I've completed 3 marathons without any of them turning out as planned yet all of them have thought me invaluable life lessons.
1. How to keep going long after you think you can't.
2. How to push yourself through the pain barrier.
3. How to keep positive thoughts and how much its down to mental strength probably even more so than physical strength.

I had my first encounter with loss at 6 years of age when I lost my brother ,at 19 I lost my mother who left behind 5 children aged between 12 and 21. Shortly afterwards I lost a close friend through suicide. A number of years later I lost my grandmother with whom I shared my room and was very close .Only 8 weeks ago I lost my dad.

I am running for The Mercy Hospital Foundation in the hope that I can make a difference and make somebody elses struggle that bit more bearable. I realise that my struggle yesterday is somebody elses struggle today.

I know what its like to sit by a hospital bed and helplessly watch your loved one take their last breathe .I also know how it feels to open a door 1 day and find that someone you love is gone ,just like that, without warning ,without any goodbyes.

I’ve got 3 children and a busy life. To me the only time I have to grieve is either when I run or when I should be sleeping.

To be able to get up in the morning and run, and take in the world and gather your thoughts is invaluable. It’s a distraction from that pain you feel when you have your heart broken inside in your chest. It helps that fog to lift for a while and you become grateful that you have the health and fitness to get out there and do what many others would like to but can’t or won’t. You can organise your thoughts and just come back with a more positive mindset.

People ask me all the time where I get the time to run but the answer is simple, I don’t get the time ,I make it. It also helps to find like minded people to help encourage and support you along the way and for me that meant joining Watergrasshill A.C., which was possibly 1 of the best decisions I’ve ever made.