A mum of two from Teignmouth is running the London Marathon for a third time to raise money for a charity that supports families with disabled children.

Rachel Ramsden, a 43 year old medical secretary, is raising money for Contact. She has chosen the charity, which provides support, advice and information to families with disabled children, because she has seen first-hand the difference it makes to families in the UK.

‘My youngest son, Harvey, is 8 years old and is autistic. He is also non-verbal and has learning and developmental disabilities and needs help with all aspects of self-care,’ Rachel said. ‘I wanted to raise money and run this year’s London Marathon for a charity that understands the challenges families like mine face when their child needs additional support,’ she added. 

Rachel has been training hard through the hard winter months and is looking forward to joining the 50,000 runners taking part in the London Marathon on Sunday 21st April. 

‘This will be my third marathon and I am determined to come in under 5 hours,’ she said.

‘Running 26 miles is a monumental challenge and we're incredibly proud and humbled by Rachel and all our runners’ dedication, hard work, training and fundraising to support our work,’ said Contact spokesperson Kaya Korablina. ‘It really does make a huge difference and helps us to continue to provide vital support to families with disabled children up and down the country.’

To donate visit Rachel’s JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/rachel-ramsden-1691423480263