The London Marathon awaits two of our supporters this weekend – both taking on their longest runs ever!

34 year-old Stephanie Lyne from Canterbury and 49 year-old Nicola Provan from Bearsted, Maidstone, have spent the winter training and are now as ready as you can be to take on the iconic event.

Nicola, who works at KIMS Hospital, first became aware of HOLG after the hospital chose us as their Charity of the Year in 2024. Having experienced bereavement that affected her own children, she was inspired to pull on her running shoes and raise some funds to further support our work.

Previously, Nicola has completed the Paddock Wood Half Marathon but has always dreamt of taking on the London Marathon – and after hitting 20 miles in her latest training run, preparation is going well.

Stephanie first started running in her early twenties when she lived abroad in Portugal. She completed the London Parks Half Marathon in 2019, despite being in the early stages of pregnancy, having previously only run a maximum of 5km. Keen to push herself even further, she signed up for the London Marathon in 2023 but had to defer after discovering she was expecting her second child and realising she would be too heavily pregnant to take part.

Her place in the 2025 race was confirmed at the start of this year, giving her just 13 weeks to train. With a one year-old and four year-old to look after, a case of the flu in January, plus a minor knee injury, training has proved challenging, but Stephanie has powered through to hit the 19 mile mark, enjoying many beautiful sunrises on the way.

As a mum to two young children, Stephanie was inspired to support HOLG as she could not imagine the devastation for a child to lose someone close to them.

Stephanie commented, “I have always wanted to run in the London Marathon for the experience. With just 13 weeks to train, I knew it was going to be a big ask but I might not have secured a place in the ballot again, so I’m determined to give it my best go.

“I decided to raise funds for HOLG because as a mum of two little people, I cannot imagine how devastating it would be for my two girls to lose their mummy or daddy, or both of us.

“HOLG provides support for children and their families navigating the most difficult road – please support me by raising as much money as possible for those little people whose lives have been turned upside down.”

Nicola commented, “I chose HOLG because it is KIMS Hospital’s charity of the year, however this wasn’t my only reason – I want to help make a difference, which I feel I can do by raising money for a local cause.

“HOLG is relatively small but an extremely important charity. I feel privileged to run the marathon for HOLG – the work you do truly can and does make a difference.”

HOLG CEO Julie Tobin added, “We’re so grateful to people like Stephanie and Nicola for giving up so much of their time to take on a mammoth task like the London Marathon in support of HOLG.

“It’s thanks to the efforts and generosity of supporters like them that we are able to help children and families in need every day – we couldn’t do it without them.

“We can’t wait to see how they get on and wish them the best of luck on the day!”

Here are Nicola and Stephanie’s fundraising pages:

Nicola Provan  https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/nicola-provan

Stephanie Lyne https://2025tcslondonmarathon.enthuse.com/pf/stephanie-lyne-londonmarathon2025