Sam's 2022 Dublin Marathon for Charities

When we first went into lockdown in 2020, I started running to help with headspace and through the encouragement of friends who also started running. My first run was an effort to manage 4km with a pace of 6'18"/km.

Since then, I have kept going and managed faster paces and to go further. Now I am training for the Dublin Marathon at the end of October. It will be a great personal achievement if I can complete the 42km. But in doing that, I should not waste the opportunity to benefit others.

Therefore, I have chosen to raise money for two charities that have a connection to my family and my friends, 22q11 Ireland and St Francis Hospice, Dublin.

The daughter of two of my best friends has 22q11 Deletion Syndrome, which starts when a tiny part of one of your chromosomes is missing. It can affect many parts of the body and the brain. There are more than 180 ways that 22q11 might affect someone, including issues with the heart, palate, immune system, developmental delays and so on. 22q11 Ireland provides lifelong family support, generates awareness and advocacy and works with medical, educational and research professionals to advance the understanding of the condition and its symptoms.

www.22q11ireland.org

Like all hospices, St Francis Hospice in Dublin does phenomenal work in providing specialist palliative care for those whose illness may no longer be curable, thus enabling them to achieve the best possible quality of life during the final stages of their illness. My wife and her family are currently availing of these services for their Mum, Betty, who is ill with cancer.

www.sfh.ie