When Lauren received news that she'd won a place in the ballot for entry to the 2015 London Marathon, she decided to use what she says will be her first and last marathon to raise funds for a charity very close to her heart. So who better to explain why she'll be running for Smile4Wessex than Lauren.

"When I was 15 I lost my mum to her second brain haemorrhage. She had suffered the first when I had just started school and she had to learn to speak, talk, walk, write and be a mum again. For years of my childhood she received excellent rehab from the Neurological Centre at Southampton General Hospital. In fact she recovered so well that she had my brother when I was 9.

"Sadly she had another haemorrhage a few days before my fifteenth birthday and died shortly after that. I didn't have my mum for much of my life but my brother and sister had her for even less. She never saw us take exams, grow into adults, have children, get married or run marathons. Many other people have similar conditions to her and many other people need that rehabilitation that she was given and Smile4Wessex enables this to happen. They provide equipment and care for those who need it, and vital research for conditions such as those my mum suffered from.
 
"I would be so grateful to be able to contribute something to this cause. I can't bring my mum back but to help others in a similar situation and to research further cures will make the lives of others so much better."

We'll be rooting for Lauren in April, and know that she'll do her mum proud, but if you'd like to offer her a little more incentive as she pounds the streets of London then please visit her fundraising page by clicking HERE.