Narembeen runner Ashleigh Hunter ready for London Marathon in support of sick child

Ashleigh Hunter, 33, has spent the past five months pounding the dusty tracks in preparation for the run, with the support of the community behind her.

Ms Hunter, previously from Essex, has been living in Narembeen for the past 13 years.

"I have a group of girlfriends (in England) that we're all really close to and have a lot to do with, I see them every time I go home," Ms Hunter said.

In 2021, Ms Hunter received news that her friend's daughter Mia, aged 14 months was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis type 1, a rare genetic disorder which causes tumours to grow on nerve endings.

"My best friend over there, Bridie, noticed some differences in her, she wasn't developing how she thought she should be," she said

In Mia's case, there was a cluster of tumours on her optic nerves, causing blindness.

"She's two now, three at the end of the year, she's spent most of her life having chemotherapy.

"It's been horrendous, it's been really hard to watch - being so far away."

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Mia has just completed 72 weeks of chemotherapy, and, thankfully, a recent scan looked positive.

Doctors have advised for the young girl to take three months without treatment to let her body recover and build up her strength.

"She can't walk because she's been so weak in the legs," Ms Hunter said.

"They're doing physio and trying to get her to eat a bit more."

During this time Mia can also have her Hickman line (a hollow tube that is placed into a vein in the chest) removed, which was causing recurrent infections.

"Bridie's husband, Warren, is a pilot for the British army, so he's away a lot - it must be really isolating not being able to socialise as you used to, because anything you bring home could make your baby really sick.

"It was the peak of COVID when it all happened, and her being a nurse meant she had to pull back from work."

Last year, Ms Hunter met Mia for the first time.

"I was like 'wow, this special girl has so much personality', even though she's been going through absolute hell."

While in England, Ms Hunter said another friend mentioned they were participating in the London Marathon to raise money for the charities that had been supporting Mia, Bridie and Warren.

She pledged to raise $3500, however with the help of more than 50 donors, she has now raised $6000.

Ms Hunter is fundraising for Young Lives Vs Cancer, a UK-based charity.

The money goes directly to grants which helps to assist families who have faced a cancer diagnosis to cover expenses.

Ms Hunter arrived in Narembeen in 2010, after spending some time travelling around Australia with a friend.

After arriving in Perth from Queensland, the pair sought regional work.

Vast open spaces and little towns passed them on their three-hour bus ride.

"I distinctly remember pulling up to Narembeen, and looking at my girlfriend, crying, and saying 'Oh my god there's nothing here, there's nothing'," Ms Hunter said.

The plan was to make some money and move on, but 13 years later, with her husband Ben, two children aged four and six, Ms Hunter appears to be settled.

Before she started her training, she said she "couldn't even run a kilometre".

Ms Hunter built up her stamina by running a few kilometres at a time, before beginning a 16-week training program that involves three small runs per week and then a long run on the weekend.

"I make sure I get out and run - so much of it is mental," she said.

"I'm trying to stay focused.

"I had so many people that have donated for me that I didn't want to let anybody down."

Ms Hunter runs anywhere she can, mostly laps around lakes, ovals and parks.

Now she is scaling down her training into a maintenance phase, after recently completing a 32km run.

"About 12km into my run, my friend Kelly appeared on a bike, and about two minutes later another friend pulled up as well," she said.

Within minutes, Ms Hunter was running alongside her close friends, who were joining her on bikes - and an e-scooter - offering water, snacks and a whole lot of support.

As she came to the end of her training run, she was met with the students from Narembeen District High School.

"I had no idea they planned for the whole school to be there," she said.

"The support from the community has been overwhelming, I'm blown away."

Often training in the heat, Ms Hunter said she was looking forward to the cooler London temperatures.

Accompanied by her husband Ben, Ms Hunter flies to London next Tuesday, April 18, with the 42km race being on held Sunday, April 23.

As the race draws nearer Ms Hunter said she's feeling excited.

"I have been completely overwhelmed with the support that I've received here, without that I think I would have struggled," she said,

"I just want to cross that start line and finish, I don't have a time I want to run it in, I just want to do it.

"I just wanted to show her (Bridie) that we're a million miles apart but I've got your back and I support you."