Runners from across Oxfordshire are gearing up for Sunday's London Marathon.

Army welfare officer Susan Whittington is running as a tribute to her father who died from leukaemia.

Mrs Whittington, 31, of Blandy Avenue, Southmoor, near Abingdon, will raise funds for the Anthony Nolan Bone Marrow Trust.

She said: "I will be experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime event and helping people with leukaemia at the same time, a subject very close to my heart."

A database manager from Oxford is running to raise money for the Muscular Dystrophy Campaign. Chris Reed, part of a 145-strong team, is hoping to raise more than £500 for the charity, which provides support for families affected by the muscle wasting disease and aims to find new treatments.

Helen Booker, 24, who is originally from Great Milton, near Wheatley will run as part of the Children's Society's team of around 80 runners to raise money for troubled children.

Helen, who now lives in Edinburgh, is following in her family's footsteps. Her father, Alan, has run the marathon twice and her brother, Simon, also ran it two years ago.

She will be running alongside TV vet Trude Mostue, from the docu-soap Vets in Practice.