Great Missenden woman to run London Marathon this Sunday

Wednesday, 19 April 2023 07:01

Many people from Bucks will be putting in their last minute training ahead of the London Marathon this weekend.

Liz Kirton, of Great Missenden, will be running this year for The Lullaby Trust, which raises awareness of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), provides expert advice on safer sleep for babies and offers emotional support for bereaved families. Liz is running in memory of her son Edward, who died of SIDS at six months old in 2009.

The Lullaby Trust supported Liz and her family with Bereavement Support and subsequently with their Care of Next Infant scheme, after she went on to have two more children. The family are great supporters of The Lullaby Trust work and Liz' mum has since become a Befriender to help other bereaved families.

Liz was set to run her first London Marathon in 2009 to mark 10 years since Edward's death. She had completed all her training and raised around £9,000 but contracted bronchitis just before the event and had to pull out. While her mum and sister still ran (albeit her mum fell in the final seven miles and just about managed to make it to the finish line), Liz was left to watch. The unfortunate combination of pandemic suspension, and long Covid, which left Liz with scarring on her lungs has meant that, despite having entry to the last four marathons, she has not been able to run any of them.

That will change this year, and she is determined to finish in her son's memory.