JELLY Babies will be on the menu for one Royston Runner as she pounds the streets of London on Sunday. Christine Brown, 45, of Hillside, is taking part in the Flora London Marathon – and is hoping to raise £2,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care. But while mos

JELLY Babies will be on the menu for one Royston Runner as she pounds the streets of London on Sunday.

Christine Brown, 45, of Hillside, is taking part in the Flora London Marathon - and is hoping to raise £2,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care.

But while most people stick to high energy drinks and pasta the night before, Christine has a sweeter tip for success.

"I plan to have lots of Jelly Babies on the day," she said.

"You shouldn't eat or drink anything on marathon day that you haven't trained with, so on my runs I have been having jelly babies at six miles, 10 miles, and then every mile after that."

Christine works as a community fund-raiser for Marie Curie Cancer Care and says that her work gives her the chance to see first-hand the difference that the charity makes.

"Working with the Marie Curie nurses and hearing stories from patients means I see the impact of our work every day.

"It's particularly nice to be running the marathon this year as it's the charity's 60th anniversary."

Christine has been a member of the Royston Runners for five years and hopes to complete the challenge in five and a half hours.

"The training is very time-consuming.

"All my Sundays have been written off. I do running and nothing else.

"By the time I have got up, eaten the right foods, gone for a run, and then had a bath it's four or five o'clock in the afternoon."

Christine's husband Peter, 46, will also be running the London Marathon in aid of Marie Curie Cancer Care.

But said Christine: "We won't be running together. He's too fast for me.

"The training has been really hard for me, I'm not a natural runner.

"It's taken me four years to pluck up the courage to do this and I'm a bit nervous but excited as well.

"I'm doing everything I can to get around the course with no injuries and raise as much money as I can."

To support Christine in the London Marathon visit www.justgiving.com/christinebrown

All entries for the 2009 Flora London Marathon will have to be registered online and open on April 13, 2008. To apply visit www.london-marathon.co.uk