A North Yorkshire woman is to take part in a gruelling challenge in memory of her mother.

Laura Massheder was just 18 when her mum Patricia Taylor (formerly Jakeman) died of a sudden heart attack aged 45.

This came as a shock to Laura and her brother Richard, who was 21 at the time.

“There was just three of us,” she told The Press. “It was just me and my brother navigating the world.”

Laura MasshederLaura Massheder (Image: Supplied)

The family lived in Tadcaster, with Laura attending Riverside School then Tadcaster Grammar School.

Laura, who now lives in Malton, said her grandmother looked after her and Richard after Patricia’s death.

The married mother of two describes the time as a “whirlwind”.

“We were very young; it was a very hard time,” she explained.

Laura, now 38, said the family has a history of heart disease but there was “nothing to indicate” that her mum would have a heart attack.

“Everything was fine on Sunday, July 4, 2004,” the teaching assistant said. “I went to work on the Monday morning and was due to go to Greece on holiday. But then I went home and found her.”

Twenty years on, Laura said she wants to pay tribute to her mum by running the Great North Run on Sunday, September 8.

She will take on the half marathon (13.1 miles) route – the furthest she has ever run – from Newcastle to South Shields.

Laura “found a passion for running” after the birth of her second son, 11-year-old Zack, she said, adding that she now runs regularly, as well as walking and cycling.

'If I cross the finish line it’s all for my mum'

On the run, she explained: “I think it will be my second biggest achievement, besides my boys.

“If I cross the finish line it’s all for my mum.”

Laura with her mum Patricia Taylor before her deathLaura with her mum Patricia Taylor before her death (Image: Supplied)

But, Laura said, she is looking forward to one thing during the run: peace and quiet.

“I’m still trying to juggle a four-day working week, a husband and kids but it’s good because I’ll have the Great North Run to have time to myself,” she laughed. “It’s all fun and games, you’ve got to keep smiling.”

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Laura hopes to enjoy some “me time” over the 13.1 miles with “no one wanting snacks”, she said, joking: “The things I have to do for some time on my own.”

She is running with a friend who is an experienced runner.

Her husband Adam, a game keeper, will be with Zack and his older brother Harry, 14, cheering Laura on from home, she said.

Laura hopes to raise £1,000 for the British Heart Foundation through the challenge.