My name is Mona Mullins.  I’m 27 and a general nurse working in one the main hospitals in Dublin! I’m the youngest of 5 and have lived in Carlow all my life! I’m not the most athletic person but always wanted to represent my county in some shape or form (mostly wanted to be the Carlow Rose but that never happened lols 😂)

I did the VhiWMM for the first time last year with my Mam, sister, 2 sisters in law and my brother’s girlfriend! We did it for my Nephew/Godson’s ASD unit and raised €2000 for them which they were over the moon with as were we!

This year I decided I wanted to do the Mini Marathon for The Irish Cancer Society in memory of my Aunty Gerry. My aunt passed away in January 2018 from Pancreatic Cancer. She was an incredibly selfless woman who looked after so many people in her life and religiously fundraised for the Irish Cancer Society especially on Daffodil Day in her local supermarket! I don’t think there is a person in the country who hasn’t been affected by Cancer and would love to complete the Mini Marathon for Gerry.

My advice for anyone who hasn’t participated in the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon would be to give it a go! It’s a great feeling when you cross the finish line and you can say that you’ve done a 10km for a great cause! 10km sounds like a lot but once you get your training in you’ll be absolutely grand! Take it one km at a time! The buzz on the day from all the other participants and supporters along the way will keep you going when you are running out of fuel! Another tip would be to get a group of friends/family/work colleagues involved as you’ll keep each other motivated and keep you going out for walks/jogs when you don’t want to!

Can’t wait for June

Mona