AFTER losing two women in her family to blood cancer, Katie is proud to fly the flag for Leukaemia CARE at this year's London Marathon.

Katie Tarrant, 31, of Holland-on-Sea is hoping to raise more than £2,000 for the national blood cancer charity which offers support to patients, carers and healthcare professionals.

The working mum will be taking on the famous 26.2 mile course to honour nan Josephine Treumann and mother-in-law Sue Tarrant, who died in May last year.

She said: “My nan passed away when I was a child from chronic myeloid leukaemia - she was much-loved and missed by the family.

"Unfortunately there wasn’t anything like Leukaemia CARE to help people or such things as 24/7 helplines and support groups with all the information you could need readily available, which would've helped my family greatly, as the charity helps so many now.

"At the time they just had to rely on family for support.

"However, my mother-in-law passed from multiple myeloma which is a blood cancer related to leukaemia and could never be cured, only treated, so that just reaffirmed how much I wanted to run for the charity as they were always available for support."

Mrs Tarrant ran the Clacton Half Marathon last year, finishing in an impressive two hours and two minutes.

Her aim is to beat five hours on the clock in April.

She said: "Training is hard this time of year, especially when the weather’s bad.

"I work part-time as a mobile hairdresser and have a 19-month-old daughter so I get up extra early most mornings to fit in training, or at the weekend when my husband Simon isn't working.

"Most of my family will be going to London to watch the marathon so that will definitely get me through the hardest moments."

Clare Brooks, who works with the marathon runners at Leukaemia CARE, added: “Our runners make all the difference to people who need that bit of extra support.

"I’ve followed all our runners from when they signed up and I can’t wait for Katie to cross the finish line.”

So far, Katie has topped £1,000. To help her fundraise, visit facebook.com/katietarrantfundraising.