2011: A broken back. 2012: Fighting back. A 220 mile run in 8 days.

Two young ladies from Surrey, Anna and Vicky, have decided to take on the epic challenge of running from Paris to London (including Paris and London official marathons) in April. They are running for Aspire because Vicky narrowly avoided a spinal cord injury in February last year when she was hit by a falling rock whilst rock climbing in Patagonia. She was really lucky to survive, let alone be walking and now running. Their aim is to raise £5,000 for Aspire and Back Up, both UK spinal injury charities, and in so doing, inspire others to do something they never thought possible.

Vicky says, "In all honesty, last year neither of us would have dreamt we’d be undertaking the challenge of a lifetime now. So far we’ve had to overcome many obstacles – unsurprisingly injury has been our most worrying problem but that’s what you get for training for a marathon, let alone 8. We’ve booked our accommodation and worked out the logistics and now just have to hope that everything else goes to plan. We’re really lucky that we have a group of kind friends who will be supporting us on route. That said, if you happen to live between Paris and London (via Dieppe, Newhaven, Gatwick and Croydon) then please come out and support us. We’ll be posting regularly on our website and twitter so everyone will be able to keep up with our progress."

So far they have raised  £3,849.50 of their £5,000 target through the generousity of friends, family and colleagues. To donate to Vicky and Anna's challenge, visit their fundraising page.

To interview Vicky about her narrow escape, please email me at kirsty.marrins@aspire.org.uk or call 020 8420 8957.