Yapton woman to run London marathon despite being told she'd never run again

This isn’t the first time the 40-year-old has proven doubters wrong. 21 races into her extensive marathon career, she went under the knife for back surgery, and doctors told her she’d never cross the finish line again. Later that year, she finished her 22nd marathon, and went on to finish 31 more, before an operation in 2019 kept her off the running tracks for two years.

Now though, she’s back. And she’s keen to make good on the habit of a lifetime – even if it’s set to be harder this time around. “After the surgery, it took about a year to recover. I was in a wheelchair for some time, and I had to teach myself to walk again,” Miss Early said.

"I’m a very different runner now, to what I was. I hate it when people say ‘how fast can you run?’ or ‘what time are you going for?’ because I can’t do that anymore. My whole gait has changed. My leg is heavy, I can’t stride out like I used to. I used to run a marathon a month, and I’ve had to accept that my body can’t do that anymore, but I do think I’ll be able to do a couple a year.”

Despite all those set-backs, Gemma never gave up hope of running again. "Running was my saviour – I suffered with depression earlier in my life and running was always my outlet. Going through the surgery and then trying to recover, my thought process was always ‘I’m going to get back to this in some shape or form.’

"I don’t take lightly to being told I’ll never do something. I like to prove people wrong – it’s a challenge for me.”

In order to raise funds for Deaf Action, her chosen charity, Miss Early will be running a charity fashion show on April 15, at Angmering Community Centre. Kicking off at 2pm, she hopes the show will showcase a range of garments which guests will be able to buy after the show ends.

To find out more and donate, click here.

Read more

Detailed plans for the 'rejuvenation' of Bognor's Alexandra Theatre revealed as consultation begins