The Voice of Spalding and South Holland
Zoe Rayner, who is running the London Marathon in aid of Marie Curie.
Three friends have been braving the winter weather to get in training for the London Marathon.
Spalding women Zoe Rayner (24), her sister Hannah Rayner (26) and friend Kayleigh Wells (27) are gearing up for the “massive challenge” in aid of three very different but equally worthy causes.
Zoe is running in aid of cancer care charity Marie Curie, Hannah for mental health charity Mind and Kayleigh for deafblind charity Sense.
Zoe said they chose their charities as they are particularly close to their hearts.
She said: “I chose Marie Curie as my grandad on my dad’s side has been diagnosed with lung cancer and has already had bowel and prostate cancer before and Hannah has chosen Mind because a lot of the family on our mum’s side have suffered with mental illness and our other grandad is currently suffering from severe Alzheimer’s.”
All three girls have run two half marathons in the past, but said this is their most challenging event so far.
And they are hoping to raise as much sponsorship as possible.
Zoe, who now lives in Leeds, said: “People have probably seen us all running round Spalding – when we have 20 miles to cover on the longer runs you get to see quite a bit of the town.
“As well as helping the charities, the more money we raise, the more motivated we feel.”
And Kayleigh added: “I will be needing as much support as I can possibly get to get me through the training, not to mention the 26 miles of the marathon.
“I am sure many people will have seen us out running and know how much time and effort is spent on training in all kinds of conditions, so we will be grateful for any donations.”
Zoe, Hannah and Kayleigh each have their own Virgin Money giving pages where donations between them have already topped £2,000.
To donate, go to uk.virginmoneygiving.com and search for the girls’ names under the Make a Donation section.
The 2015 London Marathon is on April 26.
