2025 January ISSUE
USING MARATHON RUNNING FOR GOOD CAUSE
Written by ANDREW SIA
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From the Desk of the Publisher
Recently I came across the news about a woman marathon runner and her story was very touching. I wrote it down and I also learned that for marathon running you can raise funds for many good causes. It was only an example, and I am sure that this woman will continue to run and eventually a foundation will perhaps be raised because of her persistence.
Laura Coleman-Day, a marathon runner, who completed her twelve marathons in twelve months. She has a cause for running the marathon as her husband Xander was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in September 2022 and went through a stem cell transplant in January 2023. It later developed to a graft-versus-host disease where donor cells attacked his tissues. Despite receiving a stem cell transplant, Xander passes away in February 2024.
Laura Coleman-Day was motivated by Xander’s memory and to raise funds for Anthony Nolan, a blood cell research charity, she decided to complete 12 marathons in 12 months challenge. She included the London marathon on April 27, Sunday, 2025 as part of the 12 marathons, and it also coincided with her wedding anniversary. On that day, Laura Coleman-Day wore her wedding dress for the final stretch of the race. On her last three miles, she pulled her wedding dress over her running clothes and finished under 5 hours and 53 minutes. She raised £23,000 and plans on running again soon.
The run was a powerful tribute to her late husband and a powerful testament to her enduring love and dedication to raise awareness and funds for blood cell research.
