London Marathon: Mum-of-two with heart condition to run race

A mother who had surgery for a serious heart condition is to run the London Marathon.

Sophie Elliott, 28, was diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome nine years ago after she began to suffer severe chest pain and collapsed.

She will take on the 26.2-mile (42km) race on Sunday 23 April and is raising money for the British Heart Foundation (BHF).

The charity said she was an inspiration.

The mother-of-two, from Chapel-en-le-Frith in Derbyshire, said she was a sporty law student when she collapsed.

"I was standing in the kitchen one morning making breakfast and the next thing I knew I had the worst chest pain ever," she said.

"My heart started beating so fast that it made me pass out."

Her then boyfriend Mark, now her husband, found her and called 999.

Tests showed she had Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, which happens when there is an extra electrical connection in the heart and causes the heart to beat abnormally fast.

She later had a procedure called an ablation that corrects abnormal heart rhythms by blocking electrical pathways in the heart.

Mrs Elliott said: "I completed the Chester Marathon last year in five hours but I am hoping to do better than that in London."

Senior events manager at BHF Karen McDonnell said: "She's an inspiration and is taking on this marathon challenge despite living with a heart condition herself.

"That's an incredible achievement and she should be very proud of herself."

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