A HOSPICE fund-raising director is preparing to “practise what she preaches” by taking part in the London Marathon later this month.

In her job with St Richard’s Hospice, Tricia Cavell spends much of her time encouraging other people to raise funds.

She decided to follow her own advice and sign up to run for St Richard’s in this year’s marathon, taking place on Sunday, April 21.

This will be the second time she has taken part in the event, having previously competed 10 years ago, to mark her 40th birthday.

Although she has kept up running since then, she has only been covering distances of about five miles and expects the 26 mile course to present “an enormous challenge”.

“I am not aiming for a great time and I certainly won’t be doing a marathon ever again, so just to get to the end in one piece and do the very best I can is my goal,” she said.

“I am aiming to raise £3,000 for St Richard’s and the generosity of my sponsors is certainly keeping me motivated.”

To sponsor her, go online to justgiving.com/triciaisamadwoman.