Raleigh caregiver trains for London Marathon to support disabled charity

Raleigh caregiver Edith Veremu is turning a first full marathon into a Wake County story of endurance and relief. While raising her daughter as a single mother and managing full-time caregiving, she is training for Sunday’s 2026 TCS London Marathon and fundraising for Sense, a disability charity that supported more than 30,000 disabled children, young people and adults with complex needs, and their families, last year.

Veremu has said running has become a lifeline, giving her a rare stretch of time away from nonstop care responsibilities and a goal that belongs to her alone. She views the marathon as more than a race. It is a test of whether a Raleigh caregiver can keep pursuing something hard even while family needs, work and daily logistics keep pressing in.

The effort nearly stalled when unexpected medical expenses threatened her plans. That makes the fundraiser practical, not symbolic. The money she raises will help cover the travel and race-week costs tied to getting to London, and it also supports Sense’s work with disabled people and families facing complex needs. Sense says it has provided support for more than 70 years, and its reach gives Veremu’s run a wider purpose than one finish line.

Her race comes at the center of one of the world’s largest endurance events. The 2026 London Marathon is set for Sunday, April 26, with the start line at Greenwich and Blackheath. Event materials describe it as a road race with a 246-foot elevation gain and an eight-hour time limit. It is the 46th London Marathon, and pre-race coverage said more than 59,000 runners were expected at the start line, following a record 1.13 million ballot applications.

That scale helps explain why Veremu’s effort resonates far beyond London. The marathon is one of the world’s biggest fundraising events, and her campaign connects a personal milestone in Raleigh to a global race built around charity, inclusion and mass participation. For Wake County families juggling child care, elder care and medical demands, her story lands close to home: ambition does not disappear when caregiving begins, but it often has to be carried one long mile at a time.