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This year, we’re embracing the theme of #hearttoheart at the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. It’s about coming together, the connections we make, the stories we share, and the hearts we touch along the way. There is already so much heart in this one event; hundreds of thousands are raised each year by you and your supporters for charities across Ireland that are close to our hearts.
Share your smiles, tears and cheers with us on socials and let us know who or what holds a special place in your heart at this year’s event. #hearttoheart
This fabulous medal will be all yours after you cross the finish line on June 2! Whether this is your first or you’re adding to your collection, that feeling of accomplishment is the same. You should be so proud of your fantastic achievement! We love being a part of this celebratory moment so make sure to snap a pic, share it, and tag us with the hashtags
For the second year running, we’ve partnered with iTab to give you a chance to turn your medal into a personal keepsake.
An iTab is a custom-engraved plate or tab featuring your name, time, or even a personalised message for the first time! It fits neatly onto your medal or attaches to the ribbon with a ribbon hanger provided.
You can pre-purchase your iTab for €8.50 during registration or through ‘Manage My Booking’ on our website, or your can purchase it directly with iTab after the event is over for €10.
Capture the magic of your day with FinisherPix, the official event photographer of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon! From the energising start line and the buzz around the course route, to the triumphant finish, they’ll capture your every moment so you can cherish them forever. Pre-pay for your personalised photo package for just €9.99 during registration or through ‘Manage My Booking’ on our website and save 50% on the regular retail price. If you prefer to wait and check out your pics post-event, you can choose to purchase directly from the FinisherPix website for €19.99 after June 2. Don’t forget to tag us on social media!
Exciting news for our Walkers at this year’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon! We’ve taken your feedback on board, and we’re thrilled to announce some fantastic upgrades to enhance your experience on June 2nd.
New this year, we’re introducing a giant screen in the Yellow Wave with a first class sound system that will stream all the entertainment and buzz from the start line, so you won’t miss a moment of the excitement.
We are also working hard to reduce wait times in line. To help with this, we encourage all Walkers/Yellow Wave participants to arrive at their designated zone 30 minutes before the start time. There will also be additional toilets in this area.
When the event is over, don’t forget to stop off at the Vhi Women’s Health Zone located in this area, where you can chat with a host of Vhi clinicians, including a women’s health doctor, physiotherapist, lactation consultant and more. Get set to feel the energy!
We’re thrilled to share our commitment to sustainability at the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. This year will see the return of the Water Cube, a giant 1000 litre cube of filtered water from Refill Ireland that will keep you refreshed as you make your way around the course.
If you opted in for this year’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon t-shirt, you may have already received it in the post. Don’t forget to wear it on the big day as we paint the city purple!
We aim to reduce our footprint further by using
throughout the event on the day, helping to create a more sustainable event experience and greener future.
Exciting news! This year we’re introducing a team of pacers to help you reach your personal best at the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. Whether you’re aiming for a 40, 45, 50, 55, or 60-minute finish, our expert pacers will guide you every step of the way to achieve your goal time.
We’re also introducing wave leaders for the Blue, Green, and Yellow waves to guide and inspire you. Pacers and wave leaders will be easy to spot – each will have a large 3ft balloon attached to them.
‘Our Pacer Team are sponsored by this year’s Official Timing Sponsor, Citizen.
If you’re dreaming of an Italian getaway, we have news for you!
Thanks to our friends at Topflight, Ireland’s Italian specialists, we have a fabulous prize giveaway of a 7-night stay for two in stunning Lake Garda. You are automatically entered into the prize draw when you register for this year’s event. The winner will be randomly selected and announced in early June. Learn more here and register today for your chance to win!
Over the last 12 weeks, the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon ambassadors
Aimee Connolly (@aimeconnolly_com), Katja Mia (@katja_miaa), Nikki Bradley (@nikki_bradley_speaks) and Nathalie Lennon (@nathalielennon_) have been preparing for race day.
2024 is the 10th year of Vhi’s proud title sponsorship of the Women’s Mini Marathon, an event which aligns with our aim of helping women to live longer, stronger, healthier lives.
We have worked with this team of incredible ambassadors to help motivate all participants. If you have been following their training journeys on their social media channels, we hope they have helped inspire you to reach the start (and finish!) line on Race Day. We are looking forward to seeing you all on the start line at 12.30pm on the 2nd of June for this year’s Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon!
Vhi are strong supporters of helping women to live longer, stronger, healthier lives, and for the seventh year running, we are refunding the entry fee for Vhi members who register for the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon.
If you are a Vhi member, all you have to do to claim back your entry fee is to use the Snap & Send feature on the Vhi app. Just snap a photo of your registration receipt and send it in via the Vhi app – it’s that simple!
Registration is still open for the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon at www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie, however tickets are limited. Register today and be sure to Snap & Send!
Many of you have been following Vhi Fitness and Nutrition ambassador Nathalie Lennon’s (@nathalielennon_) 12-week walking, jogging and running plans to get ready for the road on June 2nd.
These easy-to-follow plans are complemented with Nathalie’s exercise videos, all designed to be easily incorporated into your weekly routine.
On the morning of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, be sure to check out Nathalie’s warm-up routine on the @VhiWMM Instagram page, to make sure you’re in top condition and feeling your best on the start line on the 2nd of June!
Nathalie Lennon’s exercise routines will have you
TO GO ON RACE DAY!
your race day!
Kickstart race day morning with this delicious breakfast recipe from Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon Nutrition Ambassador Nathalie Lennon!
ingredients:
270g Oats
50g Pecans
50g Walnuts
25g Pumpkin Seeds
15g Sunflower Seeds
40g Sultanas
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/2 Tsp Sea Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Essence
60g Raw Honey method:
70g Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Or coconut oil if you rather it’s taste)
1. Preheat oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Mix all ingredients together well, before transferring onto a lined baking tray & spreading evenly. Use the back of your wooden spoon to firmly press down on the mixture in your tray so that it is all tightly compacted.
** I use a tray that is (L)41cm × (W)32cm × (H)2.5cm for reference .
3. Bake for 20/25 mins. Keep a close eye to the mixture as the sultanas can burn quickly!
4. Allow a full cooling period of at least 45 mins before removing from tray.
5. Break up gently & transfer into an airtight container, such as a large screw top jar.
6. Serve with strained 0% Greek yogurt & fresh berries, or your milk of choice. Can last for 15-20 servings depending on how you choose to serve it.
Did you know that exercising can help with our ability to handle stress and difficult situations?
Participation in events like the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon offer a perfect opportunity to increase our social connection and help build our mental resilience.
Vhi Psychologist and Psychotherapist, MICHELI RAMÃO has effective tips for building mental resilience through exercise
Dublin City Council Sport & Wellbeing Partnership is proud to announce the participation of 250 brave women from communities across the Dublin City area.
It takes incredible courage to take on the physical and mental challenge of your first Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon and DCSWP will be there to support all of our remarkable participants in this very special event.
As we embark on the third year of our Journey to the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon Programme, we reflect on the accomplishments of previous years and eagerly anticipate the experiences awaiting us this year in 2024. DCSWP’s commitment to promoting long-term health and wellness in communities is made possible by the invaluable partnerships we foster with groups, organisations and events such as the Women’s Mini Marathon. The key message of DCSWP is that sport and physical activity are for everyone - through our diverse range of initiatives, including community fitness programmes, sports events, and wellness workshops, we strive to empower individuals of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to lead active and fulfilling lives. Working in tandem with major sporting events helps reinforce the vision we share with other initiatives and the common goals we aspire to.
Over the past 12 weeks, our dedicated Sports Officers have collaborated with women from all across Dublin City. Together, we’ve tailored a comprehensive 12-week activity plan designed to improve fitness levels, cultivate confidence, and prepare participants for the challenge ahead.
Today marks the culmination of months of dedication and hard work but more than anything the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is about both deeply personal stories, journeys and experiences and friendship, togetherness and solidarity. As we gather to celebrate the amazing achievements of each participant, DCSWP is proud to have supported and encouraged these women all the way over the finish line and to have played a part in helping them realise their full potential.
For more information about us, or to see how you can get involved in our programmes, please visit our website dcswphub.ie
What milestone is Newbridge Silverware celebrating this year? We’ve partnered with the iconic Newbridge Silverware to offer one of our lucky supporters the chance to win an e-gift voucher to spend online at www.newbridgesilverware.com To be in with a chance of winning this amazing prize, all you need to do is answer the following question: Send your name and answer to: info@vhiwomensminimarathon.ie by Friday 7th June 2024, and mark it MAGAZINE COMPETITION. A winner will be chosen at random after the closing date, and will be notified by email. Competition terms & conditions available on www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie
For the 20th year in a row, Intersport Elverys is delighted to be the Official Retail Partner of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon 2024 for what is the largest women’s event of its kind in the world.
We take inspiration from the thousands of women who run, walk or jog this event each year while raising money for worthy causes and charities.
This year we are proud to showcase our own brand, energetics, which offers a diverse range of product including apparel, hardware and footwear. You can check out the entire range both instore and online at Elverys.ie
At Intersport Elverys we absolutely love sport! From grassroots all the way to elite, supporting Irish athletes and sporting organisations dates back to our very origins and is rooted in our ethos.
We’re one of the biggest supporters of Irish sport in the country with over 40 locations nationwide. Each day, we strive to be the best partner to all our female athletes, by bringing them the latest innovations and technologies to enhance their performance. Our expert staff, ambassadors and running meet ups are all part of this commitment. We wish you and the organisers all the best in this year’s event and hope you smash all your goals.
We know it will be a huge success and we look forward to seeing you all out on the course of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon.
Make sure to check out our socials for running try on events across the country or register your interest here to learn more.
You will be directed to a specific entry point based on your assigned wave colour. To ensure a seamless start, please follow the event signage to locate your designated wave area.
ENTER through the junction of Pembroke Street Upper/Leeson Street Lower.
BAGGAGE DROP will be after this entrance point on Fitzwilliam Square. You should be in your wave by 11:30 am.
ENTER through the junction of Hume Street/Stephen’s Green.
BAGGAGE DROP will be after this entrance point on Baggot Street. You should be in your wave by 11:30 am.
ENTER through the junction of Merrion Square West/Merrion Street Lower.
BAGGAGE DROP will be after this entrance point on Merrion Square West. You should be in your wave by 11:30 am.
ENTER through junction of Herbert Place /Mount Street Crescent (Pepper Canister church).
BAGGAGE DROP will be after this entrance point on Mount Street Upper. You should be in your wave by 12pm.
7K 8K
Your race number is required to gain entry to the event. Attach the number to the FRONT of your t-shirt with some safety pins and write your contact details and medical information on the reverse. DO NOT cover your race number with clothing or accessories or our event photographer will not be able to identify you.
Your race number comes with a timing chip embedded inside and this captures the time you cross the start line, your 5km time, and the moment you step across the finish line.
If you need somewhere to store your belongings while you make your way around the 10km, we have you covered with five convenient baggage drop locations. Place your belongings in your own clear reusable bag and drop at the location in your wave from 10:30am. Belongings are left at your own risk.
START/FINISH: Water will be available in the Start/Finish area, and three locations along the course route.
WATER STATIONS ALONG THE ROUTE ARE: AFTER 3km:
On the Stillorgan Road, near the Teresian School. At 6km:
On the Stillorgan Road, near Belfield Bridge. At 8km:
Outside AIB Plaza in Ballsbridge.
Feel free to bring your own bottle of water if you think you’ll need it and remember to dispose of it responsibly in one of the bins provided.
We strongly recommend that participants use public transport. A list of road closures is available on our website here. Please check your route access point which is specific to each wave before planning your journey.
Check out dublinbus.ie for diversions in place
Check out luas.ie for updates to Luas services (Closest Luas stop is St. Stephen’s Green)
Check out irishrail.ie (Closest DART stop is Pearse St Station)
Check out DublinBikes.ie
There will be restricted car parking around Dublin City Centre. Bear in mind road closures will impact accessibility to the city on race day. Please check where your wave will be loading before deciding what car park to use.
Accessible parking for badge holders can be found here
Coach Parking drop-off location will be at Merrion Square North.
Please note that Merrion Square North is a drop-off location only, and this will be strictly enforced on the day.
Wilton Place will not be available for coach parking.
Parking will be available at NTA Coach Park on the day.
To help ensure that all participants have a safe and enjoyable day at the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, please familiarise yourself with and follow our guidelines:
• All bags being carried on the course must be no larger than A4 size and may be subject to search. No large bags, backpacks or suitcases will be allowed at the event.
• Always be aware of your surroundings and your nearest exit routes.
• In the remote event of a concern for public safety, listen out for announcements by race officials, stewards, and on the screens. Please follow these instructions quickly and calmly.
• Always make sure that the laces on your shoes are tied properly so you do not trip and fall.
• Take note of the terrain you are standing on in case it is wet, slippery, or hazardous in any way.
• Participants are not permitted to bring banners, flags or any other similar items to the event. Any signs brought onto the course will be confiscated for the duration of the race.
• Sweatshirts, t-shirts, space blankets and refuse sacks are often discarded before the race and during the race and can create a tripping hazard. If you are discarding items of clothing or such like, please ensure they will not cause a problem for other participants.
• Do not climb on any temporary surfaces or barriers etc.
• No buggies, pushchairs, prams, scooters, motorised vehicles, motorised devices, bay slings, baby carriers or dogs/pets of any kind are permitted on the physical course for health and safety reasons.
• Please ensure you drink plenty of water before and during the event to stay hydrated (see Course Route map for water station locations).
• Please make sure you are adequately equipped for the weather and have enough water and sunscreen.
• By the direction of An Garda Síochána, the use of bicycles, other than official bicycles, on the course during the event is strictly forbidden.
• There are Order of Malta First Aid stations located along the route –see the Course Route map for details.
Citizen is delighted to be the Official Timing Sponsor of the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon for the first time ever.
Our brand philosophy is Better Starts Now, meaning that no matter who you are and what you do, it is always possible to make something better and now is the time to start doing it. What better way to celebrate this message than the largest all-women’s event of its kind in the world?
On the lead up to Sunday, 2nd of June, we have been giving people the chance to win an elegant ladies watch worth €350 for the months of March, April, and May. Make sure to follow Citizen Watch Ireland to stay up to date with us, and keep your eyes peeled for our May competition coming soon!
In addition to our March, April and May watch prizes, we will be giving away a gorgeous watch to each of the 10 fastest finishers on the day, as a celebration of their great achievement.
This is the first year that Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon will have pacers at each of the following times – 40-minute, 45-minute, 50-minute, 55-minute, 60-minute. You can identify these pacers on race day by the Citizen logo and the giant balloons they will be wearing.
We can’t wait to be a part of this amazing day and we look forward to seeing everybody there…best of luck!
On Tuesdays and Thursdays, as the evenings grow brighter, dozens of women in Dublin’s north inner city will take to the streets. The Sheriff Street Running Club has begun training for the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon.
Their usual 5km distance will start climbing over the next few weeks to reach the full 10km in time for the June 2 race date. Their leader each night is Jennifer Fay (34), who set up the club as the smoke was clearing after lockdown. Jennifer’s route to becoming a runner started as many do: with a walk.
“I had seen a thing on Facebook about a walk and a run that was happening in Tolka Park to raise money for spina bifida and hydrocephalus,” she says. “My daughter, Rosie, was born with hydrocephalus, so we got the whole family involved.
I had Rosie in the pram and I walked but as we got to the finish line, I took her out and she crossed the finish line with myself. I just got a feeling, like, this is amazing.” Speaking to the organiser on the day, she voiced wanting to start running but said that she didn’t feel like she would be able to do it. He told her to at least try, to go out and attempt a slow jog and see what happened. For weeks, Jennifer couldn’t stop thinking about it.
“I eventually got up one evening. It was very dark and I was like, no one would be seeing me, so I’ll go out and I’ll try. I just ran around the block. I found it tough but I went out a couple of nights and I kept trying, and things were getting a little bit easier.
Before I knew it, I did my first 5k,” she remembers.
That 5km turned into an entire marathon, which then became a 50km challenge that Jennifer managed to complete. “I absolutely loved every minute,” she says. “I don’t go out and compete or run fast. I go out and I enjoy every single moment of every kilometre. It was that day that I knew — that’s it, I can do anything.”
When a friend fell ill, Jennifer was approached to take her place in helping out with a walk-to-jog programme that was being launched in the area.
“I was like, ‘Oh God, I couldn’t take that on.
I wouldn’t even know what to do’,” she laughs.
“I had said it to a couple of the neighbours and stuff and people were already down on themselves — it was like there was a black cloud over the area because we were trying to come out of Covid. So
I said, ‘Listen, I’ll do it. I’m going to see how we get on’.” People in the area took to it so well that it became a permanent fixture. When it came to setting up the club, Jennifer and the committee wanted it to be something that could represent the community well. The club was featured on Operation Transformation, which let people who weren’t from
the area get a look in at what the community was like, which in turn led to others signing up.
“I wanted it to be a club where people can comfortably come out for an hour, twice a week, feel comfortable, make new friends — no pressure on anybody to run certain distances, just to make them feel good about themselves. Now we have some 45 women in the club at the minute, the youngest is 19, and the oldest is 67,” she says.
Jennifer has had to contend with a lot over the years: her mother was diagnosed with cancer and is in treatment; she suffered a ligament injury that threatened to stop her from running the Dublin marathon; and on top of that, she is a mother to two and voluntarily keeps the club running. It has taught her a great deal about her own ability and what it takes to keep putting one foot in front of the other. “Not every run is going to be great. But if you put your mind to something, you can really achieve it. And that’s what I say to my members all the time. It’s all about the mind and the mindset that you have, going out there on a run,” she says.
Thankfully, when it comes to race day on June 2, Jennifer believes that getting into a positive mindset comes with the territory. “The Women’s Mini Marathon is probably one of the best races, runs, or events that I’ve ever done. Because every woman there is just incredible.”
When Lauren Nelson returned home from a trip to Portugal in 2022, she was “on cloud nine.”
It hadn’t been any regular holiday — she had just gotten married. She and her new husband, Darragh, as well as their young daughter, were celebrating the perfect week away when they found a lump on his bicep.
Darragh was on the Ballyboden senior football team, so the newlyweds just assumed it was an injury he picked up on the pitch. “When anything happens to him, we just automatically put it down to, ‘oh, must be just a sports injury’. We didn’t even worry about it, but we did get it checked by the GP pretty much straight away,” Lauren says. Even the doctors presumed it would turn out to be benign, but did send him for an MRI. It was after they returned from watching their best friends get married, with Darragh as the best man, that they received news that would change everything. “That’s when we got the call that the MRI was suspicious. That was the last day of everything feeling normal, to be honest,” she remembers. The doctors soon knew Darragh had cancer, but they weren’t sure what kind it was. During the lengthy process of discerning what to diagnose him with, Lauren discovered she was pregnant. “Those next four weeks were just both of us going back and forth for tests,” Nelson says.
But there was bad news awaiting them both. The baby wasn’t growing the way they would have hoped, and Lauren suffered a miscarriage. At the same time, her husband’s diagnosis was a sarcoma so rare that he is the only person in Ireland who has it. Treatment would entail surgery — which Darragh went into not knowing whether or not he would be able to keep his arm — radiation and then chemotherapy. Conversation soon turned to his fertility, and whether it would be impacted in the future. “We just really wanted to give Molly a sibling and we said ‘let’s just give it one chance before radiation starts because we just don’t know what’s around the corner’. We didn’t, for a second, really think we’d be lucky enough for it to happen,” Lauren says. “I lost both my grandparents in the past year, but the day after we buried my nanny, we found out I was pregnant again, a week before Darragh started radiation therapy. It felt like a real gift from my nan.” The couple soon welcomed their second daughter, Sophia.
This June, Lauren is running the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon in aid of Sarcoma Cancer Ireland, a nonprofit providing support for patients and families throughout the country. “I found the SCI Instagram on a really dark day just before Darragh’s surgery
and Carol (one of the main volunteers/patient herself) responded to me immediately through their DMs and gave me so much hope and continues to be a person I reach out to for advice,” Lauren explains.
The race also serves as a personal challenge — one that has been a welcome distraction from the stress of her husband’s illness and all that goes along with it. “I’m not a huge runner or anything like that, but obviously after the year that we’ve had, I kind of just wanted to give myself a goal that was just for me. Obviously everything was quite intense last year and exercise or anything like that was put on the back burner,” she says. “I just set a goal, and the mini marathon was kind of like the perfect opportunity to have something that was a way to build myself up to and that I could actually do some good as well, like with raising some money,” she adds. Besides, thanks to her husband’s many years on the pitch, she has the perfect personal trainer at home.
“People would think the last year has been pure doom and gloom in our house. And yeah, there have been really scary moments and stuff, but he [Darragh] just knows he can fight this. Like, he’s so positive in a way that’s not just pretending to be. I fully believe that he believes in his soul that everything’s going to be okay, and that makes me feel okay.” The mantra they have been repeating is one Darragh has tattooed on his wrist, as a reminder from his football days. WIT, or Whatever It Takes. “He’s so, so strong. I can’t describe how he takes all of this in his stride, because people wouldn’t believe it. I remember saying to the doctor, ‘what about football? Football is what he does, it’s his life’. Darragh was so pragmatic. He was just like, ‘we’ll just do whatever we need to do’, like, whatever it takes,” she says.
Smriti Verma will be running the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon this June in aid of a service that made one of the most stressful periods of her life easier. When her son, Neel, now 3, was born in a pandemic at its peak, she and her husband were facing parenthood alone, and when complications arose, they were left with little help.
“With our first child born via c-section during Covid, no one from my family could come to help me. We stumbled on a couple of issues with our newborn, like we weren’t educated enough about breastfeeding,” Verma remembers. It was February 2021, which meant there was a lockdown in place. Since Verma’s family — as well as her husband’s —
were in India, there was no way they could visit. While adapting to breastfeeding, Verma thought everything was going well, but soon there were some warning signs. “He slept all day, had no wet or dirty nappy for almost 24 hours. He did not wake up for the feed and he was exclusively breastfeeding. We did try to feed him but he was just not interested enough to latch. So we were not sure what was happening and were quite worried,” she says.
They rushed Neel to the hospital, where doctors discovered he had actually not been receiving much milk at all over the previous four days. “I thought I was breastfeeding him but he had actually gotten a very minimal amount. That’s when I first pumped and found out that I had a very low supply. Later I was referred to the breastfeeding support clinic where the lactation consultant helped me build my supply to successfully breastfeed my baby,” she says. Neel was in the hospital for a couple of days. During the initial period of dehydration, my son was in the NICU. During that time, the support from NMH was all we had. We would call the midwives, and they would say to come in any time we want. We lived just a couple of blocks away.
“For a new parent, that is a very scary situation, especially when you don’t have any knowledge. I was eventually diagnosed with postpartum depression due to this accident and some other reasons. I got support from NMH Psychologists to recover. They say it takes a village to raise a child, and we just did not have any support at that moment. The NMH staff were all behind me,” Verma says. “As much as I can contribute to the foundation, it helps me and it helps other mums like me,” she explains.
The NMH Foundation provides funds for the hospital on Holles Street in Dublin, which offers perinatal, neonatal, and maternal care to more than 7,000 patients yearly. The money raised through the foundation goes towards everything from research to bereavement services. There are a team of runners taking part this year in support, who will be identifiable in their t-shirts. Verma’s two children, who were both delivered at the NMH, will be there to see her over the line, as they are “big supporters,” but they won’t be the only ones. “It’s really fun! You have bands, and speakers, with banners and balloons. I’ve seen little kids making flyers and posters to motivate other people,” she says. “It’s really nice to see the community coming together.”
Don’t miss the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon results supplement in the Irish Independent on Monday 3rd June.
The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is proud to partner with GivenGain, the world’s leading not-for-profit fundraising platform. GivenGain is our event’s official fundraising platform. A non-profit and Foundation themselves, they ensure more of your donations are going to the right places.
Meet some of the charities and fundraisers taking part in this year’s event.
St. Francis Hospice provides a specialist palliative care service to people in North Dublin. This includes support for their families and friends and all healthcare professionals involved in their care. The hospice plays a leadership role in shaping palliative care nationally, working in partnership to advance policy, education, research, and service innovation.
Providing services including; community palliative care, outpatients and day services, and bereavement care.
This year we have a team of 18 friends taking part in the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon in memory of their friend Natalie. Meet some of the team!
“This photo was taken last year when we did the race to support our friend Natalie. Unfortunately this year we are taking part in memory of our friend who we all miss dearly. Anything we can contribute to help St Francis’ hospice help other families the way they helped Natalie and her family and friends through the toughest time in their lives. Everyone has their own reasons for doing the marathon, and this is our way to remember and honour an amazing woman, wife, mother, daughter, sister, and friend.” - Emma Dunne
sfh.ie
The Irish Blue Cross provides low-cost veterinary support to people who need it the most, through our network of 10 mobile clinics across the greater Dublin region, and our Head Clinic in Inchicore. Our service is available to those on means tested benefits, who cannot afford private veterinary care. We average over 17,000 visitations to our clinics each year, helping families and individuals who would otherwise find the cost of veterinary care prohibitive.
We promote responsible pet ownership through neutering, microchipping, and vaccination programs. The Irish Blue Cross also provides education programmes about pet welfare, through free talks to Schools & Youth Groups. We also provide a horse ambulance service at every race meet, at every course, on the Island of Ireland.
The Irish Blue Cross rely heavily on donations from the public and the goodwill of supporters to continue our work. We know that there are many, many pets who need our help - so we need yours!
Join us and fundraise to make a difference to pets in need at The Irish Blue Cross today!
In 1968, a small group of parents whose children had Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus established a voluntary organisation which would highlight awareness of these two conditions and support families, individuals and carers who were affected. These parents were pioneers who laid the foundations for what is now a nationally recognised organisation. At Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland (SBHI), we aim to enrich and enhance the lives of those in Ireland who are living with Spina Bifida and/or Hydrocephalus and the lives of their families and wider circle.
Some of our services include:
“These days more pet owners than ever are impacted by the cost-of-living crisis which can limit their ability to afford pet care - whether it’s a basic treatment or even a life-saving procedure. The Irish Blue Cross nurses and vets are there for those pets and owners to ensure they receive the support and care that’s needed. We focus on serving communities who need our help the most. In our head clinic in Inchicore, our amazing team of volunteers, vets, nurses, and receptionists are working tirelessly to treat as many sick and injured animals as is possible. But we could not offer these services without support. That’s why the Women’s Mini Marathon is such a vital fundraising event for The Irish Blue Cross. Whether you run, jog, or walk, it makes all the difference to pets, from saving their lives to giving them longer and healthier lives.”
Paul Halpin - Fundraising ManagerFor more information, don’t hesitate to contact our Fundraising team on fundraising@bluecross.ie or (01) 4713 622.
Next year will be Sian’s 20th marathon and we all cannot wait to cross the finish line with her. If you would like to join TEAM SBHI this year, reach out to our fundraising officer, Noelle njordan@sbhi.ie
sbhi.ie
We have a team of 8 family support workers nationwide who support our service users in many ways.
This year we are hoping to have our most successful year yet in the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon with TEAM SBHI getting bigger and bigger. We have members, staff, parents and friends signed up and raising vital funds for us this year and the support has been nothing short of amazing from the wider community. If you sign up to run with TEAM SBHI you can look forward to a free SBHI running t-shirt to wear on the day, a goodie bag and a chance to connect with some amazing individuals from our charity. Sian says ‘I want to show people the benefits of fundraising. It feels so great to help and do something good for other people. Fundraising is a way to feel accomplished and can be a source of positivity and fulfilment that is needed by everyone. What motivates me and keeps me going is the recognition I get from SBHI and words of encouragement others.’ family support respite & recreation education & training day service
We host various respite breaks and family weekends throughout the year, on top of social nights and day events. There is something for all ages.
We engage with schools to help provide a safe and inclusive environment and also aid with getting into the workforce and workplace accessibility.
Our Open Opportuinities Day Service in Castleknock is such a special place where our service users are always up to something fun and learning valuable life skills.
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