Didcot nurse's assistant set for 17th London Marathon

Eileen Naughton, who has worked as a nursing assistant on the Trauma Ward at John Radcliffe Hospital for the last 10 years, will join a crowd of 50,000 taking part in the event on Sunday, April 21.

Ms Naughton, who in 2019 achieved the world record for fastest female dressed as a hospital patient to complete the London Marathon, will be raising money for Children with Cancer.

Eileen Naughton at the London Marathon (Image: Unknown)

She is familiar with "the heartbreak a cancer diagnosis brings to a family" having lost her mother to oesophageal cancer in June 2018, adding that the charity was "very special" to her.

She said: "I've been training for 20 weeks and feel ready to get on the start line now."

She began running in 2007 and has raised more than £31,500 since then.

Her first charity run was a five mile event at Blenheim Palace to raise money for the children’s hospital that was being built in Oxford.

Eileen Naughton finishes 2023 London Marathon (Image: Eileen Naughton)

To support Ms Naughton, visit her fundraising page.

She has run the London Marathon in support Children with Cancer for 13 years.

The four years beforehand saw her support the Meningitis Trust, the Children’s Trust, Rosie’s Rainbow Fund and Oxfordshire Oesophageal and Stomach Organisation.

She completed last year's London Marathon in three hours 25 minutes.