THE HEARTFELT post: “I ruddy well did it!” barely disguises the elation of Woking mum Sarah Roberts who was inspired by her son Oscar to complete the London Marathon on Sunday, having only started running with the ‘Couch to 5k’ challenge just seven months earlier.

Sarah, a mother of three, took on the marathon challenge for Oscar, her youngest, who was diagnosed with Down’s syndrome when he was born six years ago. Completing the 26.2-mile course in five hours and 31 minutes she has raised almost £6,000 for the Down’s Syndrome Association.

The first to admit that she’s not a natural runner, Sarah has been upping her mileage week-by-week since September and on the day she said: “It was the most exhilarating, hardest, most emotional, brilliant thing I’ve ever done. I had so much support from my friends, family and even some ‘Don’t Be Sorry’ followers which literally picked me up on the way round.”

The social media supporters are among almost 40,000 who follow her blog Don’t Be Sorry, which she started when Oscar was eight months, sharing experiences online with others with similar experiences to hers.

Describing her London Marathon experience she said: “I’m so overwhelmed by all of the support from friends, family and our online community. Everyone’s been so generous with time, inspiration and money.”

She added: “I have never attempted anything this tough before, but I’ve actually really enjoyed the training and I’m hoping it gives other people hope, that if this sleep deprived, kind-a-chubby mum of three can do it... so can anyone!”

There’s still time to sponsor Sarah for her marathon efforts – visit uk.virginmoneygiving.com/SarahRoberts76

For the full story get the 2 May edition of the News & Mail