St Albans runners prepare for London Marathon

FIGHTING fit St Albans district residents are dusting off their running shoes in preparation for next month s London Marathon. Alex Adames, of Carlton Road in Harpenden, will be attempting the 26 miles on April 25 for the second year running to raise mon

FIGHTING fit St Albans district residents are dusting off their running shoes in preparation for next month's London Marathon.

Alex Adames, of Carlton Road in Harpenden, will be attempting the 26 miles on April 25 for the second year running to raise money for Breast Cancer Research in memory of her father George who died of the disease over 15 years ago.

Alex, a financial operations manager who will turn 30 on the day of the race, said that she found last year's marathon very difficult: "It was a tough, emotional and physical journey getting to marathon day but completing it was an amazing achievement and I know that my dad was there with me and was proud of his little girl."

She added: "I want to raise awareness of this illness as, although it is most common in women, it also poses a significant risk to men. Unfortunately this tends to result in the cancer being more advanced and harder to treat when diagnosed."

To help Alex beat last year's fundraising total of �6,000 you can sponsor her online at www.justgiving.com/AlexAdames

Roger Allen of Cunningham Avenue in St Albans is also running the marathon for the second year in a row and, in an attempt to raise �2,000 for childhood cancer charity Children with Leukaemia, he will be dressing up as Little Miss Naughty for the occasion.

Roger, who is making his own Little Miss costume, said that fancy dress was a hit at the London Marathon: "Because the Mr Men and Little Miss characters are the emblem of the charity, I dressed up as Mr Tickle last year and everybody loved it! I think the crowd really enjoys watching people in funny costumes."

He added: "I was tripped over in last year's race and spent 15 minutes on the side being patched up. I hope that doesn't happen again but to be honest I'm not bothered about the time; I just want to raise as much money as possible."

Children with Leukaemia was set up by St Albans resident Eddie O'Gorman and his late wife Marion after their 14-year-old son Paul died of the disease in 1987. In just over 20 years the charity has raised over �90 million for young leukaemia sufferers and to add to that total you can sponsor Roger online at www.bmycharity.com/V2/rogerallenrun