Latest news with #SouthernAreaHospice
Belfast Telegraph
2 days ago
- Health
- Belfast Telegraph
Caring Spirit award: hospice hero's 50 years of helping others
Dedicated receptionist a friendly face for terminally ill patients and their families Caring Spirit winner Sheila McGivern has dedicated more than half a century to helping others, having been part of the Southern Area Hospice in Newry from the day it was founded. Last week it marked 35 years of service by changing its name to the Evora Hospice, but it still provides the same outstanding palliative care to people with life-limiting conditions.
Belfast Telegraph
20-06-2025
- Health
- Belfast Telegraph
Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards: Inspirational 17-year-old and hero doctor among unsung stars to be honoured
one minute ago Caring Spirit Award winner: Sheila McGivern At the Southern Area Hospice in Newry, few colleagues embody care and compassion like receptionist Sheila McGivern. For 35 years she has been soothing thousands of patients and families during their most difficult hours. Sheila is often the first person to greet families as they enter the hospice and she offers each of them something no training course or manual can teach; true empathy. With a kind word, a reassuring smile and a heart full of grace, she brings comfort when it's needed most, and families will frequently recount how it was Sheila who kept them going through the hardest times. Over the decades, she has shaped the ethos of the hospice, becoming a cornerstone of its spirit. Quiet, constant, and profound, Sheila is truly a caring spirit. 7 minutes ago Environmental Hero: Ballinascreen Scouts In the heart of the Sperrin Mountains, the Ballinascreen Scouts have been tirelessly sowing the seeds for environmental change for over 30 years. The Draperstown-based group's efforts go far and beyond simple litter picks, they build insect hotels, bird boxes, squirrel feeders, and revitalise rivers and ponds, all using recycled materials. From their youngest Beaver Scouts to their teenage adventurers, each child is taught the first lesson of outdoor pursuits – take nothing but pictures, leave nothing but footprints. Their hands-on work in conservation isn't just good for nature but it is helping to transform their community, inspiring young people to protect what matters. They've planted native trees, restored neglected spaces, and championed the red squirrel's return. Their leaders and youth members are united by one shared belief, the earth matters, and they can make a difference. 13 minutes ago Young Carer Award winner: Alex Cooper Alex Cooper is only 17, but he is a pillar of strength for his family. As the eldest of five siblings, he plays a vital role in caring for his 14-year-old brother Zachary, who lives with complex medical needs. From early morning NG tube feeds before school, to night-time ventilator checks, Alex can always be relied upon. He is there for his brother every day; quietly, patiently and lovingly. But his care doesn't stop at home. Alex gives his time to help other young people with additional needs, volunteering with Goal Line Youth Trust and Ripples Special Olympics. He teaches children with disabilities to swim, helps them grow in confidence, and gives them space to shine. He's helped non-swimmers take their first strokes and coached children to take on new challenges, all because they trust him. He also volunteers at events his parents organise for special needs families, always the first to show up with a helping hand and the last to leave. Alex is at a stage in life where many of his peers focus on themselves, instead Alex chooses to put the needs of others before his own. His empathy, commitment, and unwavering spirit are rare and remarkable. He didn't choose this role, but he embraced it wholeheartedly, lifting up everyone around him in the process and showing how special it is to care for someone. 19 minutes ago Community Hero: Sound Around Ards (Talking Newspapers) For almost half a century this incredible group of 35 volunteers has created a lifeline for the visually impaired, producing weekly CDs filled with local news, stories and laughter from the Ards and North Down area. For many, these familiar voices might be the only ones they hear all week. Each CD brings the outside world in, reminding listeners that they are not alone. Over 2,000 editions have been created and shared with individuals and care homes, completely free of charge. These are ordinary people doing extraordinary things, not for applause, but because they care. They bring joy, dignity and belonging to those who might otherwise feel isolated and inject a strong sense of community into the local area. The Sound Around Ards team are true community heroes, proof that sometimes the most powerful acts of kindness are those that happen quietly, behind the scenes. 26 minutes ago Up next: Four more awards Community Hero Young Carer Environmental Hero Caring Champion These were slated for 9.45pm and we'll be under way at 9.50pm. That's not bad going, is it? 27 minutes ago Want to see more photo wall images? If you refresh this story, you'll get a gallery of all the photo wall images above the live blog, so you can pick out any familiar faces! How does it feel to be a winner? Take it from somebody who knows - 999 Hero Constable Stephen Dickson. Today 08:10 PM That feeling when your name is called out 🤩 Today 08:04 PM Spirit of Health: Dr Vicky Cochrane As a GP, Dr Cochrane treats hundreds of patients with care but she has become a lifeline to one grieving mother after the devastating loss her baby twin boys, and later her baby daughter due to Edward's syndrome. Dr Cochrane was a constant source of support in her patient's life and didn't just show up during appointments but came to visit her out of hours offering a shoulder to cry on. She mourned with the family, remembered birthdays and even bought gifts in memory of the children. This care was not prescribed but given freely by Dr Cochrane from a place of deep empathy. Dr Cochrane's strength lies not only in her clinical excellence, but in how she makes her patients feel seen, validated, and truly cared for. Today 07:58 PM Spirit of Youth – Eibhlín Totten Eibhlín Totten has overcome more in the past three years than most people do in a lifetime. At just fifteen years old, in the summer of 2021, a sudden brain hemorrhage changed everything for Eibhlín and her family. One moment she was out with friends, living a carefree teenage life, the next she was in the ICU hooked up to wires and machines and waiting to undergo life-saving surgery. Unable to speak or move, doctors feared the worst, but Eibhlín kept the faith and tapped into an unending reserve of strength, courage, and determination. Throughout her 10-month stint in hospital, Eibhlín had to relearn how to talk, walk, and how to complete hundreds of everyday tasks we all take for granted but finally the day arrived when she could return home to her family, friends and school life again. Her first full sentence after six months? 'What did I get in my GCSEs?' That drive never left her. Despite her ongoing health challenges and reliance on a wheelchair, Eibhlín has faced each day with positivity, grace, and a beaming smile. She returned to school, earned top grades in her AS levels, and is now preparing to sit her A Levels and continue on to university. Eibhlín is a reminder to all of us that adversity does not define us, our response to it does. Eibhlín refuses to let her circumstances dim the possibility of a bright future and in doing so, she teaches us what true strength looks like. Today 07:51 PM Spirit of Youth Award winner: Noah McVeigh During his final year of primary school, Noah's mum received a breast cancer diagnosis, and his family faced a frightening period of uncertainty no child should ever know. Rather than retreat into himself, Noah found the courage to create something remarkable and bring some joy to his mum and other family members. Inspired by family trips to watch the Belfast Giants Ice Hockey team, Noah designed a comic book which would help other young children understand the changes and challenges associated with a cancer diagnosis. What makes Noah's achievements event more remarkable is that he himself was diagnosed with dyslexia in P4. Noah knew how difficult it was to navigate word-heavy medical information so he wanted to get this information across in a way kids could truly understand. Unique illustrations bring Noah's comic to life and it perfectly encapsulates the many feelings he had during this difficult time. Each page details his confusion, anger, empathy, fear and above all the love he has for his family and his determination to support his mum. Now 13, Noah is planning a second edition to support teenagers facing similar journeys. His drive to help others, even while living through his own challenges, is beyond his years. Today 07:45 PM 999 Hero Award winner: Constable Stephen Dickson After losing his brother in a tragic road accident, Stephen has turned his own personal tragedy into purpose through his involvement with the Roadsafe Roadshow and now over 100,000 young people have been educated on the dangers of getting behind the wheel. Stephen chairs the Lisburn and Castlereagh Road Safety Committee, bringing together community leaders and first responders. He mentors new recruits, working closely with fire services, and youth groups and has appeared on TV and radio to spread road safety awareness. Stephen is also mentor within the police force, shaping how officers approach collision investigations and engage with grieving families. As he nears retirement, Stephen leaves a proud legacy of service. He is a powerhouse among the force and a 999 hero in every sense. Today 07:37 PM Awards timings Now if I tell you all the times of the awards, promise me you won't hold me to them, right? These things are always a wee bit behind, you know? Although we do seem to be remarkably on time so far, to be fair. 8.45pm 999 Hero Spirit of Youth Spirit of Health 9.45pm Community Hero Young Carer Environmental Hero Caring Champion 10.30pm Spirit of Education Charity Champion Spirit of Sport Unsung Hero Overcoming Adversity 11.15pm Special Recognition Today 07:29 PM When are the first awards? Well excuse you, impatient. Let the guests enjoy their pea and pancetta soup... The first group of awards are coming up after the starters though, slated for 8.45pm. We'll find out the winner of: 999 Hero Spirit of Youth Spirit of Health Today 07:09 PM Star DJ in the house! Spinning the decks at the afterparty is the one and only Matthew Horne.... known better to you as Gavin Shipman! Known even better to you as one half of Gavin and Stacey! Today 07:07 PM You kept it all in We've just been treated to a few songs from NI singer Briana Corrigan, formerly of the Beautiful South. That included the hit 1989 track 'You kept it all in'. Just so you don't feel left out at home, here's the original video. You Keep It All In [Official music video] - The Beautiful South (HD/HQ) You keep it all in, by The Beautiful South (1989). Music video restored, HQ audio. ℗ Go! Discs Ltd. Lyrics: You know your problem You keep it all in You know your problem You keep it all in That's right The conversation we had last night When all I wanted to do was Knife you in the heart I kept it all in You know your problem You keep it all in You know your problem You keep it all in Midnight, a husband getting ready to fight A daughter sleeps alone with the light Turned on, she hears but keeps it all in Just like that murder in '73 Just like that robbery in '62 With all these things that have happened to me I kept them all in So why do you keep on telling me now? You know your problem You keep it all in You know your problem You keep it all in That's sweet, oh That conversation we had last week When you gagged and bound me up to my seat You're right, I do I keep it all in Just like that murder in '73 Just like that robbery in '62 With all these things that have happened to me I kept them all in I kept it all in I kept it all in I kept it all in I kept it all in I kept it all in Na na na, people I kept it all in I kept it all in Na na na, people I kept it all in Letra: Conoces tu problema Te lo guardas todo Conoces tu problema Te lo guardas todo Es cierto La conversación que tuvimos anoche Cuando todo lo que quería hacer era Acuchillarte en el corazón Me lo guardé todo You know your problem Te lo guardas todo Conoces tu problema Te lo guardas todo Medianoche, un marido preparándose para pelear Una hija duerme sola con la luz Encendida, ella escucha pero se lo guarda todo. Como aquel asesinato del 73 Como aquel robo del 62 Con todas estas cosas que me han pasado Me las guardé todas ¿Y por qué me lo sigues diciendo ahora? Conoces tu problema Te lo guardas todo Conoces tu problema Te lo guardas todo Oh, qué dulce Esa conversación que tuvimos la semana pasada Cuando me amordazaste y ataste a mi asiento Tienes razón, lo hago Me lo guardo todo Al igual que ese asesinato en el 73 Como aquel robo del 62 Con todas estas cosas que me han pasado Me lo guardé todo Lo guardé todo Lo guardé todo Me lo guardé todo Me lo guardé todo Me lo guardé todo Na na na, gente Me lo guardé todo Me lo guardé todo Na na na, gente Me lo guardé todo External contentWhen displaying external content, data is transferred to third parties. Today 06:47 PM The night is under way The Belfast Telegraph and Sunday Life's Deputy Editor-In-Chief has said that it's an honour to celebrate the good people in Northern Ireland tonight and said that the stars of the screen that are in attendance are here in order to honour the winners. Today 06:41 PM Who's this cheeky chappie?
CNN
26-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Why more people than ever before are running marathons
On marathon day, the air thrums with emotion. Tune into any frequency and you will find it – elation, anxiety, exhaustion, pain, pride, awe, pathos. More than 56,000 runners will line up on the start line of the London Marathon on Sunday, each one with a different reason for being there. Many find that motivation in running for the charities which have helped them or their loved ones during the darkest times in their lives – the London Marathon has raised over £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) since its inception. Others find it by using running to control their physical and mental health, set themselves goals or try a new challenge. For Julie Wright, those two go hand-in-hand. Four years ago, her daughter Vicki died at the age 34 from breast cancer, leaving behind two young sons. And as Wright spent more and more time looking after them, she realized she had to get fitter. 'We take so much for granted when we're younger … and as we get older, we think we can still do it … we think we can just pick up a skipping rope and skip and it's not like that at all,' she tells CNN Sports. At the same time, running helped Wright in 'some really, really dark places' after the loss of her daughter. She settled on the idea of a marathon 'to celebrate getting to 60 and still being alive,' as well as to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. Now targeting her third marathon, Wright, her family, and her community have raised thousands of pounds for the charity. The lingering presence of her daughter and mother, who passed away in January, accompanies Wright on her runs. On one hand, she wears her mother's wedding ring, and on the other, she wears a gold band her daughter gave her just before she died. 'I've got mom on one finger and (Vicki) on the other … So when I'm having to dig really deep, I put my hands behind myself a little bit as if I'm flying … and it's like I pretend I'm grabbing Mum's hand on one side and my daughter's on the other,' she says. 'And that gets me through the next five minutes. And once I've got through that next five minutes, I'm just getting on.' Similarly, for 19-year-old twins Katie and Anna Rowland, the memory of their dad Jim sustains them through long training runs as they raise money for the Southern Area Hospice, which cared for him in his final days. 'If someone can lie in a hospital bed … and the pain that they can be in, I remember the pain daddy was in … if I can run for four, five hours, it's nothing compared to what they can do,' Katie tells CNN Sports. The pair signed up for the marathon on a whim after seeing a Facebook post from the hospice, in an attempt to 'say thank you' and to give 'a bit of money for what (they) did for us,' Anna adds. There is power in running for a cause, says David Wetherill, a former Paralympic table tennis player aiming to set a world record for the fastest marathon while using crutches, a feat he estimates will involve completing around 42,000 dips – about one every meter. 'It's a struggle for me to even walk 250 meters,' he says, explaining his hip is currently not in its socket due to multiple epiphyseal dysplasia – a genetic disorder which affects bone growth and leads to early onset arthritis. 'So it is mad to try and explain that I'm then going to go and run a marathon, but it's so much easier for me to motivate myself to do the extraordinary than to do the mundane in my life, even though the pain levels are pretty much the same,' he tells CNN Sports. Putting himself through such a grueling task, Wetherill says, is only possible by maintaining a stoic mindset – 'if it's endurable, endure it' – and because of his commitment to raise money for research seeking a cure for type 1 diabetes. Two of his best friends and one of their young daughters all have the condition. Wetherill says his friends' purpose has 'become my purpose.' 'When it's you at stake, that's nowhere near as powerful as people you really really love,' he adds. And in the process of training, Wetherill has become 'addicted' to pushing his body, drawing from a 'perverse kind of motivation, where I lean into the pain, the cure for pain is in the pain.' Signing up to a marathon means committing to weeks of training beforehand, juggling work and family commitments at the same time. For the past few months, Luke Roche has balanced his full-time job in sales with raising two children under two and his marathon training, often waking up at four or five in the morning to go for a run before work. 'I could not have done it without (my fiancée) Beth,' he tells CNN Sports. 'If I could get a second (medal) I would because she's done just as much helping me train as I've done for myself.' Running a marathon means so much to Roche that when he found out he had secured a place, it 'broke' him, he remembers, his voice cracking. 'It all fell into place. It was running for my granddad, running for my mate. It meant a lot,' he says. Roche is running to raise money for The Donkey Sanctuary, a charity long supported by his late granddad who sponsored one of the donkeys there, visited it often, and made it the subject of the collection at his funeral. 'I thought (it) was brilliant, so random and very unique and very him,' Roche says. And by taking part in the marathon this year, Roche can run it with his friend who is running in memory of his 18-year-old sister who passed away last year. 'That's why I am running the marathon!' Jennie Toland says as one of her daughters interrupts to ask a question. 'She's the reason why.' Before having her daughter Rose, now aged three, Toland had suffered seven consecutive miscarriages. 'I had no energy left, I was mentally just distraught,' she recalls. 'It's a lot of grief and a lot of seeing your life go in a completely different direction from where you thought it was going to go.' Every doctor had told her and her husband to stop trying for a baby and, as a last resort, Toland was up late one night, scouring the internet for any glimmer of hope. There, she stumbled across Tommy's – a charity which funds research seeking to stop miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. She took part in a clinical trial funded by the charity and, though she still doesn't know if she had the medication or the placebo, she has since had two children. 'We started talking about how to say thank you, because sending someone … a nice letter when they've given you your whole life … it just doesn't seem enough to say thanks,' she says. 'I just wanted to do something. And then I watched a marathon last year and thought that's a really good idea. And I've since been questioning those life choices.' In the last seven years alone, the number of people applying to run the London Marathon has more than doubled, rising from 386,000 in 2018 to more than 840,000 this year. Sunday's race is expected to set the record for the most participants in a marathon, surpassing the 55,646 finishers at last year's New York City Marathon. The 26.2-mile distance continues to appeal for novice and experienced runners alike. Josh Elston-Carr, co-founder of FLYCARB and a former track runner who has recorded a sub-four-minute mile, turned to the marathon in search of a new challenge when his love for middle-distance running began to fade slightly. When Elston-Carr first took up running as a junior 20 years ago, he joined an athletics club, the 'traditional route in' at the time. Over the past two decades, he has seen more and more people take up an increasingly accessible sport thanks to 'the rise of parkrun and run clubs,' he tells CNN Sports. The running bug can be addictive. Liz Newcomer, a running influencer, never intended to compete in marathons. She began running 'two or three miles every other day' as a way to improve her mental health and feared longer distances before her manager suggested running a half-marathon. 'Even after the half, the next weekend I ran 13 miles again, and then the next weekend maybe I ran 14 and … I realized that I really loved it. And it got to a point where people asked me, 'Are you training for a marathon?'' Five years on and Newcomer is preparing for her 10th marathon, transformed by distance running. The sport, she says, has helped her deal with 'body image issues' and a relationship with food that 'wasn't super great at the time.' 'I definitely see my body more as like a car and when I need to eat, to fuel the car, I see it more as … something where I have to fuel for performance,' she says.
CNN
26-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Why more people than ever before are running marathons
On marathon day, the air thrums with emotion. Tune into any frequency and you will find it – elation, anxiety, exhaustion, pain, pride, awe, pathos. More than 56,000 runners will line up on the start line of the London Marathon on Sunday, each one with a different reason for being there. Many find that motivation in running for the charities which have helped them or their loved ones during the darkest times in their lives – the London Marathon has raised over £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) since its inception. Others find it by using running to control their physical and mental health, set themselves goals or try a new challenge. For Julie Wright, those two go hand-in-hand. Four years ago, her daughter Vicki died at the age 34 from breast cancer, leaving behind two young sons. And as Wright spent more and more time looking after them, she realized she had to get fitter. 'We take so much for granted when we're younger … and as we get older, we think we can still do it … we think we can just pick up a skipping rope and skip and it's not like that at all,' she tells CNN Sports. At the same time, running helped Wright in 'some really, really dark places' after the loss of her daughter. She settled on the idea of a marathon 'to celebrate getting to 60 and still being alive,' as well as to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. Now targeting her third marathon, Wright, her family, and her community have raised thousands of pounds for the charity. The lingering presence of her daughter and mother, who passed away in January, accompanies Wright on her runs. On one hand, she wears her mother's wedding ring, and on the other, she wears a gold band her daughter gave her just before she died. 'I've got mom on one finger and (Vicki) on the other … So when I'm having to dig really deep, I put my hands behind myself a little bit as if I'm flying … and it's like I pretend I'm grabbing Mum's hand on one side and my daughter's on the other,' she says. 'And that gets me through the next five minutes. And once I've got through that next five minutes, I'm just getting on.' Similarly, for 19-year-old twins Katie and Anna Rowland, the memory of their dad Jim sustains them through long training runs as they raise money for the Southern Area Hospice, which cared for him in his final days. 'If someone can lie in a hospital bed … and the pain that they can be in, I remember the pain daddy was in … if I can run for four, five hours, it's nothing compared to what they can do,' Katie tells CNN Sports. The pair signed up for the marathon on a whim after seeing a Facebook post from the hospice, in an attempt to 'say thank you' and to give 'a bit of money for what (they) did for us,' Anna adds. There is power in running for a cause, says David Wetherill, a former Paralympic table tennis player aiming to set a world record for the fastest marathon while using crutches, a feat he estimates will involve completing around 42,000 dips – about one every meter. 'It's a struggle for me to even walk 250 meters,' he says, explaining his hip is currently not in its socket due to multiple epiphyseal dysplasia – a genetic disorder which affects bone growth and leads to early onset arthritis. 'So it is mad to try and explain that I'm then going to go and run a marathon, but it's so much easier for me to motivate myself to do the extraordinary than to do the mundane in my life, even though the pain levels are pretty much the same,' he tells CNN Sports. Putting himself through such a grueling task, Wetherill says, is only possible by maintaining a stoic mindset – 'if it's endurable, endure it' – and because of his commitment to raise money for research seeking a cure for type 1 diabetes. Two of his best friends and one of their young daughters all have the condition. Wetherill says his friends' purpose has 'become my purpose.' 'When it's you at stake, that's nowhere near as powerful as people you really really love,' he adds. And in the process of training, Wetherill has become 'addicted' to pushing his body, drawing from a 'perverse kind of motivation, where I lean into the pain, the cure for pain is in the pain.' Signing up to a marathon means committing to weeks of training beforehand, juggling work and family commitments at the same time. For the past few months, Luke Roche has balanced his full-time job in sales with raising two children under two and his marathon training, often waking up at four or five in the morning to go for a run before work. 'I could not have done it without (my fiancée) Beth,' he tells CNN Sports. 'If I could get a second (medal) I would because she's done just as much helping me train as I've done for myself.' Running a marathon means so much to Roche that when he found out he had secured a place, it 'broke' him, he remembers, his voice cracking. 'It all fell into place. It was running for my granddad, running for my mate. It meant a lot,' he says. Roche is running to raise money for The Donkey Sanctuary, a charity long supported by his late granddad who sponsored one of the donkeys there, visited it often, and made it the subject of the collection at his funeral. 'I thought (it) was brilliant, so random and very unique and very him,' Roche says. And by taking part in the marathon this year, Roche can run it with his friend who is running in memory of his 18-year-old sister who passed away last year. 'That's why I am running the marathon!' Jennie Toland says as one of her daughters interrupts to ask a question. 'She's the reason why.' Before having her daughter Rose, now aged three, Toland had suffered seven consecutive miscarriages. 'I had no energy left, I was mentally just distraught,' she recalls. 'It's a lot of grief and a lot of seeing your life go in a completely different direction from where you thought it was going to go.' Every doctor had told her and her husband to stop trying for a baby and, as a last resort, Toland was up late one night, scouring the internet for any glimmer of hope. There, she stumbled across Tommy's – a charity which funds research seeking to stop miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. She took part in a clinical trial funded by the charity and, though she still doesn't know if she had the medication or the placebo, she has since had two children. 'We started talking about how to say thank you, because sending someone … a nice letter when they've given you your whole life … it just doesn't seem enough to say thanks,' she says. 'I just wanted to do something. And then I watched a marathon last year and thought that's a really good idea. And I've since been questioning those life choices.' In the last seven years alone, the number of people applying to run the London Marathon has more than doubled, rising from 386,000 in 2018 to more than 840,000 this year. Sunday's race is expected to set the record for the most participants in a marathon, surpassing the 55,646 finishers at last year's New York City Marathon. The 26.2-mile distance continues to appeal for novice and experienced runners alike. Josh Elston-Carr, co-founder of FLYCARB and a former track runner who has recorded a sub-four-minute mile, turned to the marathon in search of a new challenge when his love for middle-distance running began to fade slightly. When Elston-Carr first took up running as a junior 20 years ago, he joined an athletics club, the 'traditional route in' at the time. Over the past two decades, he has seen more and more people take up an increasingly accessible sport thanks to 'the rise of parkrun and run clubs,' he tells CNN Sports. The running bug can be addictive. Liz Newcomer, a running influencer, never intended to compete in marathons. She began running 'two or three miles every other day' as a way to improve her mental health and feared longer distances before her manager suggested running a half-marathon. 'Even after the half, the next weekend I ran 13 miles again, and then the next weekend maybe I ran 14 and … I realized that I really loved it. And it got to a point where people asked me, 'Are you training for a marathon?'' Five years on and Newcomer is preparing for her 10th marathon, transformed by distance running. The sport, she says, has helped her deal with 'body image issues' and a relationship with food that 'wasn't super great at the time.' 'I definitely see my body more as like a car and when I need to eat, to fuel the car, I see it more as … something where I have to fuel for performance,' she says.
CNN
26-04-2025
- Health
- CNN
Why more people than ever before are running marathons
On marathon day, the air thrums with emotion. Tune into any frequency and you will find it – elation, anxiety, exhaustion, pain, pride, awe, pathos. More than 56,000 runners will line up on the start line of the London Marathon on Sunday, each one with a different reason for being there. Many find that motivation in running for the charities which have helped them or their loved ones during the darkest times in their lives – the London Marathon has raised over £1.3 billion ($1.7 billion) since its inception. Others find it by using running to control their physical and mental health, set themselves goals or try a new challenge. For Julie Wright, those two go hand-in-hand. Four years ago, her daughter Vicki died at the age 34 from breast cancer, leaving behind two young sons. And as Wright spent more and more time looking after them, she realized she had to get fitter. 'We take so much for granted when we're younger … and as we get older, we think we can still do it … we think we can just pick up a skipping rope and skip and it's not like that at all,' she tells CNN Sports. At the same time, running helped Wright in 'some really, really dark places' after the loss of her daughter. She settled on the idea of a marathon 'to celebrate getting to 60 and still being alive,' as well as to raise money for Breast Cancer Now. Now targeting her third marathon, Wright, her family, and her community have raised thousands of pounds for the charity. The lingering presence of her daughter and mother, who passed away in January, accompanies Wright on her runs. On one hand, she wears her mother's wedding ring, and on the other, she wears a gold band her daughter gave her just before she died. 'I've got mom on one finger and (Vicki) on the other … So when I'm having to dig really deep, I put my hands behind myself a little bit as if I'm flying … and it's like I pretend I'm grabbing Mum's hand on one side and my daughter's on the other,' she says. 'And that gets me through the next five minutes. And once I've got through that next five minutes, I'm just getting on.' Similarly, for 19-year-old twins Katie and Anna Rowland, the memory of their dad Jim sustains them through long training runs as they raise money for the Southern Area Hospice, which cared for him in his final days. 'If someone can lie in a hospital bed … and the pain that they can be in, I remember the pain daddy was in … if I can run for four, five hours, it's nothing compared to what they can do,' Katie tells CNN Sports. The pair signed up for the marathon on a whim after seeing a Facebook post from the hospice, in an attempt to 'say thank you' and to give 'a bit of money for what (they) did for us,' Anna adds. There is power in running for a cause, says David Wetherill, a former Paralympic table tennis player aiming to set a world record for the fastest marathon while using crutches, a feat he estimates will involve completing around 42,000 dips – about one every meter. 'It's a struggle for me to even walk 250 meters,' he says, explaining his hip is currently not in its socket due to multiple epiphyseal dysplasia – a genetic disorder which affects bone growth and leads to early onset arthritis. 'So it is mad to try and explain that I'm then going to go and run a marathon, but it's so much easier for me to motivate myself to do the extraordinary than to do the mundane in my life, even though the pain levels are pretty much the same,' he tells CNN Sports. Putting himself through such a grueling task, Wetherill says, is only possible by maintaining a stoic mindset – 'if it's endurable, endure it' – and because of his commitment to raise money for research seeking a cure for type 1 diabetes. Two of his best friends and one of their young daughters all have the condition. Wetherill says his friends' purpose has 'become my purpose.' 'When it's you at stake, that's nowhere near as powerful as people you really really love,' he adds. And in the process of training, Wetherill has become 'addicted' to pushing his body, drawing from a 'perverse kind of motivation, where I lean into the pain, the cure for pain is in the pain.' Signing up to a marathon means committing to weeks of training beforehand, juggling work and family commitments at the same time. For the past few months, Luke Roche has balanced his full-time job in sales with raising two children under two and his marathon training, often waking up at four or five in the morning to go for a run before work. 'I could not have done it without (my fiancée) Beth,' he tells CNN Sports. 'If I could get a second (medal) I would because she's done just as much helping me train as I've done for myself.' Running a marathon means so much to Roche that when he found out he had secured a place, it 'broke' him, he remembers, his voice cracking. 'It all fell into place. It was running for my granddad, running for my mate. It meant a lot,' he says. Roche is running to raise money for The Donkey Sanctuary, a charity long supported by his late granddad who sponsored one of the donkeys there, visited it often, and made it the subject of the collection at his funeral. 'I thought (it) was brilliant, so random and very unique and very him,' Roche says. And by taking part in the marathon this year, Roche can run it with his friend who is running in memory of his 18-year-old sister who passed away last year. 'That's why I am running the marathon!' Jennie Toland says as one of her daughters interrupts to ask a question. 'She's the reason why.' Before having her daughter Rose, now aged three, Toland had suffered seven consecutive miscarriages. 'I had no energy left, I was mentally just distraught,' she recalls. 'It's a lot of grief and a lot of seeing your life go in a completely different direction from where you thought it was going to go.' Every doctor had told her and her husband to stop trying for a baby and, as a last resort, Toland was up late one night, scouring the internet for any glimmer of hope. There, she stumbled across Tommy's – a charity which funds research seeking to stop miscarriage, stillbirth and premature birth. She took part in a clinical trial funded by the charity and, though she still doesn't know if she had the medication or the placebo, she has since had two children. 'We started talking about how to say thank you, because sending someone … a nice letter when they've given you your whole life … it just doesn't seem enough to say thanks,' she says. 'I just wanted to do something. And then I watched a marathon last year and thought that's a really good idea. And I've since been questioning those life choices.' In the last seven years alone, the number of people applying to run the London Marathon has more than doubled, rising from 386,000 in 2018 to more than 840,000 this year. Sunday's race is expected to set the record for the most participants in a marathon, surpassing the 55,646 finishers at last year's New York City Marathon. The 26.2-mile distance continues to appeal for novice and experienced runners alike. Josh Elston-Carr, co-founder of FLYCARB and a former track runner who has recorded a sub-four-minute mile, turned to the marathon in search of a new challenge when his love for middle-distance running began to fade slightly. When Elston-Carr first took up running as a junior 20 years ago, he joined an athletics club, the 'traditional route in' at the time. Over the past two decades, he has seen more and more people take up an increasingly accessible sport thanks to 'the rise of parkrun and run clubs,' he tells CNN Sports. The running bug can be addictive. Liz Newcomer, a running influencer, never intended to compete in marathons. She began running 'two or three miles every other day' as a way to improve her mental health and feared longer distances before her manager suggested running a half-marathon. 'Even after the half, the next weekend I ran 13 miles again, and then the next weekend maybe I ran 14 and … I realized that I really loved it. And it got to a point where people asked me, 'Are you training for a marathon?'' Five years on and Newcomer is preparing for her 10th marathon, transformed by distance running. The sport, she says, has helped her deal with 'body image issues' and a relationship with food that 'wasn't super great at the time.' 'I definitely see my body more as like a car and when I need to eat, to fuel the car, I see it more as … something where I have to fuel for performance,' she says.
