A WEST Devon woman will be helping to mend broken hearts as she has challenged herself to run 13 miles for charity.

Karen McClung, from Tavistock, will be running the Plymouth Half Marathon on June 3, raising money to support the British Heart Foundation's Mending Broken Hearts Appeal.

This is a massive challenge for Karen as she only started running in June last year, when she could not even manage to run one mile.

Karen said: 'I decided to support the Mending Broken Hearts Appeal because I want to support the work of this amazing charity in memory of my dad, Pete Redstone, who died of heart disease in 2010. I am hoping to raise £500 towards the British Heart Foundation's ground-breaking Mending Broken Hearts research programme.'

Kate Shanley, appeal director at the British Heart Foundation, said: 'At the moment, there's no cure for a broken heart.

'Once your heart muscle is damaged by a heart attack, it can never fully recover.

'Thanks to the support of Karen we are a step closer to achieving our goal of funding the ground-breaking research that could begin to literally mend broken hearts in as little as 10 years time.

'This is an extra special year for the BHF as it's our 50th birthday, so there's never a better time to join the celebrations and get involved. Visit our website at bhf.org.uk/fundhope and order your free fundraising kit today!'

For more information about the mending broken hearts appeal, visit http://www.bhf.org.uk/fundhope">www.bhf.org.uk/fundhope or call 03003 330333 or email [email protected]">[email protected]