Nurse taking part in her second London Marathon ensures she has packed her running bra this time

As Inverness nurse Pauline Duncan prepares to run in tomorrow’s London Marathon, she has ensured one particular item is packed - her running bra! It will be the second time the mum-of-four has run the marathon but she revealed it was almost a disaster the first time. “I forgot to pack my running bra and my running shorts!” said the 43-year-old who is raising funds for Highland Hospice. Fortunately, she had her cycling shorts but on the eve of the marathon she had to do a taxi dash to a late-night opening store in Oxford Street where she managed to get a £7.

99 bra to wear while tackling the 26.2 mile course. • • Pauline, a nurse at Raigmore Hospital’s A&E department, has raised more than £9000 for the hospice from previous fundraising challenges.



But she is hoping that tomorrow’s event along with being a participant in the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon in September will push the overall total beyond £10,000. In recent days, she picked up a chest infection and although she acknowledged it was not great timing is determined to carry on, revealing a personal and poignant reason behind her motivation. Just last week, a friend of hers passed away in the hospice.

“She had a very recent cancer diagnosis and didn’t get any time at all,” she said. “That is still raw. “So if I feel like I am struggling, I will remember her.

“Personally, none of my family has had to use the hospice but I don’t think you speak to anyone in the Highlands who hasn’t had some form of relationship with the hospice.” Having taken part in her first London Marathon in 2022, she considered herself lucky to have got in again via the event’s ballot. “London is a great one for a first marathon,” she said.

“The atmosphere is like a carnival. “I am looking forward to it although there are some nerves thrown in there, too. “It’s the 45th anniversary for the event so it will be extra special to run.

” Last time she achieved a time of four hours 21 minutes while last year managed four hours 16 minutes when she ran the Edinburgh Marathon for the Archie Foundation which supports children and their families in the Highlands facing healthcare and bereavement challenges. She also trekked the Great Wall of China for Highland Hospice in 2019 raising £8075. Anyone wanting to donate to Pauline’s fundraising efforts can do so at her page.

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