AN INSPIRATIONAL Three Towns woman is to set out on a marathon charity effort as she bids to help out “real life angels”.

Jamie-Louise McCann is also bidding to prove anything is possible if you put your mind to it as she aims to go from a novice runner to a London Marathon finisher in aid of children’s charity Barnardo’s.

Jamie will be a face familiar to many in the local area having grown up in Stevenston before moving to Saltcoats where she also ran a successful eyelash business.

Currently, she is living in London where she is attending drama school as she sets her sights on moving into a career in acting.

Make a donation at tinyurl.com/JamieMccannMarathon.

She made the move south around 18 months ago, and has been auditioning for roles and attending a number of classes as she looks to find her way in the industry.

But the 28-year-old is also preparing to tick off a 'bucket list' item on Sunday, April 21, when she runs the London Marathon for Barnardo’s.

She commented: “I knew I wanted to do it for a charity and Barnardo’s is such an amazing organisation as they help out so many vulnerable children.”

@jamielmccann

Just using tik tok now as my digital diary x

♬ RUN THIS TOWN X GANGSTAS PARADISE - ALTÉGO

Jamie had very little long-distance running experience when she first took on the challenge.

However, an extensive training programme and plenty of dedication has the Three Towns woman confident of crossing the finishing line.

Jamie explained: “I’ve literally had no experience in running. I used to do the park run on a Saturday just for fun, but would be absolutely dead doing it, so I really was going into it as a novice runner.

“Barnardo’s kindly give a running plan. So I’ve been training for 16 weeks, five times per week, every week, progressively going further, along with changing my eating habits and sleeping pattern.

“I’ve not had any alcohol in four months and my social life has been non-existent as this has been a full time commitment!”

Jamie, who briefly appeared on season six of Love Island in 2020, is also hoping others can draw inspiration from her efforts, which she has been documenting on social media.

@jamielmccann Lets make wearing a running vest to do 5k normal x #running #marathontraining #londonmarathon2024 #runningvlog ♬ son original - 🎧🎶

She added: “I just hope to prove to myself that I can actually achieve this and to inspire other people to try it and show them that anyone can do it.

“It’s not easy at all. I’ve posted a few videos crying, but I want to try and be real about how hard it actually is.

“But being able to try and bring more awareness to a charity that helps so many amazing kids makes me so happy.

“They are literally doing God’s work and helping so many people in need - they are real life angels.”

And while the marathon may be Jamie’s first charitable effort of this scale, she has ambitions to take on larger projects in future.

 

"I feel like in the future I’d love to climb like Mount Everest or do something mega extreme," she said.

“I love pushing myself to the limit and proving that you can literally do anything in this life. It doesn’t matter who you are where you come from.”

Anyone wishing to make a donation to Jamie’s fundraiser can do so online at tinyurl.com/JamieMccannMarathon.