ONE marathon runner has chosen an unusual method of training to get race-day fit.

Tom Elliott, who works at Ford Farm as a master cheese grader is getting in shape by weight lifting - cheddar style.

Tom is committed to getting the rest of his body into shape in anticipation of the London Marathon, which he intends to run for the first time to raise funds for children’s charity, Phab Kids, in April.

His job involves picking out the best of batch cheddars for customers including Tesco and Waitrose as well as choosing cheddars for the top UK cheese shows. As part of his job at Ford Farm on the Ashley Chase Estate in West Dorset Tom can be moving up to 200 x 27kg Cheddar truckles per day, both into the Farm’s newly built ‘Cave’ – a structure that has been built into the hillside to cater for the increasing demand for Ford Farm’s Cave Aged Cheddar as well as 200 feet underground in the Caves at Wookey Hole in Somerset.

Aside from Cheddar Weight Lifting, Tom is also up at 5am every morning, beating a path around West Dorset’s undulating, and often physically challenging landscape, building up to the fully 26.2 miles required to achieve a full marathon.

Tom, who already has two half marathons under his belt, is a father to two young girls, Emmie and Flori and is passionate about encouraging his family to make the most of the great outdoors, rather than becoming slaves to TV and tablet screens. Phab Kids, a charity that has been in existence for nearly 60 years, is devoted to encouraging and supporting children and adults with and without disabilities to make more of life together through activity projects which range from archery to abseiling to table tennis.

Tom said: "This is a great opportunity for me. It gets me out into the countryside training, which I love, and to support a cause that’s really meaningful to me, too."

To support Tom, visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/thomas-elliott5