AN Alvechurch woman is taking on the formidable challenge of running the Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday, April 26 to raise awareness and vital funds for Age UK, the charity that supports older people across the country.

Olivia Blunt, aged 25, has loving memories of growing up with her grandparents.

Sadly her granddad passed away five years ago, leaving her grandmother devastated. Her character started to change drastically from being a strong and happy person to being severely depressed and lonely.

Despite living with her family she chose to move into a home where she continued to receive lots of love and support from her family.

Unfortunately she could never recover from the loss of her husband and she was extremely lonely and upset. She passed away a couple of years ago with family around her.

Ms Blunt said: “The memory of my gran’s vulnerability and loneliness during her last three years is something that has stayed with me and I would love to support and raise vital funds for Age UK to make sure that older people across the country are made to feel appreciated and looked after.

"Age UK is a fantastic charity.”

The money raised by the charity’s dedicated marathon runners will help Age UK’s to tackle the barriers many older people face in living well and enjoying their later lives. Principal among them are the loneliness and isolation that make life so miserable for millions of older people every year.

The charity provides essential information and advice, and supports vital services such as friendly telephone calls, weekly visits and social activities like lunch clubs, exercise classes and tea-dances. When an older person has nowhere to turn to for friendship and support the Age UK network offers advice and the chance to get out and about in the local community, all of which play a crucial part in helping make later life better.

Lydia Curran, head of events at Age UK, said: “Many older people are struggling to cope on a daily basis with the challenges that growing older can bring. Loneliness and isolation are two hugely important issues that the Age UK network tackles but for many they remain a relentless daily reality, so we’re really grateful to Olivia for her support. The money raised by our fantastic runners will help us make life better for even more older people who need our support. We wish her the best of luck and look forward to cheering her on.”

To support Olivia visit justgiving.com/Olivia-Blunt. For further information on how to run for Age UK, see ageuk.org.uk/londonmarathon or contact the Age UK fundraising events team on 0800 169 8787 or email events@ageuk.org.uk. To donate call 0800 169 8787, text FAST to 70004 to give £3 or go to ageuk.org.uk.