A Bury St Edmunds woman is set to become a first-time marathon runner later this year in honour of her mum who she lost to brain cancer.

Julie Dale, 37, is running the world-famous 26.2 miles in London this October to fundraise for The National Brain Appeal.

The mum-of-two hopes to raise £2,000 for the charity after she lost her mother, Jan Dargan, to a Gliobastoma brain tumour (GBM) in 2008.

East Anglian Daily Times: Julie Dale's mother passed away in 2008, 28 months after her brain tumour diagnosis.Julie Dale's mother passed away in 2008, 28 months after her brain tumour diagnosis. (Image: Joshua Dale)

GBM is the most common form of malignant brain tumour with an estimated survival time of just 12-18 months - Jan passed away 28 months after her diagnosis.

Julie said: "I feel extremely lucky to have had those months with my mum.

"I hope that experience has made me kinder, more empathetic and more driven to achieve my goals."

While her fundraising efforts are well underway, she only began training a couple of weeks ago.

Julie will be following an 18-week plan, with the longest run falling three weeks before the race in October.

She said: "I'm not setting myself a time to complete the 26 miles in, I just want to reach the finish line in one piece."

East Anglian Daily Times: Julie Dale is hoping to raise £2,000 for The National Brain Appeal by running the London marathon in October.Julie Dale is hoping to raise £2,000 for The National Brain Appeal by running the London marathon in October. (Image: Anthony Dargan)

Julie wishes to fundraise for The National Brain Appeal as just one per cent of the annual research budget for cancer is donated to brain tumour research.

Her fundraising campaign has kicked off with a raffle which will be drawn in August.

Prizes include a bungee jump, Newmarket race tickets, a Suffolk owl sanctuary adoption and various family passes to local attractions.

Julie will also be running 'memory miles' where each mile run within the marathon is either dedicated or in memory of someone.

Each person honoured by a memory mile will have their name printed on the back of her t-shirt.

Julie said: "We miss mum every single day - she was truly one of the kindest and most caring people I ever knew.

"To have had her as my mum was the greatest gift I could ever receive, even if it was only for the first 23 years of my life."