Norfolk woman running third London Marathon for Lymphoma Action after her father's death
Rachel managed to secure a ‘Good for Age’ place shortly after her dad became ill with lymphoma cancer
A woman from Norwich is running her third London Marathon for Lymphoma Action after her father died from the disease last year.
Rachel Miller, who told us she has been running since she was 16, comes from a family of runners and is pleased to remember her dad by doing something he loved.
She said: “My dad, Louis Miller, was a big character and well known on the Norfolk running scene. I'm just very pleased to be able to run it in his memory and do it for him out on the streets of London, which he absolutely loved to do as well.”
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Rachel managed to secure a ‘Good for Age’ place shortly after her dad became ill with lymphoma cancer. He died at the end of December 2023.
She said it was not easy to train while her dad was ill: “It’s been a very different training block this year to be honest. With everything going on with dad, my mum's not been too well either, so it's been a huge challenge – all alongside the challenge of marathon training, which takes over everything.”
She said Lymphoma Action provided vital support to her and her family: “The people who answer their phone lines are amazing. They're all volunteers. You can talk to them about anything, how you're feeling, and ask them questions.”
“You don't know all these charities are out there until you're really at that point where you just don't know who to speak to. You really understand the worth of that and then the support that they need.”
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Rachel said training for the race has been going well and she is now letting her muscles recover in preparation for the day.
She said: “The main point now is just getting to the start line and seeing what happens on the day.”
“Anything can happen on the day in a marathon. You've just got to get to the start line and see what happens.”
Rachel is hoping to finish in under four hours but said the most important thing is to enjoy the day.
“The most important thing is to enjoy it. Even the hard points. Just enjoy it because the London Marathon is an experience like no other. I get emotional just thinking about it so I can't wait.”
The London marathon gets underway today.