GRAYSHOTT woman Rachel O’Grady who completed a 13.1-mile run in the Arctic Circle for Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice, in January, is now in training for the London Marathon in aid of the hospice.

Rachel, 38, has raised almost £700 and is aiming to raise £2,000 through the London Marathon on April 23.

She told the Herald: “I’m massively keen to promote the hospice and I am proud to have completed the run which was, to be frank, brutal! I did have a bit of a sense of humour failure half way round when I didn’t think I could finish it in the blizzard, but I did it.”

The Polar Night Half Marathon involved running in the dark on ice and snow in sub-zero conditions.

“I funded the trip myself and booked flights to Tromso. The place was magical, very snowy and festive. The sun doesn’t rise up there in the polar night, so it was dark and minus five on the day and there was a crazy blizzard of hail.

The scenery on the run was beautiful but I wasn’t sure I’d make it to the finish under the conditions, but I pulled myself together and thought of the worthy cause I was running for and crossed the line proudly in my Phyllis Tuckwell shirt, frozen and a little dazed, in one hour 53 minutes, so I was very proud of that.”

Rachel said Phyllis Tuckwell Hospice is “the charity closest to my heart” as it looked after her grandfather Harold O’Grady in his last days.

She said: “The care he received and the attention and support they gave my family and I at that difficult time was amazing, these people truly are angels.

“I know many friends in the local area that have had similar experiences and all agree wholeheartedly.”

Rachel added she was “honoured” to be given a London Marathon spot to raise more vital funds for the hospice.

She is also documenting her running training for the marathon on Instagram, as Rogrunner if readers want to follow her journey.

People can sponsor Rachel by going to www. justgiving.com and searching for ‘Rachel O’Grady London Marathon 2017’.