Chattertons Newark solicitor completes six out of 12 marathons in mammoth Anthony Nolan fundraiser in husband’s memory
A solicitor has reached the halfway point in her mammoth 12-marathon fundraising challenge for Anthony Nolan, in her husband’s memory.
Laura Coleman-Day, a corporate solicitor based at Chattertons’ Newark office, began her challenge in May, aiming to run 12 marathons in 12 months to raise money for the Anthony Nolan charity’s life-saving research into graft vs host disease.
Laura’s husband of nearly five years, Xander Coleman-Day, was diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia in 2022 and required a stem cell transplant, which he received on January 10, 2023.
While thanks to the transplant from a suitable match found through Anthony Nolan’s donor register, Xander was cancer free, by June 2023 it had become apparent that he had developed graft vs host disease in his liver.
There is very little treatment available for the condition, and he died on February 10, 2024 from liver, kidney, and lung failure.
With the goal to raise as much to support the research as possible, Laura is now officially half halfway through her challenge, having completed her sixth marathon, the Pierrepont Plod, on October 27.
She said: “They don't get easier, and I don't think I enjoy running anymore than I did at the start of the challenge. I think my favourite run so far was… actually it’s easier to rank them by how hard they were.
“The Prosecco Run in August was incredibly tough with over 2,700ft elevation, in 32 degree heat and no shade due to running around a vineyard. The best part, other than finishing, was that I got to drink prosecco afterwards.
“I had been lucky with the weather until I ran Barrow and Downs in Salisbury Plains which was wet, muddy and hilly. I have met some incredible people on this journey and have been inspired by their positivity and drive. My next marathon is in Cambridgeshire in November — Turkey Trot — I am hoping for Turkey afterwards.”
So far Laura has raised over £7,200, and has offered thanks to each and every person who has donated to her JustGiving page, as it will help make a huge difference to many lives.
Details of all Laura’s planned runs can be found on her Justgiving page, and you even join her, if you are up for the challenge.
Laura had previously run the London Marathon and raised just under £10,000 for the charity in 2023, to ‘repay’ it for finding a suitable donor, and decided to continue supporting the charity’s research after Xander’s death.
Speaking ahead of starting the challenge, Laura said: “I want to ensure that no other families have to suffer the same way my son and I have.
“It would just mean everything to me. What we have been through, other people I know have been through or are going through — it shouldn’t happen, and we should be able to prevent it. To save more lives would be incredible.”
She hopes to conclude the challenge with the 2025 London Marathon, which falls on her wedding anniversary, as running also helps her feel close to Xander as the pair ran together before he became ill.
