Half marathon mum 'may not have been here' to run

A mother is ready to run her first half marathon to raise money for a neonatal unit that she said saved her life and her baby.

Christine Lawrence's son was born by Caesarean section at the Royal United Hospitals Bath (RUH) after she developed acute pancreatitis. After his birth they both needed multiple visits to the hospital.

She plans to thank staff by raising money for the RUH by taking part in the Bath Half Marathon on Sunday.

"Without the care and help I received I may not have been here to run my way to this goal," said Ms Lawrence.

She said she was feeling nervous ahead of her first half marathon but training had been going well.

"The RUH has taken me from being poorly to motivating me to be healthy and fit enough to tackle this challenge.

"I recently completed my first 10 mile (16km) run from Shepton to Wells and back and my goodness did I ache the day after.

"I learned a lot about myself on that run and I really felt for the first time that a half marathon is achievable."

Ms Lawrence became a patient at the RUH when 32 weeks pregnant after suffering pancreatitis.

Her son was delivered three weeks later as he had stopped growing. They had to return to hospital repeatedly due to low weight gain and when he contracted bronchitis and stopped breathing.

Ms Lawrence also had to have her gallbladder removed when her baby was just six weeks old.

About 10,000 runners will take to the streets of Bath on Sunday for the race, which this year is also the official British Athletics trial race for the 2025 World Road Running Championships Half Marathon.

The field includes Olympic gold medal winner Jonny Brownlee, world indoor championships 3,000m runner Marc Scott, and Jessica Warner-Judd, a European cross country champion over 5,000m and 10,000m.

The 13.1 mile (21km) run draws huge crowds and the annual event raises about £2m for charities and voluntary groups.

"I want to show my eternal gratitude and support to all the staff within the hospital," Ms Lawrence added.

"It's the least I can do as a way of saying thank you to RUH for saving both mine and my baby's life."

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