A week today Cheltenham’s Lisa Richardson will be lining up with thousands of other runners in the capital, taking on the London Marathon for the second year running in support of her best friend, Amy Allen, who has terminal cancer.

It will be an emotional day for the pair as Amy, who has been Lisa’s official fundraising manager throughout both London Marathon campaigns, hopes to be there to support Lisa after illness prevented her from getting there last year.

Lisa said: “My motivation for signing up was my bestest bestie ever, Amy, and her diagnosis of terminal ovarian cancer.

“My reasons for signing up last year were deeply personal to our friendship, and my own way of acknowledging how difficult it is for Amy, day in day out, living with her diagnosis – with emphasis on the living and not letting her diagnosis define her.

“Amy was the driving force of our fundraising for our local hospice, Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court. Initially chief fundraiser, she was soon promoted to campaign manager when it became apparent her fundraising ideas and efforts were setting us down a path of raising such a huge amount of money.

“Many an hour during weekly chemo sessions was spent organising and planning our fundraising for the 2017 London Marathon!

“I simply couldn’t have done it without her, and her wise words of ‘Just go out and do it’ kept me going when the training was getting so very tough.

“But just three days before the big day Amy was admitted to hospital and was not able to travel to London to experience the marathon. I ran the race in six hours, 19 minutes, 49 seconds and together Amy and I raised £7,380 for Sue Ryder Leckhampton Court.

“Afterwards I was adamant that it would be my one and only marathon, but less than a week later I had completely changed my mind. I was disappointed that I’d walked more than I had wanted to and conscious that I had been so devastated that Amy had been too unwell to be there.

“That’s why I will be standing behind the start line again this year as part of Sue Ryder’s #TeamIncredible London Marathon team.

“Together our fundraising has so far raised over £2,600 for the hospice. Amy has always been a strong supporter of charities: she has walked the Great Wall in China, been to Machu Picchu in Peru with yours truly in tow, walked her own marathon across the hills of Cheltenham, and undertaken the Cheltenham Challenge half marathon while on chemo following major surgery.

“Although we had never discussed it, I knew Amy would be doing more charity challenges if she were able, so both my London Marathons are in fact our joint London Marathons.”

To donate towards Amy and Lisa’s London Marathon challenge, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lisarichardson-london2018