Fundraising Laura to become a ‘runaway bride' for wedding day half-marathon

The 30-year-old of Horsforth is turning herself into a ‘runaway bride’ on August 1 to put to good use the day she should have been marrying fiance Jamie Walker, 34.

The pair, who have been together for five years and share son Tommy, two, were all set to wed at East Riddlesden Hall in Keighley, surrounded by friends and family, before Covid-19 struck.

Now rearranged for June 3 next year, Laura said she wanted to do something worthwhile to mark the original date - and has decided to run a half-marathon around Leeds in aid of cancer charity Maggie’s.

“I’m not really a runner, I’m not very athletic. But it’s given me something else to focus on instead of my wedding being cancelled. It turns it into something positive.”

Two of her friends have recently been having treatment for cancer over the past six months - including Nessa Whitehurst, 39, whose story the Yorkshire Evening Post featured yesterday - and have been helped by Maggie’s Leeds centre at St James’s Hospital.

It offers free practical and emotional support for people affected by cancer and their friends and family and sessions on activities such as yoga, make-up tutorials, and wig fittings.

Laura, an English teacher at Allerton High School, said: “I’d said to Nessa that maybe I should do something to turn [the wedding day] into something positive and she suggested doing it for Maggie’s as they’d really helped her there.”

She said what her friends have been through puts everything else into perspective and that they had both been "absolutely awe-inspiring in their determination and strength, especially with the added obstacle and stress of Covid 19".

She added: “Of all the people for cancer to pick on, it definitely chose the wrong two girls.

“They are just so hardy and are going to just beat it.”

Laura said despite the disappointment of her dream day not going ahead this year, she knew it was the right decision to postpone.

"When lockdown first happened, we thought 'this doesn't look good' but at that stage, no-one knew how long it would be going on for," she said.

With some of Jamie's ushers due to come from Singapore and guests travelling from Ireland, it became apparent that the wedding could not go ahead.

"Initially I was quite upset about it but then logically it's for the best. My dad is 80 and I didn't want to put him in the position where he might catch something. It's important for him to feel safe coming.

"And it's not cancelled - it's just postponed. We're still going to get married, we still love each other, it's not that it's not going to happen.

"And there's a world pandemic going on - so that also helps put it into perspective."

Laura will be setting off, on August 1, from St Mary's School in Menston and running to Leeds Train Station before finishing at Kirkstall Abbey to clock up the 13.1-mile half-marathon distance.

To sponsor her, visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bebsbridalhalfmarathon.

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Thank you

Laura Collins