London Marathon runners' six weeks training for Capt Tom charity

Captain Tom's daughter and grandson pose with the three runners, next to a sign with the alternative spelling of the Bedfordshire village

Three people who only started training for the London Marathon six weeks ago are to take part in the race to raise money for the Captain Tom Foundation.

Tracey Sabey, Rob Whaley and Liam Mannion said they had been "inspired" by the late Army veteran who raised £38m for NHS charities.

They are from the same Bedfordshire village where Capt Tom Moore lived.

Capt Tom's daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore said: "The legacy lives on - it's extraordinary what they're doing."

Most people spend months training for Sunday's 26-mile (42km) race, but the trio were only offered places six weeks ago by the charity.

Capt Tom's fundraising activities began after the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, when he did 100 laps of his garden using his walking frame. He died earlier this year, aged 100.

"Having lived in the village of Marston Moretaine alongside Captain Tom during the pandemic, we have seen first-hand what an amazing impact he had on the world," the runners said in a joint statement.

"When we were given the chance to run the London Marathon for his foundation we jumped at the chance."

Capt Sir Tom, originally from Keighley in West Yorkshire, won the nation's hearts with his fundraising walk which took in 100 laps of his garden

Mr Mannion, 62, who ran the London Marathon in 1986, broke his leg earlier this year and only resumed running in May.

"This is about raising as much money as we can to inspire hope where it is needed most," he said.

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Ms Sabey, 44, who started running two years ago, said she "couldn't say no".

Mr Whaley, 35, who ran the London Marathon in 2019, said his wife worked for the NHS and the three runners had "helped each other through it" so far.

Ms Ingram-Moore said: "What they're doing is ensuring that last legacy of hope, that my father left the world, lives on.

"We feel their pain... almost."