A Teignmouth lady has raised more than £3,000 for Children with Cancer UK after running the TCS London Marathon last weekend (April 27).

Cath Merrick organised street collections, cake sales, a quiz and secured sponsorship from local businesses smash her original fundraising target of £2,500.

This was Cath’s second marathon. Her first, 20 years ago, was the result of a drunken dare.

‘When I was 30, someone bet that I wouldn’t be able to run the marathon. So I trained in 12 weeks and finished in 4 hours and 55 minutes,’ she recalled.

For someone who had suffered badly with asthma as a child and never thought she could run, this was quite an achievement.

‘It wasn’t until I hit 30 that I learnt how to manage my asthma,’ Cath admitted.

Having completed her first marathon, Cath was determined to run another. However, failed attempts to get a ballot place and having children delayed her second marathon.

Cath Merrick celebrating completing the TCS London Marathon with her daughters.
Cath Merrick celebrating completing the TCS London Marathon with her daughters. (contributed)

Turning 50 gave her the incentive to try again and after failing to secure a ballot place, Cath applied to run the marathon for Children with Cancer UK.

‘It’s a lovely charity,’ Cath said. ‘One of the things the charity does is to give children a bead of courage for every stage of their treatment. The beads form a necklace that represents their, often long, journey towards recovery.’

‘I had beads attached to my shoes, representing bravery, and these will be sent to the charity to be given to children as a special memento,’ she added. ‘The children will be told that these special beads have run a marathon.’

‘Every time I looked down at my trainers, it was a reminder to me to pull myself together and keep going.’

‘Running at 50 is not as easy as when you are 30,’ Cath commented. She cites parkrun as a particular help, both in terms of offering a chance to run consistently, but also as a boost to mental health.

‘Training for the marathon was a lot harder, physically and psychologically, than I expected. But I am proof that anyone can do it if they put their mind to it and there are so many people out there that will support you.’