Nick Smith’s cousin to take on London Marathon to raise money in his name

Vicky Monk will be on the start line of the 26.2-mile event on Sunday, 3 October, to raise money for The Nick Smith Foundation, the charity set up in memory of the 38-year old father-of-two.

Nick died in December 2017 just 101-days after being diagnosed with MND. The Foundation has so far raised over £100,000 to support research into MND and help children who have had to face the death of a parent.

Vicky and Nick, whose dads were brothers, grew up together in West Yorkshire – Vicky in Leeds, Nick in Halifax. The 39-year old now lives in Hampshire with her husband and three children.

She says she’s proud to be able to take part in such a prestigious event in his memory: “We all miss Nick hugely and taking on the challenge of the London Marathon, to be able to raise money and build on the ongoing fantastic work that the Nick Smith Foundation has already achieved, is such an honour.

“I know the next seven months of training will be hard work, not to mention the thought of the 26.2-mile marathon itself, but remembering what Nick had to go through will spur me on and I can’t wait to build on the legacy of an amazing man I was proud to call my cousin.”

Stephen Naylor, Nick’s brother-in-law and chair of the Nick Smith Foundation, said: “We were really excited to have secured as place in such a prestigious event and couldn’t think of anyone better than Vicky to represent us as a family and a charity.

“The past year has been hard for all charities and I hope as many people as possible get behind Vicky and her amazing London Marathon challenge in the months ahead so we can support more children who have had to face the tragedy of the death of a parent and more research into the awful motor neurone disease.”

Donations to support Vicky can be made at www.nicksmithfoundation.org.uk/marathon.