Charlotte enjoys day at Buckingham Palace after raising £7.5k for Mencap
A woman with Down’s syndrome who ran the London marathon so others can get job opportunities has spoken of her joy at spending a day at Buckingham Palace.
Charlotte Aspley, 27, from Lichfield, has mosaic Down’s syndrome but took on the famous marathon, raising £7,500 along the way for Mencap.
She chose to take on the challenge in order to thank the charity for helping her land a job in Tesco after taking part in their Shine Project and was invited to the palace to celebrate Mencap’s 70th birthday.
During her day at the palace, she got to speak with others who had done work for the charity, as well as Sophie Helen Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex.
Charlotte said: "When I got the letter saying I was invited to Buckingham Palace to celebrate Mencap's 70th birthday I couldn't believe it.
"The charity helped me a lot by allowing me to take part in the Shine Project, that led to me getting my job which I love.
"It costs £2,500 for them to put somebody through that project and I wanted to try and help others have access to the opportunities I did.
"Going to the palace was amazing, the champagne was literally flowing, I couldn't believe it.
"I was so focused on not making a fool of myself all of the time but I still enjoyed myself.
"It was an out of this world experience."
Charlotte, 27, took on the daunting London Marathon with just 26 weeks training and thanked the Lichfield Running Club for their support in getting her ready.
She said: "I don't know why I chose to do the London Marathon but I needed whipping into shape and the team at Lichfield Running Club did that for me."
