She's my hero.... The London Marathon for Rett UK

Well what can I tell you? 

It's Monday the 25th April and it's all over.  Not just all over, but all over and she totally nailed it!  London Marathon take 2 - smashed in a smidge over 5 hours.  What a hero 💜💚 

It's been a really tough few months; training and fundraising has been relentless, but Lauren has never wavered or given up.  

The fundraising target is surpassed; raffles, car boots, eBay sales, donations, charity events and loads more - all contributed to this amazing total. 

3 weeks ago, Lauren's training came abruptly to a halt.  Lauren was told she had shin splints, the pain was so severe even cycling to keep up the fitness was unbearable.  They told Lauren at least 6 weeks off running and rest was the only answer.  Was this going to hold Lauren back? Ha!

Compression socks, compression tights, countless advice, painkillers, physio appointments, blood sweat and tears, meltdowns, deep heat and sheer determination saw us arrive in London yesterday.

Train selfie of course!

Number on and ready!

#TeamCarly

 

In all to soon after reaching the start with Lauren, she was off....after getting a selfie with a Chaser of course!

We boarded the tube, the DLR and shanks' pony and tracked that girl around the marathon.

Sadly, Lauren's Mum and Stepdad couldn't be with us during the day.  I know; could her Mum have had teleporting abilities - rather than having to catch a plane to get to us, she'd have been there in a heartbeat.  I also know how disappointed she was not to be with Lauren, but they were certainly there in spirit and in constant contact on the phone with us and tracking her progress on the VLM app so as not to miss a second.

Our first viewing at 14 miles.

Second viewing at 21 miles - doesn't she look amazing?!

London was at its busiest and the crowds again didn't disappoint for their cheering abilities!  The sound of the crowd, the clapping and the shout outs along the whole 26 miles were just overwhelming. The police presence in London was massive - they did an amazing job of keeping everyone safe and London incident free.  

Done! London Marathon in 5 hours - what an inspiration, she's simply - my hero.

Even with her injuries, Lauren shaved 17 minutes off last years time and is now a multiple marathon finisher. What a girl! 

I can't possibly convey how proud we all are of her, full time uni student (who is today in a presentation assessment), employee at 3 jobs and multiple marathon finisher.  One of the most selfless, passionate people I know and I admire and love her just so much, we all do.

Even laying on the floor being stretched out - she just looked fabulous!

Back to the tube we went, for a trip back to the car.  It was completely packed and the heat was unbearable, we had a quick pit stop for a lay down, but we were back to the car and Portsmouth in no time.

Hey - if a girl can't have a lay down at a tube station after running a marathon, when can she?!

Final destination - the pub Lauren works in; where we were met by Lauren's Mum and Step dad straight off the plane to congratulate her and a cheer from all the locals.  Lots of her friends arrived to join us; for celebratory hugs, loves and most importantly drinks!  

Lauren - what a girl, what an achievement!

Here's Carly catching up on the marathon coverage, trying to spot her sister.  Her sister who was running, just for her.  A sister who; when her legs became tired, ran with her heart.  

#TeamCarly 

#Sisters (a lovely shot taken previously)

Thank you to everyone who has helped get to where we are today; for donating raffle prizes, helping with charity events, donating boot sale fodder, donating to Lauren's fundraising page, sharing posts on social media, training with her, giving her valuable advice, wishing her well, cheering her on, supporting the cause and just being all amazing people. 

Rett UK is such an important charity and the funds Lauren has raised in honour of her sister, will help them keep achieving their goals. 

A massive thank you to Lauren for making us so proud yet again. An amazing experience and what an achievement. She is a force to be reckoned with, a super sister, a super daughter, simply a superstar and I'm so proud to be her Wicked Stepmum!

#TeamCarly #TeamRettUK #TeamBarcroft #ThisGirlCan #ShesMyHero #LaurenYouveGotThis

 

She's only gone and done it!

Well what can I say?  I'm just so proud of my step daughter, Lauren!

Amazing fundraising night organised by Lauren and her sister Lynsey, fabulous music, lots of booze, lots of dancing and lots of fun.  Most importantly, lots of money made for Rett UK!  

Lauren raised over £1600 last night towards her £3000 target, which means on top of the £1590 (without including what Carole and Lauren have on sponsor forms to be collected after the race) she already has.... 

She's smashed it!! What a girl! 

The raffle went down a storm, thank you again to everyone who donated, your generosity has helped Lauren reach her target and raise funds for such a brilliant charity.

I'm so sorry, I don't have a list of who won what, but we had winners in the room and winners who took part online too. It was a whirlwind of an evening and so enjoyable, it felt like it was over in the blink of an eye and I'm sure everyone had an amazing time.

Loads of fabulous people pitched in to help organise, help set up, sell tickets, support Lauren and Lynsey and it was just awesome! Same time next year everyone?!?

Next stop.... London marathon #teamcarly 

I'll keep you posted!  TTFN, Sammy xx