WARRINGTON runner Louise Blizzard, who was preparing for a record-breaking 26th London Marathon, is now putting her energy into helping her 10-year-old son Alfie complete a fund-raising marathon.
Louise was due to hit the streets of the capital yet again in the 40th edition of the race Next Sunday (April 26) but it is now on hold after organisers were forced to postpone it until October, due to the coronavirus pandemic.
But undeterred Louise is helping her son Alfie complete a marathon, running 3 miles a day near their home, to help raise funds for the NHS and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, as a thank you for the care he recently received there.
Louise said: “Sunday 26th April 2020 was going to be a very special day for us. I was due to run my 26th London Marathon and we were all going to celebrate Alfie’s 10th birthday.
“However, with London being postponed, we still wanted to put some positive energy into the day – so Alfie has decided to run a marathon over 9 days, finishing next Sunday.
“We’ll run 3 miles together each day with the last 2.2 miles on Marathon morning! Today was Day 1 of 9 and he did great!!
“He will be donating his birthday money to the NHS for everything they are doing and a thank you for how they looked after him at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital recently.”
Louise, aged 44, a compliance officer for Crest Medical, ran her first London Marathon at the age of 18 in 1994, clocking a time of three hours, 32 minutes and one second.
The following year she ran 2:58 having been invited to run with the elite women for the first time and then set her personal best of 2:54 in 2004.
She has missed the event just once, when heavily pregnant, in 2010. Her son, Alfie, was born the day after the London Marathon – making this week’s challenge extra special.
