He may only be seven but Jaaziah Van-Lowe has got used to running against athletes much older than him.

It has never deterred him and last year he was the youngest to run a relay leg in the Bermuda Day Half-Marathon Derby, completing the section from Barnes Corner to Burnt House Hill in less than 25 minutes. This year he has set his sights on an even more ambitious target of running from Lane Hill to the finish faster than 30 minutes with a view to raising $3,000 for charity.

If he succeeds, the money he raises will go towards fighting cancer, a disease that could have cost the life of a close relative just after he was born.

His mother Jamesha Van-Lowe told The Royal Gazette: “Jaaziah was born on March 13, 2008. A month later, my great aunt Isabelle Simons, who raised me like a mother, was diagnosed with breast cancer. She beat the disease, which took a huge amount of strength, especially at her age.

“Jaaziah learnt from a young age about Samson in the Bible and how his strength was in his hair.

“I decided to grow his hair and when he is ten years old, I plan on cutting it to raise money to fight cancer. At present, his hair is between 10in and 13in long.

“He says his lucky number is three. Therefore, he would like to raise $3,000 to fight cancer by running in the marathon and finishing within a certain timeframe.”

Jaaziah was the youngest to run on his school cross-country team and has been training hard to prepare for the big race on May 24. He would like to donate funds raised to PALS and Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre.

• If you would like to sponsor Jaaziah, you can contact the Bermuda Cancer and Health Centre or PALS and ask to make a donation under the Jaaziah Van-Lowe fundraising account, which is in the process of being set up.