Katrina puts best foot forward at London Marathon

A trainee chartered accountant isn't resting on her Laurels after completing the London Marathon and raising over £3,000 for charity.

Katrina Cheung, who took part to raise funds for charity Mind, admits she now has the "running bug" and has already signed up to run in the 2018 event.

The 24-year-old joined Thomas Westcott Chartered Accountants two and a half years ago after graduating from Exeter University, and raised part of the charity money by challenging her colleagues to guess how long it would take her to complete the gruelling 26-mile route through the capital.

On the day Katrina finished the Marathon in five hours and 13 minutes and has already set her sights on beating that in 2018. She said: "I've always tried to keep fit and healthy but wanted to really challenge myself, and so last year a friend and I decided to fulfil a long-held ambition of running the London Marathon.

"I've never been much of a runner to be honest, but I was determined to do it and knowing I had the support of so many great family members, friends and work colleagues at Thomas Westcott was a huge boost."

Although initially entering the Marathon as a personal challenge, Katrina decided to try to raise money for a good cause, and amassed £3,300 for mental health charity Mind.

She said: "I have family members who work with people with special educational needs and I've also had friends who've had issues accessing mental health services so I was delighted to be able to raise money for Mind which carries out such vital work."

She added: "I grew up watching the London Marathon on TV and it was such a special experience to actually be there taking part, I definitely have the running bug and can't wait to start training for 2018."

Picture caption: Katrina Cheung at this year's London Marathon.