Among the runners at next month's London Marathon will be the 42-year-old principal at the Open Youth Trust, which runs the Open Youth Venue in Norwich.

Sarah Mintey, pictured, from Cromer Road, Hellesdon, hopes to raise about �3,000 by running the 26.2mile race on April 22.

She will be raising money for the Ormiston Children and Family's Trust, which works to improve the wellbeing of children, young people and their families.

She said: 'It was a dare from a friend, just saying to me 'Why don't you do it?'

'I secretly wanted to run it years ago, and it was on my 'to do' list, but I never got round to it. With no real history of running but a sucker for a good cause, I'm still in a state of shock that I'm doing it.'

Miss Mintey, who has been Open's principal for about two years, but was a trustee from its inception in 2004, has never run a marathon before, but is training hard.

'I used to do a lot of walking in the Peak District. I started off training really well, but it's slackened off a bit. But I'm now doing regular 10km runs where I live and at parks,' she added.

Last year, the Ormiston Trust helped over 100,000 children and their families. It has over 40 community and prison-based projects across seven counties, and works in schools, children's centres and with families in their homes to give them the support they need.

Ormiston was founded by the Murray family following the death of Fiona Ormiston Murray on her honeymoon in 1969. The family wanted to create a lasting memorial to a woman who loved children but was denied the chance to have her own.

The Open Youth venue in Bank Plain is home to recording and dance studios, media workshops, free internet access and a drop-in service.

If you would like to support Sarah go to http://www.marathonnewstv.com/?f=Sarah-Jane&l=Mintey&ch=Ormiston%20Children%20%26%20Families%20Trust&n=1 or http://www.justgivingcom/Sarah-jane-Mintey.

Are you running the marathon? Email david.balle2@archant.co.uk