A WOMAN from Malvern who nearly died in a skiing accident is to complete her third marathon later this year.

Sarah Grout suffered serious injuries including a dislocated hip, torn ligaments and cartilige in both knees in addition to nearly dying on the operating table from a six-minute cardiac arrest following the accident in 2007.

Despite this, she recovered and has run two marathons since.

This year, she is taking on her third to raise money for Leonard Cheshire, where she has been working as a fundraising manager and volunteering in one of their care homes during the coronavirus pandemic.

On October 4, Mrs Grout, year-old will be walking the back lanes of Worcestershire with colleagues to make up for missing out on the cancelled London Marathon.

She said: "The disabled residents at the care home had taken on two long-distance virtual cycling challenges during lockdown, finding the team spirit and the motivation, despite the additional barriers imposed by the current restrictions.

"I draw immense strength from their continuing resilience, positivity and can-do attitude.

"If disability was not a barrier to doing what they want to do, then lockdown was not going to stop them.

"This was a prime example of the Leonard Cheshire phrase ‘Actually I Can’."

Mrs Grout has used the inspiration to form her own virtual team for this London Marathon with six other team members from local businesses taking up the 26.2 mile challenge, including her husband Andrew and several members of the business networking group Sterling Networks where Leonard Cheshire is the charity partner.

For more information, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/NetworkingMarathoners