After four years of running, radiographer Amanda is taking on the London Marathon for the first time. Amanda’s dream was to run a marathon alongside her aunt, who has been an inspiration to her, having taken part in 87 marathons, including six London marathons. Unfortunately, her Aunt passed away three years ago at the age of 52. Amanda says, “I'll be running with her in my heart”, and after lots of training she is finally ready to take on London.

Amanda’s friend Sue recommended that she run for Aspire because her dad sustained a spinal injury following a bike accident 16 years ago, and Sue was full of praise for the charity. Sue is also Amanda’s biggest cheerleader on Facebook and has been extremely supportive.

Amanda is a Lead Radiographer in an MRI unit, and was also a Neuroadiographer for eight years at King’s College Hospital so has seen first-hand the full impact of a spinal cord injury. Now, she is more Neurology-oriented, but the struggles faced are not dissimilar.

Amanda’s marathon training is going well. She has been doing serious miles on a Sunday morning and is training with her two best friends. As part of her training she ran the Big Half in her Aspire T-shirt and found it was great to run some of the London Marathon course, even though it was in the opposite direction.

“What started as a daunting challenge has become an exciting adventure, thanks to the support of my friends and the people at Aspire. They inspire me to get out the door when it’s blowing a gale and tipping it down. Bring on April and some sunshine! I cannot wait to line up in Greenwich on 28th April, proudly sporting my Aspire T-shirt ready to pound the streets of the most iconic marathon in the world.”

Amanda’s fundraising is going well and she is over half way to her £2,000 target. As well as receiving donations, she planned a fundraiser in conjunction with her local park run, where she dressed up and asked people to donate their miles, as well as spot prizes and cakes for sale.

Help Amanda reach her target of £2,000

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