'Not a day goes by where I don't think about her': Northampton woman takes on marathon in memory of her nan

A Northampton woman is set to take on the London Marathon this year in memory of her "incredibly strong" nan who passed away after battling a series of strokes and dementia.

Service administrator, Kat Woodgate, 28, of Ecton Brook, is this April running 26 miles in aid of the Alzheimer's Society - which supported her nan Audrey Hill, who died in 2016 after putting up a brave fight against dementia.

Kat has pledged to raise a minimum of Â£2,000 overall for the charity and will be running a number of events between now and the marathon in April, including a pub quiz and raffle, a coffee morning and a bric-a-brac sale.

She said: "I felt an affinity to nan, as I am very much like my mum's side of the family. As her mind left her, we all felt such a huge loss, we were grieving someone who was still with us...watching this incredible woman slowly slip away in front of us and not being able to do anything about it.

"But she was incredibly strong, despite all her health issues, we still had glimpses of her every now and again, a smile, a comment, a question. In a way this was a relief as we still had her and knew she hadn't given in completely. But in other ways it was soul destroying as she was still there and still aware of what was happening.

"Yes, there were arguments, yes, there were tears, yes, there were times we thought we couldn't carry on. But counter that with the time we did get, the memories we got, the laughter, the smiles and the cuddles. Not a day goes by where I don't think about her."

The Alzheimer's Society was introduced to Audrey through the hospital.

It was there that the charity offered her the opportunity to take part in a coffee club while also supporting her families caring needs.

Audrey passed away in 2016 after battling dementia. Now her granddaughter is fundraising in her memory.

Kat said she struggled to visit her nan, who lived in Peterborough, but when she could spare the time in her busy working schedule she would sit with Audrey and hold her hand.

She added: "Dementia is horrible, it removes the person from the body slowly, making everyone around this person forcibly watch. I can't even begin to fathom how it felt for her.

"No-one should have to go through this horrible disease, and it needs funding to help find a cure.”