A FITNESS fanatic is lacing up her running shoes once more to help find a cure for Parkinson’s disease in honour of her uncle.

Lana Milne is taking on the Royal Parks Half Marathon on Sunday for The Cure Parkinson’s Trust (CPT).

It is a cause close to her heart as her uncle John is living with the condition.

The Cure Parkinson’s Trust is connected to the London hospital where a surgeon performed a pioneering deep brain stimulation operation on John in 2011, improving his quality of life.

Lana, from Colchester, is a keen runner and has taken on the Royal Parks Half once before, the London Marathon three times previously, as well as the Brighton Marathon and the London to Brighton walk all in support of CPT.

She said completing the marathons has been “without doubt her proudest moment”.

Before this year’s marathon, Lana took a three-year break from running to have her two young children both still under three years old, but returned with purpose in 2019 to complete the 26.2 miles through London in 3 hours 54 minutes.

In preparation for the upcoming Royal Parks Half Marathon, Lana has recently completed an endurance race on the Flitch Way in Rayne, which saw her complete 33miles in 5 hours 21 minutes, crossing the finish line first.

Lana said: “I am really excited to be running Royal Parks for the second time.

“It’s such a beautiful route and the support is great, plus having moved away from London three years ago it’s a great excuse to return.

“After my last endurance race I do think I may be running on tired legs again this year, so it may not be my fastest half marathon but it will mean a lot since it’s for such a fantastic charity.”

Lana has already raised more than £3,300 this year and CPT is hugely grateful to her for taking on yet another incredible challenge.

She said: “Having always felt helpless throughout his illness, I’ve strived to raise as much money and awareness as possible to help CPT, a charity that work so hard in trying to find a cure for people living with Parkinson’s like my uncle.

“This was the second race I ever did for CPT back in 2015 after a London Marathon, so it seemed fitting to complete the year’s fundraising with this race.”

To donate visit www.justgiving.com/fundraising/lana-milne1.