While you are tucking into your Christmas lunch today a resident from Harlesden will be embarking on a ‘Marathon’ to raise funds for a health charity.

Clare Thomson will cover four miles but the distance equates to the 26.2mile challenge as she has had to learn to walk, talk and write again after she was struck down by a lung infection that almost claimed her life.

The 51-year-old spent more than a month on a ventilator in Spain earlier this year, after contracting acute respiratory distress syndrome, caused by pneumonia.

Since flying back to England by air ambulance she has undertaken a month’s physical rehabilitation slowly moving from a wheelchair to using a walking frame.

Ms Thomson has only managed a few steps since leaving hospital so today she aims to raise awareness and funds for the British lung Foundation (BLF) by walking from her mother’s home in Notting Hill back to her place in Harlesden.

She said: “I couldn’t breathe for two weeks without the ventilator. Imagine gasping for air. You panic, it’s a terrifying experience.

“During my recovery, I read about a condition called IPF (Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis), where scar tissue builds up in the lungs, making them thick and hard. This build-up of scar tissue is called fibrosis. People with IPF can feel breathless from simple everyday activities like walking.

“Luckily I don’t have IPF, but after what I’ve been through, I want to make people aware of this lung condition, raising money for the amazing work of the British Lung Foundation (BLF).”

To make a donation visit here.

For more information about go to blf.org.uk.