When a wedding aisle meets a marathon track

As runner Laura Coleman-Day approached the end of the London Marathon, she turned off and stopped briefly on a median. The racer wasn't pausing to catch her breath, however; she had to put on her wedding dress for the final three miles. 

• This year's marathon just so happened to fall on what would have been her and her husband Xander's sixth wedding anniversary. 
• But instead of celebrating with him, she was running in his memory. 

Let's rewind: Xander and Laura spent five wonderful years as husband and wife before he passed away due to stem cell transplant complications during a battle with cancer. 

• The duo welcomed their son, Amos, in 2021 before Xander got sick. 
• Since his death, Laura has committted herself to training for and running 12 marathons to raise funds for stem cell research. 
• The London race was her final one. 

About three miles before the end of the race, Laura quickly put on her wedding dress to finish out strong. The dress and train were too long to safely run in, so she had to lift the front end of the dress the entire way while a friend held the long train behind her. 

As Laura crossed the finish line with a time of five hours and 53 minutes, she broke down into tears, remembering her late husband. 

Looking ahead...While this race wrapped up Laura's 12-marathon pledge in honor of her husband, she says she will continue raising money for her cause however she can. The proud wife and mom has raised $23,000 for stem cell research through her efforts.