Former St George's Mayor and radio host E Michael Jones has pledged to “run whenever people are watching” in the May 24 marathon, for the New Beginnings $1 Million Campaign in support of Bermuda's youth.Rather than accruing sponsors, Mr Jones — a former Mirrors coach — wants supporters to give directly to the campaign.Half of the $1 million will fund education grants for young people who have completed personal development programmes such as Mirrors.The other half is aimed at bringing back the Mirrors community programme for 19 to 24-year-old males, suspended after Budget cuts in 2010.A veteran of Celebrity Lock-Up, Mr Jones added that he was happy to suffer for a good cause.“As this is my 60th year, I wanted to do this to support Mirrors and New Beginnings, and as a goal for myself.“When I say ‘run', I mean that I'll try to run whenever there are people around.“I'll get there if it kills me. I'm not a runner, but I've just lost 65 pounds,” he said. “I'm sure there will be pain and agony, but I will complete the task.”At just over 13 miles, the half-marathon will be a first.“I'd like to add, as a St George's boy, that I think it would be a much shorter half-marathon if we ran from St George's instead of Somerset,” he said.Coaching young people in last year's Cohort Seven, Mr Jones ended following the progress of three participants.“We were short of coaches so I took on three, and it worked very well,” he recalled. “Young people respond better in group situations.“One of my young people received great accolades and a certificate for achieving very good results. I've also been involved in PRIDE for more than 20 years, so working with Mirrors just comes with the territory.”He said: “For the race, I've asked anybody who's in support to contact New Beginnings and make a pledge.“We need to support our young people, because that's what life is about. They're the ones who are hopefully going to take care of us when we're older.”A New Beginnings relay team will also be running on behalf of the campaign, launched by The Royal Gazette. Founder of the New Beginnings Educational Trust Kerry Judd has also called for Mirrors graduates to help with soliciting pledges. Pledge forms are available from Mirrors, at 294-9291.