And he couldn't think of a better way to start the day.

Mark said a love of running had brought him to enter this year's Gold Coast Marathon and the fact that it was being held on his 18th birthday was just an "extra incentive".

He hopes to complete the marathon in 3.5 hours and sees it as training for the Brisbane marathon which he intends to run in at the end of August.

He said he would spend the evening of his birthday, celebrating with a family dinner and have a party the following weekend.

Mark is currently studying for a degree in Bachelor of Business Accounting at QUT.

His training involves weekly runs of around 30km or more "anywhere in the Redlands".