A STUDENT from the Royal Agricultural University in Cirencester is on a mission to raise £2,000 for charity by taking part in this year’s London Marathon.

Jamie Cipriani, who is studying business management at the Cotswold university, hopes to raise the four-figure to help the St John’s Ambulance charity.

The 21-year-old said: “I started volunteering with them a year or two ago now. They’ve really helped me to gain confidence in myself. St John’s is great because it is out there on a daily basis just helping to save people’s lives.”

Jamie, who hopes to become a district councillor in his hometown of Stroud, has set himself a gruelling training regime that involves going running at 5.30am before taking on a full day of lectures.

“I’ve been running for a few years now. I try to run five or six miles every other day and at weekends I make sure I run for longer, usually about 15 miles,” he said.

With less than two months to go before he takes on the epic 26.2 mile race around the capital, Jamie is using all his spare time to concentrate on funding.

He said: “I have set myself a target of £2,000. It’s going OK but I haven’t got as much money as I would ideally like.”

Jamie has been spreading the word about his marathon on Facebook and Twitter and has even been considering holding a bake sale as a way to raise more cash.

“I’ve always wanted to do something where I’m able to help people and I like the idea of doing a big challenge, something that a lot of people will take notice of,” he said.

“It’s only about 50 days away now. I’d say I’m more excited than scared, I just really want to get out there now.”

Anyone who would like to donate to Jamie can do so by visiting uk.virginmoneygiving.com/jamiefrancocipriani.