13 days to marathon number 5 in Waterford, this has been a relatively easy week as I am still carrying a slight injury, so my aim for the next 13 days is to try to recover as much as possible. It was great to see our fundraising efforts in Waterford Today this week and also in the Connect magazine in Kerry.
Running 12 marathons in 8 months is Brenda Doody's way of trying to give back to the Mercy Hospital in Cork after her husband Pat was
Waterford Today Article: Running for Pat - Brenda is running 12 marathons in 8 months
Running 12 marathons in 8 months is Brenda Doody's way of trying to give back to the Mercy Hospital in Cork after her husband Pat was
diagnosed with Oesophageal cancer at the age of 44. Brenda is running a total of 506.34 kilometres, taking in Waterford’s Viking Marathon in June, to raise much needed funds for the Hospital as a token of her gratitude for their expert care.
"My Husband Pat age 44 was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in May 2014 in the Mercy Hospital, he was a fit, healthy 44 year old. He had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery in September to remove his oesphagus. Because of the wonderful care that he received in the Mercy I wanted to say thank you and to give something back."
And she decided to give back in a major way by completing 12 marathons in a time period that most ordinary people would think nigh on impossible "I wanted to do my first marathon in Tralee as it is home, and finish in Dublin where hopefully Pat will run with me (health permitting). As I was planning my marathons I came across the quadrathon in Donegal in August which is 4 marathons in 4 days and decided that it would add to the challenge, and so 12 marathons in 8 months was devised."
That didn't mean to say that it didn't take a lot of preparation. Brenda followed a marathon training plan for the first marathon which was running 5 days a week. There is a short space of time between each marathon so training is easier, 4-5 days. All marathons are in Ireland as she did not want to add to the expense of travel and are as follows:
Tralee- March, Connemara - April, Limerick - May, Cork and Waterford - June, Killarney - July, Donegal quadrathon - August, Dingle - September and Dublin - October.
Brenda readily admits that the support she has been given has been immense "The support that I have received has been unbelievable, Tralee, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Killarney marathons have all given me free entry to the marathons. People have ran various marathons with me to raise funds, in Limerick we had a relay team and in Cork there were 4 relay teams of friends and family.
"In Waterford Elaine Noonan is doing her first ever marathon to raise funds for the Mercy. The Mercy foundation have been excellent. Friends, family, neighbours have come together to organise various events with our total so far almost 10,000 euro. I had a call this week from a lady in Donegal who has been following my blog and she offered me free accommodation in Donegal for the quadrathon.
"I have been sponsored by Adrenalin sports store in Co Limerick, Brooks sponsored my running shoes and high five sponsored energy and recovery gels."
Most importantly Brenda’s husband is doing well and has even returned to work recently. "Pat is doing well, he is getting used to how his life has changed but he has survived and that is what counts - anything else that is thrown at us we will deal with if and when it happens. Pat returned to work after being off for exactly one year. He is a lecturer in IT Tralee."
When all the marathons are done she will be taking a short rest before taking on a new challenge "My initial plan was that I would finish in Dublin and then retire but as I am ticking off the marathons I am enjoying them more and more and getting faster with each one - Cork finishing times was 3 hours 57 mins, so I may not hang up my runners yet, I might consider 1 ultra run in Spring next year and then take a break."
To follow Brenda’s story see:
facebook page : Brendas Mercy Marathon Challenge
To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda
If anyone would like to run a marathon or to fundraise in anyway they can contact Brenda on the above or by email brenda.doody@gmail.com
Our children from Derryquay school are on the last leg of their marathon having already run 23 miles, this Friday will see them running their last 3 miles, where afterwards we have a great evening planned at our school with a barbecue where the children will be presented with medals kindly sponsored by Marie at swimheadz and t shirts kindly donated by the Mercy Foundation.
On Saturday a group of us are heading from Kerry to support the Ladies Lunch in aid of the Mercy Hospital Foundation. It will be nice to wear high heels instead of a pair of running shoes ................. It promises to be a great event so I would encourage anyone that is looking for a great day out to consider supporting to raise fund for this very worthy cause.
Fashion, music,inspirational speakers, delicious food and amazing goodie bags... a very special lunch indeed! Book your tickets for the Mercy Hospital Foundation Ladies Lunch now: http://goo.gl/nKJa1w
We are delighted to see that our fundaising total is continues to increase... Remember if anyone would like to donate
To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda
Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons
Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons
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