Northampton teacher to cut off hair midway through London Marathon in support of cancer research

A Northampton teacher will lose 12 inches of her hair mile 12 of the London Marathon to raise money for cancer research and donate her hair to a children’s wig charity.
Lindsay Shelton will have 12 inches of hair chopped off at the 12th mile of the London Marathon.Lindsay Shelton will have 12 inches of hair chopped off at the 12th mile of the London Marathon.
Lindsay Shelton will have 12 inches of hair chopped off at the 12th mile of the London Marathon.

When she gets to Tower Bridge, Lindsay Shenton will stop to have her pony tail lopped off before she embarks on finishing the remaining 14 miles.

She was inspired to run the marathon to raise money for Institute of Cancer Research after a friend’s six-year-old daughter was diagnosed with leukaemia. Her chopped-off locks will then be sent to Little Princess Trust to make a wig for a young girl with cancer.

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Lindsay said: “Looking at my friend’s daughter, I just thought about how much she struggled with having no hair, and how difficult it was for her to find a wig. I realised I could help children with cancer in two ways – by supporting research at the ICR into new treatments and by donating my hair.”

This will be Lindsay’s second London Marathon in a row. Last year she was injured and struggled to make it over the finish line with a stress fracture. This year she is determined to make it over the line in one piece – just minus 12 inches (30cm) of hair.

She said: "Running isn’t something I enjoy or am particularly good at. So this will certainly be a challenge. After getting injured last year I am determined to get around and make the biggest impact I can both for cancer research, and for a little girl out there who is undergoing cancer treatment.

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Lannah Carbonilla, head of supporter engagement at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, said:“I would like to thank Lindsay and all the other TeamICR runners for their support. A lot of hard work and dedication has gone into both their training and fundraising and we wish them the best of luck for the big day.”