A PLUCKY young woman will mark her full recovery from a burst appendix by taking part in a gruelling mud-ridden obstacle course this weekend.

On Saturday, 26-year-old Lauren Palmer will compete in the eight-mile Grim 8 challenge in Aldershot.

For Lauren, crawling through the mud and crossing freezing waist-high water alongside the 3,000 other participants at the army vehicle testing track will signify a remarkable recovery after she needed emergency surgery six months ago.

On May 7, she underwent surgery at Basing-stoke hospital after her appendix burst – resulting in a four-day stay in hospital, and months of rehabilitation.

“I had a burst appendix, and for weeks afterwards I felt rubbish and slow,” said Lauren. “So I used this challenge as my motivation to get going again. It takes a lot of time for your body to get back to normal and to heal properly.”

She added: “I am quite nervous about the challenge, but I think it is going to be huge fun.”

After signing herself up alongside pal Martin Potts, 25, from Riverdene, Basingstoke, the public relations executive has been putting in the miles around the town in order to get her fitness up to scratch.

And as well as her tough training regime, Lauren is also raising cash for charity Cardiac Risk in the Young. With five days to go before the challenge, she had exceeded her fundraising goal of £500. The charity aims to raise awareness of Young Sudden Cardiac Death, and Sudden Death Syndrome.

Lauren said she opted to support the charity after hearing about the death of a school friend. Her friend, a former Testbourne Community School pupil, passed away aged 24 in her sleep from an unknown heart condition.

“I was just completely shocked when I heard,” said Lauren. “This was something I felt I could do. It is a great charity and really important.”