Mini Marathon: Rugby duo tackle run to honour their mums

TWO Cork women are giving themselves a run for their money as they go from couch to 5k for The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon.

Despite signing up to take part in the mini marathon, Alison Taylor from Glanmire and Laoise Cahill Murphy from Douglas had previously struggled to run for longer than two minutes.

“Our preparation for the marathon has been tough, but rewarding,” said Ms Cahill Murphy. “We used a Couch To 5k plan to prepare to run the mini marathon as neither of us were in any way into running. We both play rugby with Dolphin RFC so we’re both sporty, but didn’t love running without a ball in hand.”

Six weeks ago, the pair laced up their running shoes for the first time and began pounding the pavement.

“Honestly at the start, even running for the one minute was tough, but this week we ran 6km in 36 minutes without stopping. So, we’re definitely excited for Sunday now that we know we can do it,” she said.

Both women are running on Sunday, September 17, in support of Breast Cancer Ireland, which is a charity close to both Alison and Laoise’s hearts.

“We are raising funds for Breast Cancer Ireland, as it is a charity close to both of us. Both our mothers went through treatment for breast cancer in the last few years. Unfortunately, we think everyone knows someone who has been affected by breast cancer at some point.”

Both have attempted to take up running in the past, but to no avail. The Cork natives believe that running on behalf of a charity that means so much to them has helped them achieve their goal.

“We both felt that our mothers went through treatment without complaining and with smiles on their faces, so we tried our best to keep smiling during our training. We knew that our suffering when trying to run was nothing compared to how they must have felt during treatment. We kept going with training for them.”

The pair extended their appreciation to the medical teams in both Cork University Hospital and the Bon Secours Hospital for their hard work and kindness while their mothers sought treatment.

Thankfully, Alison’s and Laoise’s mothers are both doing well following their treatment and are immensely proud of their daughters’ achievement.

“Both of our mothers are very proud of us and feel that not only is it helping others, but it’s also a great achievement for us to run our first 5km. Everyone has been so eager to donate and that just shows how strongly people feel about this charity.”

Breast Cancer Ireland is a registered charity, established to raise significant funding to support pioneering research programmes nationally, as well as to promote education and awareness on the importance of good breast health amongst women of all ages.

“A lot of people who donated had their own story of someone belonging to them having suffered from breast cancer. It feels special that our training won’t just be about the actual run on Sunday, but it will be about all those who are going through or have gone through treatment and hopefully it will help other people in the future.”

They have said that fundraising “has been amazing between family, friends and work colleagues, but also our team-mates in Dolphin.” The Togher-based rugby team plan to come out in support of their team-mates this coming Sunday.

Training

Laoise admitted that some days were definitely harder than others on their couch-to-5k journey. She said crossing the line will be an emotional experience for them both.

“Passing that finish line will be amazing,” she said. “It’s only 5km, but I think I might cry. We’ve had some days training for this that one of us really had to push on the other person to keep going. It will be very rewarding to cross the finish line.

“There’s been days during training that one of us has wanted to stop or one of us has been able to go farther than the other, but we’ve always pushed through it together. We are both really excited to cross the line together.”

Laoise, who works as a nurse, has said that balancing training with work has been a real difficulty for her. Thankfully, she says that her running partner, Alison, has kept her accountable, even on days when she felt like throwing in the towel.

“I am a nurse, so it has been difficult at times to fit in training, but Alison has accommodated me completely these last six weeks,” she said.

“We’ve had to sit down every week with my roster and commit to running on my days off because there was no way I was going to run after a 12-hour shift.

“Thank God Alison was always happy to suit me and force me to get out of bed in the mornings on my days off or we’d never have got the runs done.”

Their six-week journey, however gruelling, has truly been a joint effort.

“We ran three times a week for the last six weeks, as well as rugby training together,” said Ms Cahill Murphy.

“So, we really haven’t had a break from each other over the last few weeks.”

She joked: “We will literally be joined at the hip crossing that finish line!”

Celebrations

After all their hard work, Alison and Laoise have great plans made for after they cross the line, with dreams of champagne and a spa day keeping them going.

“We nearly made our plans to celebrate for the marathon before we even signed up for it. We will head out for a few drinks on Sunday after the marathon with a few of the girls on our rugby team.

“Monday is our real celebration though, as we have booked ourselves in for a spa day in Fota.”

“You would swear that we were running a full marathon with the way that we are treating ourselves, but maybe we will get there eventually.”

The celebrations for the new runners extend far beyond their athletic achievements however, with Laoise saying: “Both of our families had tough times while our mothers were unwell, so it is almost like a celebration for us now to be over the bad times.

“We are really looking forward to running in aid of breast cancer, supporting them by wearing the well-known pink T-shirt and to help raise funds for other people who need it that are going through breast cancer at the moment or in the future.”

The Echo Women’s Mini Marathon is just the start for Laoise and Alison’s running journey, as the Cork women have already set their sights on a 10km run in November.