AN OLYMPIC torchbearer who ferried the flame past her house last summer is gearing up to run a little further – and a little faster – for charity this April.
Moira Swan, of Deepdene Avenue, Dorking, was one of two Mole Valley people to parade the torch on July 20.
But that particular journey stretched over little more than 400 metres and was run at virtual walking pace.
Now the dedicated charity-worker, who turns 52 tomorrow, is in training to conquer this year's London Marathon, which stretches 26.2 miles.
She told the Advertiser: "Carrying the torch was the most exciting day of my life, apart from the day of our marriage.
"It was my moment of fame, and the fact it was my home too, not everybody had that privilege.
"I deliberately ran so painstakingly slowly that the policemen [either side of her] were walking. It was just so I could savour it, unlike with the marathon unfortunately."
The Dorking resident will also run the marathon for the first time with husband Stuart Aikman, 49, treasurer of the Dorking and Mole Valley Athletics Club.
Mrs Swan, who ran the 2010 marathon in just over five hours, continued: "I would love to beat my previous time – but I'm three years older now and I'd be ecstatic if I could do 5:02 hours aged 52.
"It would be very hard to knock five minutes off my time, although a lot can be achieved in eight weeks."
Mrs Swan, who has lived in Dorking since 1994, is raising money for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton Lourdes Pilgrimage Trust and Comic Relief. She is hoping to better her £1,500 total raised in 2010.
Donations to the pilgrimage trust will help fund a trip for a disabled adult or child, who otherwise cannot afford it, to the Catholic town of Lourdes in southern France where, in 1858, it is believed the virgin Mary appeared to 14-year-old Bernadette Soubirous.
Mrs Swan, who first volunteered on the journey in 2004, said: "These are often people on the margins of society because of their disability, but at Lourdes they're at the centre of what we do. It's a once-in-a-lifetime experience they will never forget."
The other half of her fundraising, to Comic Relief, will go towards improving vaccination treatment in the third world.
To donate to Mrs Swan's efforts, and for more information, click here
