A DEDICATED runner is to take on the London Marathon in memory of two family members who died of meningitis.

Harley Addington will be running in aid of the charity Meningitis Now.

Her 13-month-old cousin, Sarah, died from the disease as did her uncle's son, Sam. 

About 300 people across the UK die from meningitis each year.

Harley said: “Meningitis Now is a charity which is close to my family and I will be running in memory of my baby cousin Sarah and Sam.

“I have always wanted to run the London Marathon, as well as fundraising for Meningitis Now so it is great to combine the two.

“Meningitis Now receive no Government funding and rely solely on donations.

“This is my opportunity to not only raise awareness but to give something back to this amazing charity, in the hope one day soon their continued work will mean no-one in the UK loses their life to meningitis and everyone affected by this gets the support they need to rebuild their lives.”

Harley, who is 24 and lives in Brook Meadow, Sible Hedingham, caught the marathon bug from her dad, Neil, who will complete his 10th 26.2 mile challenge in London.

Harley has already raised more than £3,000, after setting an initial goal of £2,000, but has now set her sights on the £4,000 mark.

She received a £1,000 boost to her fundraising total from Marathon sponsors, Lucozade, as part of their #MadeToMove campaign.

The campaign saw runners’ friends challenged to run one mile, take a sweaty selfie, post the selfie on Instagram, and Harley was one of 15 lucky winners.

With just a few weeks until the big day, she has had a successful training regime and is looking forward to the challenge.

She said: “This is my first marathon and I’ve been training nearly everyday since the new year and it’s all been going really well.

“I’ve completed Silverstone Half Marathon and Dorney Lakes 20 Mile Run and managed to keep to my target pace for the marathon so I’m really happy with that.

"I would love to finish around 4 hours 30 minutes but if I come under 5 hours I will be over the moon.”

Visit uk.virginmoneygiving. com/HarleyAddington