A TAUNTON nurse used her experience of caring for people when deciding where to give funds raised ahead of her London Marathon effort.

Lucy Wheeler will be running the 26.2-mile course on April 28 for Leukaemia Care, a national blood cancer charity and has already raised more than £1,600 for the cause.

The 27-year-old was lucky enough to get a ballot place in the London Marathon and has decided to use it for good, having already worked with Leukaemia Care to set up a support group for patients in Taunton.

She said: “I am a haematology specialist nurse and see the amazing impact Leukaemia Care has with patients and staff. A patient challenged me to run a marathon and stated he would give me £100 to a charity of my choice if I did it.

“I entered the ballot not thinking I would get in. Unfortunately, he then passed away, not long before I discovered I was successful.”

A novice runner, this will be Lucy’s first attempt at the iconic marathon.

“I am not a natural runner at all. I couldn’t run more than a few miles when I started," she added.

"I have had to start training from scratch.”

Clare Brooks, who works with the Marathon runners at Leukaemia Care, said: “Our runners make all the difference to people who need that bit extra support.

"I’ve followed all our runners, including Lucy, from the point of sign up and I can’t wait for Lucy to cross that finishing line.”

Lucy has had a huge amount of support for her fundraising from the community.

She said: “CrossFit Wyvern hosted a charity competition raising a large amount of money. I also have a donation post located by the café at the cancer unit where I work for relatives and patients to place their spare change.”

If you’d like to donate to Lucy’s fundraising, head to her online donation page at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lucy-wheeler12.