Hi my name is Stephanie Murphy!! My story started back when I was 13 and I had a bad fall which resulted in me badly breaking my right hip!! Fast forward 3 surgery's and a total hip replacement was on the cards!! I was still growing so they wanted to wait as long as possible as the likely hood of having to go through it more than once was extremely high! 

I piled on weight due to no exercise and just poor food choices and in January 2017 I had enough!! Having just had my second child, I joined slimming world in preparation for my wedding. A couple of months in and I was seeing results, so wanted to prove to myself that no matter what, I could achieve anything and I was fed up using my hip as an excuse!  

I always wanted to do the mini marathon and one day I signed up. I completed my first one in 2017 walking it in 1hr 47 mins and I was so proud I had done it. I signed up straight away for the next year but the competitive part of me wanted to complete it in a better time so I decided to train! Having reached my target of losing 6 stone with slimming world 15 months after joining and the week of my wedding I felt invincible!! 2018’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon came and I finished it in 1 hr and 26 mins!! 

I finally gave in and had my total hip replacement in August 2018!! Again, I signed straight up for 2019 and this would be the 1st year I'd be pain free and was so excited! I completed my 3rd mini marathon jogging most of it only 10 months after my hip replacement in 1 hr 16 mins and I'm hooked!! 

2020 my goal is to get as close to the 1hr I can! I want to help people realise that although you might be living with some things that used to hold you back, you can change it. I used my hip problem and my weight as an excuse for so many years but that very first year I completed it I proved to myself that the only limit to my life and my possibilities is the one I put on myself! If you want something hard enough then trust me you will achieve it and the mini marathon is the best way to get started! The support from everybody is just amazing and everyone is behind you! It doesn't matter if it takes 1hr or 5hrs it's getting up and completing it is what counts. 

This year I will be fundraising for  Cappagh orthopaedic hospital as the work they do to help people is unbelievable ! They help all types of people ranging from kids with their Cappagh kids all the way to our older generation! They deal with a wide range of issues from minor breaks to helping people walk again !  They gave me a new lease of life that’s pain free and is opening up so many possibilities I didn’t have when I suffered with my hip!  They are trying to raise 2million and every little bit helps. 

Stephanie x