MARATHON runners from Wyre Forest are aiming to raise thousands of pounds for good causes as they hit the streets of London on Sunday.

Claire Pawson, 45, a practice manager at Kidderminster’s Whitehouse and Partners Dental Surgery, will raise money for Children with Cancer UK.

She said a work colleague had been through a “traumatic time” when her daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2011.

The Kidderminster and Stourport Athletic Club member said her club and her “inspirational” father Ron Payne, 72, had supported and coached her.

James Didlick, 36, of Kidderminster, aims to raise about £1,500 for Childhood First, which helps children with mental health issues.

Mr Didlick “jumped at the chance” after a work colleague dropped out of the marathon through injury.

“I have only been training for 10 weeks,” he said. “Training has probably not been ideal but I have got a running background.”

Kidderminster resident and Beacon Employment worker, James Green, is aiming to raise £2,000 for the Stroke Association.

The 37-year-old father of two chose the charity having lost several close family members to the “devastating disease”.

He has been running more than 50 miles a week to train for Sunday’s marathon.

Rachel Heath, 32, of Kidderminster, faces her second London Marathon, in aid of British Heart Foundation.

The Kidderminster and Stourport Athletics Club runner said: “I have had relatives who have suffered heart problems so it seemed like a good thing to do.

“I ran the London Marathon in 2005, but I think I have forgotten how painful it is afterwards.”

Kidderminster youngster Sam Owen-Smith, 22, is raising funds for St Richard’s Hospice in memory of his late father Oliver, who died of cancer in 2009 aged 44.

He is running with friend Oliver Wilkie, from Hartlebury, and has already collected £1,800.

Helen Campbell, 55, of Astley, is running for the National Deaf Children’s Society.

The sign language interpreter said she was bidding to raise “as much as possible”.

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