A NORTH Berwick woman says completing the London Marathon was “a day I’ll always remember”, after breaking her ankle with 15 miles still to run.

Sheila Grant, a former deputy head girl at North Berwick High School, suffered the injury after slipping on a plastic water bottle which had been discarded by another runner.

But thanks to the support of her fellow competitors, she somehow made it round the rest of the world-famous 26.2-mile course, finishing the marathon in 4 hours 20 minutes.

The 30-year-old dancer and actress, who has lived in London for 12 years, but whose family resides at Netherlaw on North Berwick’s Grange Road, told the Courier there was “not a chance” she would not complete the race, despite her serious injury.

She said: “I slipped on a discarded plastic bottle and fractured my ankle. It was extremely painful but I hoped it was just a sprain and I could run it out.

“My friends and running buddies picked me up off the road and immediately started me running on it again at pace for the remaining 15 miles.

“There is a huge amount to be said for adrenaline, a ‘mind over matter’ mentality, self-belief and seeing something through properly to the end when you want it badly enough.

“There wasn’t a chance I was stopping after all the support, sponsorship and training I had.

“It’s the encouragement from the crowd, both close friends and complete strangers cheering you on, that makes it special and really lifted my spirits when I was in a tremendous amount of pain.”

Sheila, whose brothers Niall and Gareth and sister Beverley are all also ex-pupils at North Berwick High School, was running the race for Breast Cancer Now, a cause close to her heart.

She added: “When my wonderful 91-year-old grandma from Troon was re-diagnosed with breast cancer at the end of 2015 after initially surviving it 42 years ago, I knew there and then that I wanted to run for the charity Breast Cancer Now.

“It was a huge dream of mine to one day partake in the London Marathon, and I always knew I’d want to run on behalf of a charity because those were the runners that had inspired me the most.”

Sheila, who attended North Berwick High between 1998 and 2004, admitted it was only after the race she appreciated the extent of her injury.

“It was only after crossing the finish line and looking down at my ankle that I realised what I had done,” she said: “The St John Ambulance team at the finishing line provided amazing aftercare, and a six-hour wait for an X-ray at A&E confirmed it was a fracture.

“It wasn’t quite the feeling at the finish line I had imagined. The pain really began to set in.”

Sheila’s efforts have helped raise more than £2,500 for the charity, but she is facing time off work due to her injury.

A professional dancer and actress, she has appeared in films such as London Paris New York and God Help the Girl, a number of musical theatre productions and was a dancer on television show The Mighty Boosh.

She said: “I’m now facing an extensive period of time off work, loss of earnings and the hassle of orthopaedic and physiotherapy appointments for rehabilitation.

“The swelling and pain has yet to go down and I’m currently in an air-cast boot, housebound.”

Her efforts were also praised by staff at North Berwick High School.

Lauren Rodger, the headteacher, told the Courier: “Sheila’s former teachers are not surprised that she showed such grit and determination when she continued running despite being injured. She displayed these same qualities when choosing to follow her dream of becoming a professional dancer.

“We’re very proud of the achievements of our former pupil, and of her resilience in such a challenging circumstance.”

To donate to Sheila’s marathon fundraising cause, visit justgiving.com/fundraising/Sheila-Grant