A mum-of-five – including a three-month-old baby – is planning to run the London Marathon in high heels!
Natalie Eckert hopes to raise £5,000 by completing next year's London marathon in a pair of sparkly five-inch high heels.
The 37-year-old, from Stoke-on-Trent, was inspired after hearing about German Julia Plecher earning a place in the Guinness Book of World Records by running 100m in 14.531 seconds while wearing golden heels.
Natalie – who has never run a marathon before - told her local paper: "My friends are always laughing at me because I'm always wearing high heels. I wear them all the time, even on the school run.
"I've been known to wear them when I've been pregnant. I absolutely love them. I read about the German lady doing 100m and thought 'that's nothing, she should try a marathon'.
"I've got 25 weeks to up my training. I started running in heels a few weeks ago but it didn't feel too strange.
"The only problem I think I might have is getting the heel caught in a hole or something like that on the road.
"The Guinness World Record people said the minimum height is three inches but I thought that was no problem. The smallest pair I have are five inches so I have been training in them anyway.
"It's not as though this is going to be an easy task for me. I'm a mother of five children and my youngest is only a three-month-old baby. It's going to take a lot of hard work and dedication."
Stay-at-home-mum Natalie hopes to attract a big name sponsor for the marathon, and plans to raise over £5,000 in aid of Asthma UK and a charity for bereaved children called Winston's Wish.
She added: "My son who is two has been diagnosed with asthma so I wanted to donate to the charity. I had asthma as a child so I know how bad it can be."
To donate to Natalie's marathon challenge, visit her Teamstiletto page on Facebook.