two weeks, starting at AFC Bournemouth on October 2 and ending a fortnight later at St Mary's.

"I'm a little scared," admits Franny, who will be running a marathon each day. "I know the pain and discomfort I'll be putting myself through and the last time I cycled regularly was on my Grifter as a kid!"

Franny will have even more motivation as he aims to exceed the £265,000 he raised for Cancer Research UK two years ago.

His father-in-law, Bill Welch, has since been diagnosed with prostate cancer, two family friends have died of the disease and another is fighting colon cancer.

"As you get older you become more aware of cancer's effects," says Franny, 47. "The good thing for Bill is that survival rates are improving and thankfully his treatment has gone well.

"Things would have looked a lot bleaker 20 years ago."

Franny and Karen's late friends, Dave Hill and Terri Barnard, will also be in the forefront of their minds when the going gets tough.

"Terri was an ambassador for her sister Tina Wellman-Hawke's cancer charity [the Dave Wellman Cancer Trust], which is how we got into Cancer Research," says Karen.

"She was such a beautiful, lovely lady and Dave we all loved so much too. They were a major part of our life."

Dave was a popular figure at The Dell for many years.

"Dave worked in the players' bar  in the seventies and had a heart of gold," says Franny. "He drove Bally (Alan Ball) and Mick Channon, and then worked with Matt [Le Tissier] as a driver when Matt was doing his speaking engagements round the country.

"Even in his last weeks he would ask how everyone was and how they were getting on.

"His first concern was always everyone else. Our friend Vicky, who is about Karen's age, is another driving force as she fights her battle against colon cancer.

"All of these people, along with Bill, have reinforced the desire to raise money for Cancer Research UK and  help them in their fight to come up with a cure."

Bill will be part of the support team again this time.

The Benalis laugh as they recall the Hawaiian shorts he wore throughout the Big Run, having not intended to stay beyond the first day.

"I got sucked into it," explains Bill. "I thought it would be a jolly, that there'd be time for a couple of beers at the hotel every evening. But we didn't eat till 10pm and were often up at 4am."

This time they will be more prepared. Bill, a Saints season-ticket holder long before his daughter met Franny in the Southampton nightclub that is now Kuti's Thai Pier - "I marked her closer than any striker," smiles Franny - will not miss a day of the family's latest adventure.

"I'll be absolutely bursting with pride," he says. "People used to call Franny on animal on the field with all the bookings he got, but I've always said he's the softest and nicest guy around!"

With the start less than a month away, the excitement is building at the family home in Portswood, where several reminders of Benali's Big Run are on display - including the Barclays Spirit of the Game award and Just Giving's celebrity fundraiser of the year.

"Every conversation comes round to this challenge and I feel a little guilty that I'm putting everyone through this again," says Franny, who is focused on putting on more weight, having lost a stone during the Big Run.

"I was always 11st 3lb as a player and am currently 11st 5lb. I was a tad heavier during a recent cruise where I had licence to eat but with all the training I've done I'm back to my usual weight."

Benali's children are helping whippet-lean Franny add a few more pounds. Luke, 23, is a maths tutor with a first-class Economics degree from Southampton University, while Kenzie is Saints' matchday presenter.

But it is their culinary skills that Franny is utilising in the build up to his Big Race.

"Luke is trying to hit the gym to pack a bit of muscle on so he's regularly eating as part of his programme and encourages me to say when he's reloading," added Benali, who burned 5,000 calories a day during the 2014 challenge. "Kenzie and Karen also cook and are into the health and fitness so that helps."

Franny's family will soon be required more than ever.

"People thought the family tagging long must be nice for them but they were working their socks off and I feel a little guilty that I'm putting them through this again," admits Franny.

"It would be easy to sit here and not do anything again, but knowing how many people are affected by cancer is driving me."