A young man from Haddenham finished the London Marathon last weekend in just over five-and-a-half hours in aid of the Muscular Dystrophy UK charity.

Casey McKenzie says he took part in this year’s race for Muscular Dystrophy UK because his five-year-old niece was diagnosed with the disease when she was just one-years-old.

The 18-year-old, who had never run long distances before, has so far raised more than £5,000 for the charity after setting a modest target of £1,750.

Being cheered on by his family, friends and his niece, Casey managed to finish the race with a time of 5:37:21 on Sunday, April 28.

He said: “Running the London Marathon was one of the best experiences of my life. The atmosphere on the day was absolutely fantastic and I had huge amounts of support.

“Seeing my niece and the family at mile 12 on Tower Bridge was a real lift and this was a great part of the course to run through.

“I was struggling when I got to the last four miles, but when I got to mile 24 the atmosphere and encouragement in that last stretch was lifting everyone and carried me home.

“My time of five hours and 37 minutes was much better than I thought I would do and has helped me believe in myself more.

“Running the London Marathon for this incredible charity is my best life experience so far.”