A STEVENTON woman has raised thousands of pounds for the British Heart Foundation (BHF) after running the London Marathon last weekend.

Emily Brown, 22, raised £8,000 to help the charity, after her mother, Sally, unexpectedly died of a cardiac arrest at the age of 53 during the May bank holiday last year.

Emily has since been fitted with an implantable loop recorder for doctors to analyse her heart rhythm as the cause of Sally’s death was never confirmed.

Emily conquered the marathon to fulfil her mum’s wish of cheering her daughter on at the event.

Emily said after crossing the finish line: “Running the London Marathon was such an incredible experience. The atmosphere on the day was fantastic and I’m so proud to have been running for the BHF.

Knowing that I was running for such a great cause, raising money for their vital research, really spurred me on to the finish line. Hopefully the money I raise will help make a difference to the millions of people in the UK living with heart and circulatory disease.”

Shonali Rodrigues, head of events at the BHF, added: “Without the dedication and commitment of people like Emily, we wouldn’t be able to fund research that has broken new ground, revolutionised treatments and transformed the lives of millions of people in the UK.

“The stories of why our amazing supporters take part never fails to amaze me and it was incredible to see Emily and around 400 others take on such a tough challenge and help us stop heart disease in its tracks.”

Approximately 400 runners took to the streets of London on Sunday in aid of the BHF, with half a million pounds being raised in total to advance the research and understanding of heart disease in all its shapes and forms.