A Bushey resident has raised more than £6,000 for charity as her and two friends took part in the Virtual London Marathon in October.
Debbie Nathan, a teaching assistant at a school in Stanmore, asked her pupils to suggest famous London landmarks to visit along the way, taking pictures of each as she arrived there.
Originally, Debbie was registered to run the Brighton Marathon, but was moved to the London Marathon when it was cancelled.
She decided to raise money for Lymphoma Action, after her friend’s 18-year-old daughter, Sophie, was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in November 2019.
She said: “A year ago I never thought I would be raising money for charity in support of someone so young, so vibrant and with so much in life to look forward to.
“We found out that Sophie, the lovely daughter of our friends and my neighbours Karin and Perry, was diagnosed with cancer and all of a sudden the marathon isn’t about what we can achieve; it’s about how we can help Lymphoma Action support those affected.
“As inspiring as it is to see how Sophie, such a beautiful, courageous, strong young woman fight the disease, it is still heartbreaking that she’s even had to.”
Karen’s students in the Stanmore school suggested many London locations to visit along the way, and she admitted she enjoyed the occasion and is looking forward to doing the real thing next year.
Among the locations visited was The London Stadium, Buckingham Palace, The London Zoo, The Shard and London Bridge.
She added: “It was extremely wet, and very different to what everyone is used to seeing in a marathon, but I enjoyed it so much. The pupils at school suggested to go and see different London tourist attractions and that’s exactly what we did.
“I ran with my good friends Sue Donaghy, who ran it with me, and Sam Blood, who was on the bike making sure we had water ready for us. We’re down to do it again next year, and we’re looking forward to it already.”
On Debbie’s fundraising page, she set a target of £5,000 and has already smashed that as the total currently stands at £6,400, at the time of writing.
To continue to support Debbie’s cause, head to uk.virginmoneygiving.com/Debs-Claud.
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