A WEYMOUTH woman who dedicates her free time to raising money and awareness of charities is running this year's London Marathon.

Karen McGuinness busks on the streets of Weymouth and Dorchester to raise money for a number of different charities as well as raising awareness of colostomy bags and giving pre-surgery supportive talks to people going in for stoma surgery.

Ms McGuinness said: “My fundraising is everything, it keeps me alive and it is all in memory of my mum, Sybil Ashman.”

She has raised more than £30,000 for charity over the years and through busking alone has raised over £7,500.

Ms McGuinness first applied for the London Marathon three years ago.

The 50-year-old explained: “The London Marathon was on my bucket list, and I had an email out of the blue saying 'congratulations, we would like to choose you to take part in the London Marathon'.

“I’m feeling nervous because there’s a time limit to get a medal but whether I get my medal or not I just want to get over that finish line."

She explained that the reason she keeps up with all the fundraising is to keep her mind off her own disability.

“With my own disability, my intestine doesn’t work, and I just have to keep doing what I can.”

Twenty years ago she underwent an emergency hysterectomy, and a few years later she had emergency bowel surgery. Following that she got toxic poisoning and went in to have a temporary colostomy bag fitted, but due to complications had to have a permanent one.

She has a great support network around her, particularly from her family as her husband is supporting her through the challenge of training for the marathon on Sunday, October 2 which she is doing to to support Children with Cancer UK.

Ms McGuinness said: “My husband is keeping me fit and has been a big part of my recovery and he gives me nothing but encouragement.”

Her daughter set her up on TikTok where she is known as ‘Kaz Mcgoo Charity Busker’ with 11.4k followers to whom she spreads awareness of colostomy bags, shares her busking and posts funny skits.

On top of all the fundraising work she does, Ms McGuinness also finds the time to work her two jobs as a trained healthcare professional and bra fitter in Marks and Spencer.

So far, the charity busker has managed to raise £900 for her London Marathon run and she also ran a charity evening at The Waterloo pub which featured a raffle, tombola and of course, busking.

Ms McGuinness has also been awarded 'Beads of Courage' by Children with Cancer UK to wear during the race

If you would like to donate, you can do so here: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/karen-mcguinness2

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