A grieving widow has taken on the mammoth task of running 12 marathons in 12 months to raise money for a cause close to her heart after the death of her husband.
Laura Coleman-Day, a corporate solicitor at Chatterton’s Newark office, is raising money for Anthony Nolan’s potentially live-saving research after the death of her husband of nearly five years, Xander Coleman-Day.
Xander was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in September 2022 and required a stem cell transplant.
Anthony Nolan has the largest donor register in the world and found him a suitable match — and Laura wanted to repay the charity.
As she was too old to join their register, Laura decided raising money for the charity was “the next best thing” and so ran the London Marathon in 2023. She raised just under £10,000 for the charity.
While Xander’s transplant was successful in that he was cancer free, he unfortunately battled with ‘graft versus host disease’ and died on February 10.
Laura, of Witham St Hughs, said: “I decided to carry on fundraising for Anthony Nolan when Xander sadly passed away in February 2024 of post-transplant complications. Anthony Nolan is undertaking research into these types of complications, and I want to ensure that no other families have to suffer the same way my son and I have.
“Hence the 12 marathons in 12 months. Yes, I am mad, but it is for such a worthy cause.”
You can support Laura’s fundraising via her JustGiving page:www.justgiving.com/page/laura-coleman-day-169546514750.
Laura is desperate to avoid other families going through what she and her son, aged two, have been through.
“It would just mean everything to me,” she added.
“What we have been through, other people I know have been through or are going through.
“It shouldn’t happen, and we should be able to prevent it. To save more lives would be incredible.”
Laura took up running during lockdown — although “only short distances” — and was due to run the London Marathon as part of the Anthony Nolan team this year. Due to the loss of her husband she didn’t feel ready but, after taking some time for herself, she has now embarked on her 12 marathon journey.
She hopes to conclude the challenge with the 2025 London Marathon, which falls on her wedding anniversary.
She said: “I needed to do something for myself and in memory of Xander.
“I find running cathartic, it gives me time to think and process. Xander and I used to run together before he got ill, so it makes me feel closer to him.”
Laura completed the first of her 12 marathons on May 18, at Rutland Water, and her next will be the Hampshire Hoppit in Basingstoke, on June 16, — where she will be joined by members of nearby run club The Hatch Warren Runners to support her along the way.
“I’ve been told its really hilly, and I thought running around Rutland Water was hilly!” she added.
“So I’m a bit nervous about that. I can’t imagine it will be a fast marathon for me, but I’m not doing it for times, I’m doing it to raise awareness and money.”
As a newly single parent, Laura’s training has revolved around running on a treadmill in the evening and putting in extra miles during her lunchbreaks, with the support of her “very kind” friends and family during longer runs.
She added: “I’ve got lots of support and lots of people coming out running with me. It makes it much less daunting.”
