Supermum Victoria raises £3.5k for MND
In memory of father
Supermum Victoria Stewart is walking on air after completing the London Marathon in memory of her beloved father.
The Lindsayfield mum-of-two, a photographer with our sister papers the Daily Record and Sunday Mail, ran the race, the hottest on record, for the first time and raised more than £3500 for two charities close to her heart.
Victoria, 38, took on the gruelling 26.2-mile distance in memory of dad Donald who died from Motor Neurone Disease (MND) in 2016.
And she told the News she knows her dad – who was also a newspaper photographer – was looking down on her with pride as she crossed the finish line in five hours and 53 minutes, clutching his red-and-blue spotted handkerchief for luck.
Victoria also smashed her £2000 fundraising target for MND Scotland and The Euan MacDonald Centre which assisted Donald before he died.
She says the “extraordinary achievement” was incredibly rewarding, but admits the mammoth challenge, which she took on just one year after the birth of her second son Lewis, is one that she “wouldn’t take on again”.
Victoria, who is also mum to Angus, 5, said: “I was so excited to get going after training for so long and the atmosphere was amazing.
“It was just like one massive party with so many supporters cheering you on and people running for the causes that meant so much to them.
“But it was so hot – 24.1 degrees – my feet were melting.”
She added: “I just wanted to finish, have a really enjoyable experience and raise a lot of money for charity.
“I know my dad would have been over the moon for me. Thanks to everyone who donated and encouraged me.”