A CHILDMINDER put the name of the person in whose memory she was running on her shoes to inspire her to complete the London Marathon.

Joanne Owenson was taking part in just her second marathon and attached tags to her trainers to remind her why she was running when the going got tough.

The mum-of-three was raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support following the death of Longniddry resident Tom Messenger last year.

Joanne, 39, said: “You get to 20 or 21 miles and it is just sheer grit and determination to get to the end.

“I was doing it for a charity and a personal reason, and it gives you a boost to get to the finish.

“I got trainer tags made so when I needed that motivation and looked down I had ‘London Marathon 2023’ on one trainer and ‘For Tom, every step of the way’ on the other.”

Mr Messenger was diagnosed with bowel cancer about four years ago. The father of two sadly died in January last year, aged just 39.

Joanne, who had looked after Mr Messenger’s children in her role as a childminder, ran the Edinburgh Marathon last year in aid of St Columba’s Hospice, which had cared for Mr Messenger.

In London, she had to raise a minimum of £2,500 – a figure she has smashed, with more than £6,900 raised so far.

Joanne, who also runs Make Mess Matter, held a series of fundraisers, including two children’s Christmas discos, a sponsored assault course for youngsters and a bake sale, to help raise funds for the charity.

In the main event in London, she recorded a personal best time, completing the course in four hours and 20 minutes.

She said: “You grow up watching events like the London Marathon on television.

“You are running round and see the Cutty Sark at about six miles, and you go through the city, the business centre.

“Then, at the end, you know you are approaching it and you can see the London Eye, then you get to Big Ben, the Houses of Parliament, and at that point you know you are on the final straight. You get quite emotional and know you are nearly there.”

Joanne, who also lives in Longniddry, told the Courier how she fitted her training around a busy schedule and thanked everyone for their support.

She said: “I also want to say a thank you to my family for supporting me with childcare through my training, as my husband works offshore.

“Lots of my training was done on a treadmill in my summer house and long runs on Sundays when grandparents could babysit.

“Also thanks to my Team Jo cheer squad for chumming me to London to help cheer me on and see me cross that finish line.

“It’s just nice to recognise the wider community in this achievement. It’s been really rewarding and humbling.”

She added: “I got a great deal of satisfaction out of doing it but it was very tough.

“The training in the lead-up has been incredibly tough.

“I am a busy lady looking after five or six children every day, my own three children and two dogs, and still racking up the miles every week.

“The hardest part was fitting in three or four runs a week.

“I only started running in lockdown. I did the Couch to 5k in lockdown and it developed from there.

“If you had asked me about running a marathon before lockdown I would have said: ‘You’re absolutely crazy; there is no chance.’”

To sponsor Joanne, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/joanne-owenson