A WOMAN is getting her trainers on to complete a 5km run every day this month to raise funds in memory of her mother.

Rebecca Hanson, 33 from Shipley, is taking on the 5k-a-day May challenge, in aid of the Stroke Association’s work funding research and supporting stroke survivors.

She was inspired to raise the cash for the charity after her mother, Cindy Whitaker, had a subarachnoid haemorrhage stroke and died in June 2011.

A subarachnoid haemorrhage is a type of stroke caused by bleeding on the surface of the brain.

Although they are not as common as ischaemic strokes, which are caused by a blockage, subarachnoid haemorrhages are a serious type of stroke and around 50 per cent of people who have one will not survive.

Mrs Hanson said: “It’s almost been six years since my mum died. She would have been 50 this year.

“It seems fitting that in May, the month of her 50th birthday and during Make May Purple, that I celebrate her life and do something to help raise vital funds for the Stroke Association. That’s why I came up with the idea of 5k-a-day May.

“Every single day in May I’m running 5km, totalling up to 155km.

“On the last day of May all of my friends and family will be coming together for a group run and raising a toast to my mum to finish the month off in style.”

On her online donation page, Mrs Hanson revealed she was pregnant when her mother died. She added: “My incredible mum Cindy was a fiesty, kind and intelligent woman with her whole life to live.

“She suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage on June 16, 2011 and passed away age 44. I was 33 weeks pregnant with her grandson Ben, he was born on July 24 – she never got to meet him. Last year we welcomed Alexander to the family, another person she didn’t get to meet.”

The Stroke Association is calling on everyone to sign up to Make May Purple in 2017 to raise funds and show support for people who have been affected by a stroke.

To get involved with Make May Purple, go to stroke.org.uk/makemaypurple

To sponsor Mrs Hanson, go to justgiving.com/fundraising/5k-a-dayMay