I used to say I was never going to attempt a marathon: too hard, too long, too much training. But here I am preparing for London 2025.

I'm doing it because I want to raise money in memory of my dearest friend Laura, who died from ovarian cancer in June 2024. She was just 48 years old.

She was like a sister to me: my cheerleader, my confidante, on constant, my joy. We were friends since childhood and being with her was like coming home.

When I spoke of her at her funeral, I described her as the North Star for those of us lucky enough to be in her orbit. There was no-one as full of life as Laura and she faced her disease with grace, courage and optimism until the very end. She is very deeply missed by her husband Aaron, her two sons, her wider family and friends.

She leaves a massive hole in our lives, but she would also want us to get on with it, so that's what this is about: getting on with it and in the process trying to do something positive in her name.

This is why I'm raising money for the North London Hospice, who cared for Laura at the final stages of her life. She felt very cared for and the hospital gave her some quality of life at the end of her life. That was very precious to her and her family.

North London Hospice is a registered charity that's been caring for local people for the past 40 years. It supports 3,500 patients a year but it needs donations to keep going. It costs over £16m a year to fund the hospice's care, with around a third of that money coming through the NHS and the rest of it through donations and its' charity shops.

I've set an ambitious fundraising target and if I don't get there through donations, I'll put in the shortfall to make sure we can give the hospice a big chunk of money to help other people as they helped Laura and her family

Thank you and wish me luck! Beth