A BROMSGROVE woman is preparing to put her best foot forward when she takes part in the London marathon.

Lara Jackson, a team leader at Altered Images, is participating in the marathon this Sunday, April 13.

She has run the 26-mile challenge before but said she was excited to again have the chance to run it.

The Worcester Road-based gym has a partnership with the Stroke Association and Lara said she had been inspired to run after hearing the stories of stroke survivors.

One of the survivors is Pete Rumbold, a lifelong member of the gym who had a stroke in 2012. Since the stroke he has been training at the gym to aid his rehabilitation.

He has also recently qualified as an Action for Rehabilitation of Neurologicial Injury (ARNI) personal trainer, a qualification that Lara has also been working towards as the gym are planning to have a new ARNI facility.

Lara said she was looking to raise £1,000, but generally wanted to raise as much as possible.

"I have seen how far Pete has come, which has inspired me to run for the Stroke Association," she said.

"All the money I raise will go towards helping stroke survivors from Bromsgrove, particularly as the charity's headquarters are in the town."

The club runner said she was already able to run half marathon distances but had stepped it up with a tough 12-week schedule, so that she will be able to run the full distance on Sunday.

Anyone who wants to make a donation is asked to visit Lara's fundraising website, justgiving.com/altered-images-gym.