Leighton Buzzard student Luca tackles the London marathon for the first time for Mind

He claims he’s not a natural runner, but quantity surveying student Luca Bainbridge has been training relentlessly for the London Marathon to raise money for mental health charity Mind.

The 19-year-old Network Rail apprentice, who’s doing a five-year degree at Westminster University, says: “This is my first marathon but hopefully not my last.”

In spite of being a fairly sporty schoolboy – he swam for Linslade Crusaders at county level and was part of the award-winning Leighton Woodside Football Club team for nine years – Luca claims he was never a natural runner.

"I wanted to challenge and push myself past what I thought my physical limits were,” he says.

And he credits an app called Runna with helping him on his marathon journey.

"It took me from barely being able to run to my first 10km,” he says. “I’ve also competed in a Spartan 10km obstacle race and have completed five half marathons.”

His current longest training run is 30km but this will increase as the London event gets closer – it takes place on Sunday, April 21.

Luca admits it’s been challenging but fun and adds: “Overall I’ve thoroughly enjoyed it. I’ve pushed myself and surpassed my expectations – running greater distances than I thought possible and discovering so much about myself along the way.”

The former Cedars Upper School pupil isn’t too bothered about his finishing time but he’s set himself a fundraising target of £2,000 for Mind.

Luca says: “People’s mental health – including mine – was severely impacted during lockdown.”

He believes it’s a topic that should be spoken about a lot more openly – not only on the news but also in general at work and among friends, without fear of judgment or backlash.

"It’s inspired me to fundraise for Mind which is such a worthy cause,” he says. ”I know the money will be used to help prevent people developing mental issues as well as those who are currently experiencing them.”

If you’d like to support Luca visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/lucaslondonmarathon. He adds: “Please remember to use the GiftAid button as this increases the amount received by Mind at no extra cost to the giver.”