A keen runner from The Sixth Form College, Solihull will be taking on the Virgin London Marathon next month, as he looks to raise money for a charity close to his heart.

Tom Holwill (aged 18, from Solihull) will be running for the charity Changing Faces, which is a UK charity that supports and represents people who have disfigurements of the face or body from any cause.

"I chose the charity Changing Faces because my 15-year-old sister Abbie (who goes to Hazel Oak Special School) has a disfigurement and I know what great work the charity does," said Tom. "I contacted the charity and said I wanted to run the London Marathon on their behalf. They had five Golden Bond places available and originally I was number seven on the list, but two people have had to pull out and so I’ve got my place."

He will join thousands of other runners at the prestigious event, one of the most famous marathons in the world on Sunday 25 April 2010.

"I’m hoping I’ll be able to make it round in under four hours. I’m really into my running and I’ve done a lot of training, so hopefully I can hit that target."

Tom is in his second year of A Level Studies at the College, having come from Lode Heath School. He is studying Economics, Geography and German and hopes to take up a place at Keele University to study Business Management after College.