Two friends are lacing-up their trainers for a good cause having lost a parent at a young age.
Emily Lawrence and Lauren Drakard (both 31) are friends from childhood and both their families took holidays together.
They are going to be running a marathon to raise money for charities which are very personal to both of them.
“We wanted to turn difficult experiences into something positive. By taking on this marathon together, we hope to raise funds for two charities that are incredibly important to us and we would like to spread the word,” said Emily.
She lost her mum Tina Maltby in 2023 at the age of 63 to MSA (Multiple System Atrophy).
Her friend’s dad Steven Drakard died of cancer on June 7 this year at 62.
“I completed a marathon run in April 2023 with my family when my mum was alive to raise money for the MSA Trust. But since then I haven’t been able to run because I had a lot of miscarriages (four in total) and then pregnancy and recovering,” said Emily.
“Losing a parent in your 20s and 30s is something you never expect and never want to have to go through,” the pair have put on their fundraising page via GiveWheel.
The pair will be taking on a personally-planned and routed marathon with their family and friends supporting and running alongside on the day.
Megan Gray is part of the running support team while Abbey Barnett is looking after social media for the venture.
“We hope to raise awareness and funds for two causes that mean so much to us, while honouring the people we’ve lost and celebrating the friendship and support that carries us through the hardest moments,” said Emily, a mum of two.
Sponsorship is via the givewheel.com wesbite und the In Their Footsteps 2027 heading.
