London Marathon 2023: Whiteley mum who has tried to enter the marathon for 19 years has finally been able to complete it
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Clare Kelly was scheduled to run the London marathon in October 2022 but injured her calf just two weeks before the race and was forced to pull out after months of gruelling training.
The Whiteley mum, who has been trying to enter the run for the past 19 years, deferred her entry to 2023 and crossed the finish line on Sunday (April 23) raising £1,100 for Little Troopers, which is a military charity that supports children who have parents serving in the British Armed Forces.
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Hide AdClare’s husband, Nick, serves in the Royal Navy at HMS Sultan and the couple have a son, Joshua, aged four. The family has had to use a lot of Little Troopers resources over the years, especially when Nick has been deployed overseas or away on military exercise, including the Little Troopers Separation Pack.
Clare said: ‘I was absolutely heartbroken when I had to pull out of last year’s race but it has all worked out for the best. I’ve ended up raising even more money for Little Troopers in the last six months and I’d like to thank everyone who has donated and helped me smash my £1,000 target. Little Troopers has really helped our children over the years, as well as the children of some of our friends, so it was a real privilege to represent them at the marathon.’
The charity has a range of resources for families to use at home, as well as a Little Troopers at schools programme and several projects including the Little Troopers All Together deployment club and the charity’s new therapy programme.
Louise Fetigan, founder of Little Troopers, said: ‘Well done Clare. Little Troopers is a small charity with a big heart and its thanks to the support of people like Clare that we can continue to make sure that all the children in our British Armed Forces community feel recognised and have somewhere to turn whenever they need support and wherever they are in the world. The amount Clare has raised will make a big difference to our charity. A huge thank you from us and all the little troopers out there.’