GAZETTE & HERALD: CALNE road runner Liz Laird has been pounding the pavements five times a week in preparation for the London Marathon on April 17.

But for the first-time marathon runner, who lives in Oxford Road, it was simply luck of the draw that turned her life upside down.

"To get to the London Marathon starting line is an achievement in itself," she said. "Over 100,000 people apply to run each year, but only 33,000 can join the race. I'd always wanted to run the London Marathon for a local charity like Dorothy House. When I called them to say I had missed out on a place, they offered to enter my name into a special wild card draw for one of the five places they had been given."

Miss Laird, 36, said when she found out she had a place she was "completely overwhelmed". She said: "I was thinking what have I got myself into.

"If I can do this, I can do anything I set my heart on. I now feel fitter and healthier than I ever have. People have even stopped me in the streets to saw 'you're that road runner we see on the way to work'.

"It's a fantastic feeling to have

people so supportive of what I am trying to achieve. I'm almost ready for the big day. Friends and family from Calne, Essex and Buckinghamshire will be coming to London to cheer me on. I can't let them or Dorothy House down."

Since starting her training she has completed half marathons in Bath and Bristol, in an average time of two hours 15 minutes.

"In London I will be faced with huge cheering crowds and a running course thick with runners," she said. "I'm hoping the atmosphere will keep me going and push me to a finishing time of around five hours."

Miss Laird hopes to raise £1,500 for Dorothy House, and with just over two weeks left until the race, she's about halfway.

To sponsor Miss Laird donate online at www.justgiving.com/lizlaird, visit the Dorothy House shop in Calne or send a cheque to Dorothy House.