Witnessing the devastation of the sudden death of a young person has prompted Ballasalla GP Catriona Farrant to run the London Marathon to help raise funds for CRY - Cardiac Risk in the Young.

Catriona has run in the London Marathon five times before, but the last time was 10 years ago, so starting training again - at the age of 50 - was ’a shock to the system’ when she began in October.

She admitted: ’And it hurts a lot more than I remember!’

She goes running several times a week and also goes to the gym, which is a daunting schedule given she also works as a GP, but it will all be worthwhile she said if she succeeds in raising £1,900 for CRY.

Catriona said: ’One of my closest friends lost her young niece, Sarah, who was in her 20s, to a sudden cardiac death.

’CRY help arrange subsidised heart screening for young people, alongside funding medical research into young sudden cardiac death, and a bereavement service.

’As a GP I have seen at first hand the devastation caused by the sudden death of a young person. When I was in Laxey, we lost a patient who was 17 years old to a sudden cardiac death and that sort of thing stays with you, so I was keen to try to raise funds for CRY.’

To sponsor Catriona visit http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/catrionafarrant or donate at Ballasalla surgery.