Plucky Clitheroe pensioner (77) set to run London Marathon next month for Parkinson's UK

Anne Harwood is honouring the memory of her late husband Keith, who played cricket for Darwen and East Lancs, by running the 26.2-mile race on October 3rd.

The retired GPO telephonist is no stranger to running having previously successfully completed the London, New York, Manchester and Potteries marathons and in 2001 represented Britain at the senior World Triathlon Championships in Canada.

Speaking of her marathon challenge, the mother-of-three, who lives in Clitheroe, said: "I first began running in my 50th year as I wanted to do something to celebrate the milestone so I trained to run and completed the London Marathon. At the time I raised money for a local young man who had sustained a serious brain injury. My plan was just to run the one London Marathon, however, I loved it so much that I carried on and joined Blackburn Road Runners!"

Anne, who has four grandchildren, is trying to raise as much money as possible for Parkinson's UK.

She added: "Keith suffered from Parkinson’s disease and I am running to raise awareness of the importance of the Parkinsons' team being on hand when a person suffering with Parkinson's is admitted to hospital or attends for a routine procedure, which is unrelated to his condition so he gets the support and care he requires."

Speaking about her training so far, she said: "Although I’ve been injured for three months, I’m training now! I hope the experience of many marathons (even though it’s 11 years since I ran one) will stand me in good stead! Running a marathon is a tough challenge for a 77-year-old woman, but my motivation is to help drive change in the hospital care of Parkinson patients and I am determined to achieve this. Though I am not sure I will come close to achieving my personal best time of four hours and 12 minutes!"

Anyone wishing to support Anne in her fundraising can do so by CLICKING HERE