PHOTOGRAPHER Marc West is usually featured in the Oxford Mail for his pictures, rather than for pounding the pavements.

But this time he has set himself the gruelling challenge of running his first marathon and raising £2,000 for charity.

The 33-year-old will be lacing up his shoes to complete the London Marathon in April for hospice Helen and Douglas House.

But he will also be turning his artistic talents to raising cash, selling bespoke postcards from photographs to help with the charity’s work.

Mr West said: “Having worked as a photographer for 10 years I’ve been there a few times, and it doesn’t take a second glance to see the work that they do is really valuable.”

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Based on Magdalen Road, Helen and Douglas House has been caring for terminally ill children, young adults and beareaved relatives since 1982 and now helps 300 families.

It costs £5m a year to run and the children’s hospice is heavily reliant on voluntary donations and fundraising.

Mr West, of East Oxford, said: “I’ve competed in a 10km run and a couple of half-marathons and did fairly well, so this seems like the logical progression.

“I am excited about it but also feeling the usual worries because it’s a big ordeal.”

Mr West is rising to the challenge over the next 16 weeks by training three times a day.

He said: “Training for a marathon you’ve got to start off with short distance running, then longer distance, then you get into stuff like interval training.

“You’ve got to watch your diet as well; it’s going to take over my life really for the next few months.”

The photgraphs Mr West will feature on his postcards were taken for a project called One A Day, in which he took one picture every day for a year and published them on his blog.

He will be selling them at Fusion Arts, in Princes Street, on March 7.

Mr West said: “It’s a different sort of way to fundraise and also 100 per cent of the proceeds will go to Helen and Douglas House.”

Helen and Douglas House spokesman Bobby Higson said: “We have 15 runners supporting us in this year’s marathon.

“Our fundraising target for all the runners is £24,000 but although the money is important the awareness that it raises is also important, and we hope that our orange T-shirts will get spotted along the course.

“We’re very grateful to the people who are running for us.”

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