Overcoming life-changing challenges including stroke and loss of loved ones, the preparation of local runners for the London Marathon is well underway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Paul Metham, 41, from Sheffield, is raising money for the Stroke Association <\/a>after he suffered a carotid artery dissection in 2021 when out running. Doctors told him he was “minutes from death”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Paul said: “It has been a lot more difficult. Despite my good recovery, my left side doesn\u2019t operate as it once did. I lost a lot of general fitness and muscle definition the year I couldn’t run.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Before my stroke, I completed a half marathon in 1 hour 18 minutes, but my fastest post-injury half marathon has been 1 hour 34 minutes.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Despite not being religious before his stroke, Paul has since converted to Christianity: “God spared my life for a reason and although I don\u2019t fully understand what that reason is, I\u2019m certain it will become clear in time.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Church helped me overcome any misconceptions about the reasons about what had happened to me, like whether I was being punished by God for what I went through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I have learned to be grateful for what I have, and to live more in the present. I\u2019ve been through some terrible times but I\u2019m entirely convinced that God will support me and bring me through the other side.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Even before his stroke, Mr Metham had never previously run a marathon distance event. He cites the challenge as the “pinnacle of his recovery”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Matthew Akpan, 37, from Leeds, is raising money for the National Autistic Society.<\/a> He holds the Guinness world record for the fastest half marathon and marathon time dressed as a wrestler. <\/p>\n\n\n\n