England anthem singer to run (and sing) at the London marathon

England rugby's official anthem singer Laura Wright, one of the UK's leading classical artists, will be running the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon to raise funds for Nordoff Robbins, the music therapy charity for which she is an ambassador.

Laura will stop during the race on Tower Bridge to sing Jerusalem, a track taken from her album ‘Glorious'. This is the third time Laura will be running a Marathon – she took part in the London Marathon in 2011 and the Venice Marathon in 2010.  Laura was planning on running the 2013 London Marathon but had to pull out last minute due to an injury to her knee which required surgery.

She said “I was gutted when I had to withdraw from last year's Marathon but I'm fit and well now and raring to go.
“I'm training hard and as well as raising lots of money for Nordoff Robbins, my goal is to complete the Marathon in under 4 hours. But this time it will be a little bit different as I will stop during the Marathon as I get to Tower Bridge to sing Jerusalem.
“Music is an incredibly big part of my life, which is why I've chosen to support Nordoff Robbins. Their music therapy transforms lives and the money I raise will help them provide even more music therapy sessions across the UK.”
Running a Marathon is a particularly big achievement for Laura who, at 10 years old, had septic arthritis in her knee and spent months in a wheelchair and was told it was unlikely she would walk again. Over a decade later, pulling out of last year's marathon due to a knee injury brought all those memories back and so she was even more determined to run this year's Marathon.
Claire Parkins, fundraiser at Nordoff Robbins said: “We are incredibly grateful to Laura for running the 2014 Virgin Money London Marathon for Nordoff Robbins. As well as helping to raise awareness of music therapy, all the funds she raises will make an enormous difference to the lives of vulnerable children and adults throughout the UK.”
To donate to Nordoff Robbins visit Laura's fundraising page here.