Boy runs marathon on his birthday for military charity

A wannabe Royal Marine spent his 17th birthday running a marathon in order to raise money for Help for Heroes.

Mitchell Harris covered the 26.2-mile distance on Wednesday (April 18th) by doing 105.5 laps of his school's 400m running track, the Northamptonshire Evening Telegraph reports.

"I wanted to raise money for Help for Heroes because I want to join the Marines and one day it could be me who needs help from the charity," he added.

The lad has set himself a fundraising target of £1,000 and praised the support he has received from his friends and family.

As Mitchell entered the final few laps, some of the pupils at Wrenn School lined the track to give him the encouragement required to complete the task.

His father Stuart told the paper he is very proud of his son for putting in such a great effort for a worthy cause.

Posted by Trevor Smith