Hannah Roberts ran in the London Marathon on 13 April 2008 and she's giving all her sponsorship money to Rarer Cancers Forum. Hannah completed the marathon in 4 hours 30 minutes. At one point she was tripped up by a wandering pedestrian but after a brief visit to the St John Ambulance tent plucky Hannah was on the road again. Well done, Hannah, and many congratulations on this great achievement.

Hannah's story

"It is fair to say that until recently my life was more about Marlboro Lights and Manolos than training plans and treadmills as the closest I had come to a marathon was a chocolate bar from WH Smith.

5 months ago all that changed as I undertook the challenge to run the London Marathon and swiftly swapped Saturday nights on the party circuit for Sunday mornings on the running one! 15 pounds, 3 blisters and a nasty back injury later the alchy turned athlete stepped onto the start line last Sunday and somehow managed to run 26 miles around London (without the aid of a black cab).

There were highs and there were lows... getting knocked over at mile 16 wasn't exactly the best point and if I thought that hitting the pavement was bad hitting the dreaded "wall" at mile 20 was possibly one of the hardest things I have ever encountered. Then there was the driving rain and hail that came out of the blue after hours of blissful sunshine!

All of the low points pale into insignificance when I think about the crowds, about feeling like Paula Radcliffe when I realised that I had sailed through the first 16 miles in the fastest time I have ever run, about the "pain is just a state of mind" pep talk my sister gave me at the 22 mile mark (which will go down in history along side Maggie and "this lady's not for turning" as one of the best speeches ever made) and about the feeling of absolute elation as I crossed the finish line and picked up my medal.    

It was possibly one of the hardest things I have ever done and will remain one of the greatest achievements I ever make. As I sit here and contemplate what I will do with my weekends now that I no longer have to do my 'long run' I think that I will miss it but know that this was for me a once in a life time opportunity to take part in one of the world's greatest sporting events.

The only thing left for me to do is say thank you to the Rarer Cancers Forum for giving me this amazing opportunity and a HUGE thank you to all of the wonderful, generous people who pledged their financial support for my efforts". Hannah xx

Hannah with her Dad after finishing the London Marathon

If you are a UK taxpayer you can gift aid your sponsorship donation and the RCF will be able to reclaim tax on it (provided you will have paid income tax/capital gains tax at least equal to the amount that will be reclaimed in the tax year).

We are very grateful to Hannah for choosing to support Rarer Cancers Forum. The money she raises will go to help the many people affected by less common cancers.