A BEAUTY and hair salon owner is putting lockdown to good use by running a marathon for the NHS.

Charlotte Hawkins, 31, will run the 26 miles route from Rawdon, where she is staying with her boyfriend, to Skipton on Sunday, June 14.

Charlotte, who owns the Beauty in Bloom/Beehive salon in Silsden, said: “As I am unable to work due to COVID-19, and following the latest update that salons would not be reopening until July at the earliest I decided to try and put my time to good use and run a marathon whilst hopefully raising some money to support the NHS and The Airedale Trust.

“I generally stay fit but a marathon distance has always been something I thought I’d never be fit enough or have the time to achieve. But with the current situation I thought I’d attempt the challenge and condense my training to just four weeks and run from Rawdon, my boyfriends house where I’ve isolated during lockdown, back home to Skipton.

“Having a very supportive family and friends who unfortunately wouldn’t be able to support me, I also decided to plan my route so that I can pass through their villages and towns so they can stay home but cheer me on from their driveways as I pass. I’m aware that I have to be extra careful with the social distancing regulations so plan to set off as early as possible on the day to reduce how many people may be around.”

Charlotte will run through Guiseley, Menston, Burley in Wharfedale, Ilkley and Addingham - where she will stop for water on her friend’s driveway. She will then carry on through Silsden and Steeton, Glusburn, Crosshills, Cononley and Carlton.

She will finish in the coach street car park at Skipton where she will be able to see her mum, who lives near by.

She has put a sweepstake on Facebook for people to guess her time, and has also set up a JustGiving page https://www.justgiving.com/team/charlottehawkins

She said: “I’ve linked my Strava so people can see my training, and I’ve set it up as a team so that people can chose whether they’d like to donate to the NHS or Airedale. I figured this was better because I have friends all over and they may not have wanted to support the local hospital.”

Charlotte, whose grandma was a paramedic, also has close friends who works for the NHS and at Airedale Hospital. She said she felt an overwhelming urge to help the NHS during the pandemic.

“I wanted to help in some form as soon as lockdown begun. I felt helpless and useless and I’m so used to working long days and being so busy usually, I’ve found the lockdown a huge challenge. It goes against my natural instinct to be constantly busy and on the go. This seemed like a positive way of helping.”