'He will always be in our hearts': Family tragedy spurs Pontefract mum’s marathon challenge

Andrea is taking on the world’s largest marathon on April 26 in memory of beloved family member Mark Allen who died in 2023 after suffering a devastating spinal cord injury in a car crash.

Mark, who was a keen cyclist, sailor and hillwalker, was left paralysed from the jaw down in the 2019 accident near his home in Fairlie, Scotland.

Just two years later he completed a marathon in his chin powered wheelchair raising over £20,000 for the Spinal Injuries Unit in Glasgow where he spent 19 months.

Andrea, 52, is now taking on her own marathon challenge in his memory and to raise as much money as possible for Spinal Research, the UK’s leading charity dedicated to curing paralysis.

The mum-of-one has already raised nearly £16,400.

She said: “Mark was an irreplaceable part of our family, and his injury changed all our lives. It opened our eyes to what is truly needed to support someone facing such a devastating diagnosis.

“He always tried to have a positive attitude on what happened but so much was taken from him and the family.

"He lived for the outdoors but was then dependent on people for absolutely everything.

“Mark’s death left a huge hole in our lives, but he will always be in our hearts — and he still manages to bring a smile to our faces.”

Andrea is originally from Pontefract, but moved to New York in 1997 after an internship and stayed.

Today she runs a successful film and video production company and is mum to eight-year-old Poppy.

Friends and family, including Mark’s wife, will be there to support Andrea as she crosses the finish line of the London Marathon.

“Mark would have loved to have been able to run London,” she said.

“And I’m so grateful that I get the chance to do this. I don’t take being able to put one foot in front of the other for granted at all!

“When someone has a spinal cord injury not being able to walk is the least of the issues they face every moment of every day. I hope by running the London Marathon for Spinal Research I can help shine a light on this terrible condition and the amazing work being done to find a cure.”

Spinal Research is the leading UK charity funding and supporting the best research around the world to develop life-changing new treatments and therapies for those paralysed after a spinal cord injury.

Suzanne Redding, Head of Audience and Community for the charity, said: “With the first function restoring treatment in history now available and more breakthrough therapies coming, we really need as much money as possible to get these treatments to the 105,000-plus people living every day in the UK with a devastating spinal cord injury.

“So, we are incredibly grateful to Andrea for joining this year’s London Marathon #TeamSpinal and for raising such an incredible amount of money. Every single pound takes us a step closer to our goal of curing paralysis”.

To support Andrea go to her JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/page/andsheruns