Fernwood woman raises funds for Kidney Care UK by running London Marathon

After months of intense training and personal challenges, a mum-of-two completed her first-ever marathon, raising over £3,500 for charity.

Kate Hyland, 46, of Fernwood, took on the 26.2-mile challenge on Sunday (April 27) as she completed the London Marathon in support of people like her husband Lee Hyland, who has end-stage kidney disease.

The unexpected heat wave during the race, following months of training through winter, turned the race into a ‘tough’ day, with Kate crossing the finish line in six hours and 15 minutes, slightly longer than her original target of five to five and a half hours.

"I’d rather adjust the time and get to the finish line rather than mess it up and collapse on the course — people were dropping like flies," the runner said.

Despite the challenging conditions, Kate raised a total of £3,569 for Kidney Care UK, surpassing her original target of £2,500.

Kate added: "It feels amazing.

"Everyone's been so generous and even people I don't know have donated.

“Kidney disease touches so many people, so I think people are just happy to support the cause."

Lee has had kidney issues since his early teens, to the point where he needed to have dialysis at the hospital, until he had the chance to have a kidney transplant on April 21, 2009.

Coincidentally, he went into the hospital on the same day as Kate, who was pregnant and overdue by three days, was giving birth to their son Harvey, now 15.

Sadly, Lee’s kidney failed in early 2022 and he had to go back onto dialysis four times a week, from home this time, and has been back on the transplant list ever since.

Kate was inspired to start running when she hoped to donate a kidney to her husband, however, she found out she had a rare form of chronic kidney disease — Thin Basement Membrane Syndrome — which stopped her from being a donor.

Even though Kate wasn’t able to donate her kidney to her husband, she decided to support the charity through running and raising funds.

She ran several races, including Ashby 20-mile, Stamford Valentines 30K, Lincoln 10K and a half-marathon at Scunthorpe, adding to her 750 kilometres of training runs over 25 weeks.

“The training is really the marathon; the actual race is the celebration.”

In London, she described the atmosphere as a ‘party’ rather than a race, “Every corner you went round, there were churches singing with drums, DJ stations set up, and people shouting your name.

“The Pride Mile was the most amazing, it just went so fast because it was so enjoyable, in a painful kind of way."

Her family, including her children Harvey and Amelie, were there to cheer her on, despite it being Amelie’s 14th birthday on the day of the race.

The mum of two added: "My poor daughter sacrificed her birthday.

"It’s tough for spectators, getting on and off packed underground stations, but Kidney Care UK had two cheer stations set up, so I knew where they would be."

Inspired and proud of her first marathon, Kate has already entered the ballot for the 2026 London Marathon, although she admitted that the training process had been consuming.

“It was a really special experience,” she concluded.