#womenwithimpact - Sharon, Co. Wicklow

Hi, I’m Sharon and I am the delighted to be representing Wicklow in this year’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. I have done about 10 mini marathons in the past, and supported lots of different charities, the most recent was Blackrock Hospice who looked after my Dad before he passed away. 10 of my friends joined me to fundraise for the Hospice.

I have always walked the mini marathon, though I started a couch to 5k with a local running club in 2016. I’ve run other 10k’s and the Dublin half marathon in 2016 and last September, when someone was looking for a new Couch to 5k to join, I organised to start a new group and with a few other volunteers, we took a group of about 40 runners out every week finishing with the Shanganagh Parkrun on 1 December. We got medals made up for the group who finished it and they have continued running since it ended.

The Mini Marathon is such an emotional day with all the different charities and different stories, so for me it’s more special to walk rather than run the 10k, to really take it all in and soak up the atmosphere. There is no other event like it. 

This year is a special year and we hope to walk in memory of a special little girl, Lucy Leahy, who passed away just last January. We hope to make t-shirts, raise awareness of DIPG (a rare brain tumour) and fundraise towards a bench in our estate so she will always stay in our thoughts. I hope to get lots of others to join me in taking part in this very special day.