An 18 year old girl from Preston has completed a half marathon to raise money for a charity close to her heart.

Lucy Baxter took part in the run, which she has been organising for the past four months, on Saturday 5 March.

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Lucy suffers from Cystic Fibrosis and created the ‘Leg it For Lucy’ campaign to help raise money for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust.

Read more: How this Preston businessman is helping charities

60 people took part in running, walking or cycling the route of 22km from Burscough to New Longton.

Lucy decided to complete the run after being advised by a doctor to improve her lung capacity in order to avoid chest infection, and after asking several friends, over 60 people signed up to run with her.

After taking on the role of organising, she sourced sponsors and marshals for the event to ensure it was safe for everyone participating, along with a band, ‘Some Time Today’, to play music at the finish line in New Longton.

Lucy said: “I have really enjoyed myself organising the event and it has been an amazing feeling to have all my friends helping me, and some people I did not know before ‘Leg it For Lucy’ took off.

“I have not been to the hospital for a month, but next time I go I am really interested in seeing if my lung capacity percentage has increased with the increased exercise I have been doing.

“I managed to run 10km which I found challenging, but due to the training I had done, found it manageable.

“I was near enough the last person to cross the finish line in New Longton and there was about 50 or more people cheering me on at the end which was overwhelming.

“The weather was gloriously sunny, but as soon as we finished running, the rain began.

“It was a fantastic and memorable day and I was truly overwhelmed with the support and the willingness people had in supporting me as I was running and organising the event. ”

Nuffield Health Preston, the gym which Lucy attends, decided to join the campaign and held a ‘Lift it For Lucy’ on Monday 27 February, in which people had a competition to see how much they could lift.

So far Lucy has raised around £8000, and hopes to raise £10,000 in total.

You can follow updates from Lucy’s fundraising by following her Facebook Page ‘Leg it For Lucy‘ and you can donate to her Virgin Money Giving Page where you will find her story.

What do you think about Lucy’s story? Have you been involved in any charity events recently? Let us know in the comments below