LOSING a loved one to cancer is hard for anyone to cope with as they struggle to come to terms with the death of a close friend or relative.

Marathon runner Sarah Wood has been in that unfortunate position four times after two of her relatives and childhood friends cruelly fell victim to the disease.

The 27-year-old, from Huby, lost her grandmother when she was a baby and her uncle in 2007.

Her childhood friends Thomas Keeping, 25, and Stephen Phelps, 23, from her home town of Bridlington, died months apart in 2015 and early 2016, pushing her to embark on a gruelling fundraising adventure in their memory.

Since 2013 she has completed five out of the six World Major Marathons and will complete the final one in the series, in Berlin, on September 24.

The series has taken her on 26.2mile courses all around the world and have included runs in Tokyo, London, Boston, Berlin, and Chicago,

The estate agent has set herself a target of raising £15,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust, and has already broken through the £13,500 barrier.

She said: "I got the bug for marathons and not many people have done the World Major Marathons.

"There's only one other person I know of in York that has done them.

"Knowing I am raising all of this money gets me through them.

"I run with photographs of Tom and Stephen on my back and they are always with me."

Sarah was the second placed runner out of 2,000 women and children who took part in York's Race for Life last week and completed it one day after it should have been Mr Phelps' 26th birthday.

"This is something for me to remember my family and friends by, and it gives me some comfort," added Sarah.

"The families are really supportive and have wished me well with my fundraising.

"They keep in touch with how I'm doing on Facebook and find out how I'm getting on."

To sponsor Sarah go to www.virginmoneygiving.com/sarahwood1