A GALASHIELS woman ‘unexpectedly’ completed a marathon last month, having only started running in October 2020.

Lauren Hume, 18, managed to run 26.2 miles on Friday, June 25 – in aid of a charity close to her family’s heart.

What was intended to be a 20-mile exercise, ahead of completing a full marathon on July 17, turned into 26.2 miles as she powered through to complete her challenge.

“It was completely unexpected,” said Lauren, who will soon be going into her second year of studying business management at Queen Margaret University in Edinburgh.

She added: “At mile 18 I hit ‘the wall’. I stopped for five minutes which got me through. Then I got the urge to keep going.”

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Lauren first got into running in October last year when she joined the Galavanters running group with her mum, Nikki.

Taking part in the group’s ‘Couch to 5k’ programme gave Lauren “such a buzz” which came as a surprise to her.

“I don’t know where it [love of running] came from,” she said. “I wasn’t athletic at all at school, sports day was probably my most hated day of the year.

“Mum was joining the Galavanters to do the Couch to 5k.

“At first I thought it was just a group for older people but I absolutely loved it.

“It’s a brilliant group.”

During her training sessions, Lauren had experienced issues with a knee injury which saw her “come home in tears” some nights, explained Nikki.

Nikki added: “A special thanks to Lauren’s physio Wilna who she couldn’t have done it without.

“She saved her legs for a long run many times and her advice, care and attention to detail was just incredible.”

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And she didn’t complete all 26 miles alone either, Arlene Botha from the Galavanters was with her for the first 20 miles and she was also joined by her friend, Meghan Campbell for seven miles, as well as her mum for six miles.

Leading up to her marathon, Lauren had been fundraising for the Lavender Touch, a Borders cancer charity.

She chose the Lavender Touch as they had supported her grandfather (Pappy), Alex Merry, in the last three weeks of his life.

Nikki told this newspaper: “My dad passed away in September 2019 and the Lavender Touch were incredible.

“What they do is mindblowing.”

Lauren said that when she reached Galafoot after running the 26.2 miles, she “burst into tears”.

She said: “My gran came over and was the first to give me a cuddle.

“My mum was going, ‘oh god’, and my dad had a wee tear in his eye.”

Nikki added: “Her [Lauren’s] Pappy was with her every step of the way.”

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In a Facebook post after completing the marathon, Lauren thanked members of the Galavanters for their support.

She has now signed up as part of a team with the Friends of the BGH to take part in the Great North Run in September, and she will also run in next year’s Edinburgh Marathon.

The Galashiels student initially set her fundraising target at £50, but after exceeding this, increased it to £262, to mirror the distance she was tackling.

However, at the time of publishing, Lauren has raised £401 for the Lavender Touch.

To support Lauren and the Lavender Touch, visit: www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lauren-hume-marathon