The 37th London Marathon takes place today and thousands of participants will take to the streets of the capital.

The Messenger has spoken to some of those from Medway who will be pulling on their running shoes for a good cause.

A 21-year-old nurse has overcome arthritis to train for the London Marathon and prove that the condition is no barrier to living life to the full.

Liz Kallend, of Swain Close, Strood, was diagnosed with juvenile idiopathic arthritis when she was just 16, but has battled back to fitness thanks to the latest treatment and research.

Prior to the onset of the condition, she had enjoyed sports including netball which she played once a week, but then found herself comfined to her bed due to the pain.

Years later Miss Kallend, who will run the marathon in aid of Arthritis Research UK, is now pain free due to the help she has received from the NHS and the charity, and through taking part in clinical trials.

And even though she has never run a marathon before, Miss Kallend, who works as a nurse at Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, is aiming to complete the course in under five hours.

She said: “I have been training hard since Christmas and I aim to complete the course in less than five hours.

“This is my first time. My dad, Terry Kallend ran the marathon in 2014 for the same cause. I have done 5k runs and mud runs before but nothing like this distance.

“My boyfriend will be cheering me on and I have about 15 friends and family coming up to support me.

“It has been hard work training when you do shift work, but the training programme I’ve been following has been good.”

Melanie Smith, 44, from Rainham, is running to raise money for Place2be, one of seven charities supporting the Heads Together campaign, which is spearheaded by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry in a bid to end the stigma surrounding mental health issues.

Mrs Smith even shared a training session with the young royals at Olympic Park and hopes to raise £3,000.

She chose to support Place2be because she said it had a positive impact on her children’s lives when they were primary school age. Her children are Chloe, 20, and Dan, 19.

Mrs Smith added: “We all experience pressure to our mental health during our lives.
“It is OK to not always be OK, and the more we understand that, and the more we talk about that, the better we can help each other."

A mum and daughter team will be supporting each other every step of the 26.2-mile race on Sunday.

Dr Kathryn Gilbert, who works at Medway Maritime Hospital, is raising money for the mental health charity Mind, with her mum Tina, 56.

Dr Gilbert, who studied at the University of Southampton, chose to support the charity in memory of her university friend Rose Polge, who committed suicide in February 2016.

The 26-year-old said: “As a doctor I have seen how common mental health problems are, how devastating they can be, and how stretched our mental health services are.
“Doctors have a higher rate of suicide than the general population, and the cases of junior doctor suicides in the media over the last couple of years have shown us all the importance of looking out for each other and that sometimes it’s not immediately obvious that somebody is struggling.

“The work of charities such as Mind is so important to improve lives.”

Suzanne Halsey, 42, will run the course in aid of The Wisdom Hospice, after they cared for her dad Derek, who came from Strood, in his final days.

Ms Halsey, who has been raising money for the cause ever since, also brings miniature ponies to the Rochester hospice to meet patients. She and her friend Alex Taskin work at Equilibrium for Life, a community interest company which uses equine assisted learning to help support vulnerable individuals.

Suzanne said: “My dad came into the hospice in October 2013 and spent his last few days there. Although it was a tough few days, everyone at the hospice made those days so much more bearable.”

In 2014 and 2015, she ran the Brighton marathon in her dad’s memory for the hospice but a skiing injury stopped her running London last year. So she is looking forward to this year.

She added: “I once told Dad I would run the London Marathon, so it is an exciting prospect to be able to do this and support the hospice.”

So far, Ms Halsey has raised about £2,800 and hopes to collect about £3,000.