No, your eyes are not deceiving you, this photo was indeed taken at a recent parkrun at King George V playing fields in Cheltenham.

And it’s fair to say the inflatable dinosaur has become a familiar sight to runners in and around the town in recent weeks.

The costume belongs to Arnie Delstanche, a keen runner, who moved to Cheltenham from Portsmouth a couple of months ago.

The inflatable dinosaur has also been seen out and about at the parkrun at Pittville Park and at last month’s Linda Franks 5 Mile with the 29-year-old Arnie saying: “I ran the parkrun at Pittville Park the first weekend I was here.

“I’m already quite well known. I’ve run about eight to 10 times since I’ve been in Cheltenham, people have noticed that there is a dinosaur prowling around!”

Arnie, who has joined CLC Striders, first started running during Covid – he’s a decent runner - but it was only last year that he ran as a dinosaur for the first time.

“It came about after a drunken conversation over Christmas,” he explained. “We were discussing what would be the most exciting costume to run in.

“It was my New Year’s resolution to run a parkrun as a dinosaur, it was supposed to be a one-off.”

Except it wasn’t a one-off, of course. But even Arnie, who won a national award when he was working for the Civil Service a couple of years ago, could not have foreseen the impact he would make.

So much so that he now holds the world record for running the fastest marathon in a full-body inflatable costume, posting a time of four hours, seven minutes, 46 seconds in Tromso, Norway, in June.

That was good but now he’s hoping to go even better at this year’s London Marathon on Sunday 26^th April.

“I’m hoping to run sub four hours, but it depends on the weather,” he said. “The costume is like a portable sauna. If it’s hot in London then I won’t set a new record but if it’s mild I’m golden.

“The best way to deal with a portable sauna is to run in cold conditions, that’s why I chose Tromso. The conditions in the Arctic Circle are ideal even though at midnight the sun was still up.

“That was a bit a bit disorientating but it was cool!”

Arnie, who was running in his familiar T-Rex suit – he runs under the alias Terry Rex when in full costume – has a busy few months ahead.

He’s preparing for another big challenge later in the year because he’s got his eyes on a trip to West Africa to take part in the Sierra Leone Marathon.

“I’ve been invited to run by Chris Green, who has done something like 125 marathons in a rhinoceros costume, I may take him up on his offer,” said Arnie, who these days is self-employed.

Green, who is from Dorset and known as Rhino Boy Chris, has raised more than £37,000 for the charity Save the Rhino.

Arnie, meanwhile, will be running the London Marathon for a charity that is very close to his heart.

“I was offered the chance to run by Cancer Research UK,” he said. “Three family members have unfortunately passed to cancer, it is something very dear to me.”

Arnie was also treated for cancer when he was 20 but happily he is fighting fit these days.

He says he is “training extra hard” for the race in the capital, a race that finishes in front of Buckingham Palace.

That will bring back some happy memories for Arnie because it was at the palace that he received his Young Civil Servant of the Year Award, which was presented to him by the King.

Running 26.2 miles will also bring back some happy memories because, when he’s not running as Terry Rex, he’s recorded some impressive times.

He completed his first marathon in Portsmouth in 2021 in three hours, 25 – his best is three hours, 16 - and he’s running the Edinburgh Marathon in May when he’s aiming for a new PB.

“I want to see what I can do,” he said. “I’m pretty sure I can get sub three hours.”

Anyone wishing to support Arnie in the London Marathon should visit https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/arnies-giving-page-4