Monday Apr 26 2010

Roberta Dornan (35) is a clerical officer living in Bangor with her husband Desmond and their children Peter (13) and Stephen (5). She says:

When I was 20 I was training to be a riding instructor and I was thrown from a horse. A vertebra above my pelvis was fractured and compressed on one side.

I had to spend six months in a cast and a year of physiotherapy after that. Afterwards, I was allowed to do sports but they had to be low impact; cycling, swimming and things like that.

It was five years before I could do anything more and in 2001 I started running. I need to keep the weight off so that there isn’t too much pressure on my spine.

Even during my pregnancies I was only allowed to put on a stone and I had to have physio afterwards.

I decided to do Runher in June 2008 and ended up winning the race. I won the one in 2009, too. I wasn’t expecting that at all. At the event, people suggested I join the North Down Runners.

Being in a running club is great. It’s very social and it helps you keep motivated. You can run at your own pace because there are people of all sorts of abilities. I’m running really well at the moment and I’ve had lots of personal bests recently in training. I would love to win the event again but I think I’ll have to stop entering if I do!

Diane McCaughan (40) lives in Bangor with husband Sherrard and children Ben (10) and Emma (8). She says:

My mum was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2003. She went through treatment and recovered from it. I found a lump in my breast and was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2006.

I was given a full mastectomy on Valentine’s Day 2006 and then had courses of chemo and radiotherapy. They gave me so much treatment because I had a family history and because the cancer can be aggressive if you get it when you’re young and I was only 36.

They discovered that Mum’s cancer was back in June 2007. She wasn’t feeling well and went to the doctor who examined her abdomen. It turned out that it had spread from her breast to her liver. She didn’t live to see the end of August.

What happened to mum was a real shock to me and I decided it was time to get the weight off and get more active which is why I started to run. I started training for a race with my friend and when she dropped out I kept going. I joined the North Down running club who were fantastic. They even created a slow group for me.

Last year I ran both of the Runher events in June and October, the Great North Run and the Dublin Marathon. You get bitten by the running bug.

Heather Wilson (40) is a countryside access officer from Belfast. She says:

Last year I started training with a friend for Runher and I haven’t stopped. Training with someone else is great motivation so I joined a running club too. Running is great.

Once you get over your pain threshold it’s all about pushing yourself. There’s a lovely atmosphere at Runher and it doesn’t seem hard at all. I’m going to push for the 10K run.

Michelle McGrath (40) is a retail manager. She lives in Bangor with her husband Johnny and son Finlay (7). She says:

I used to walk a lot to keep fit but, one day as it was coming up to holiday time, I decided to run. I managed to run two miles on the first day. My husband Johnny has been running since he was at school and was astounded I'd done so well.

I was dreadfully embarrassed at the start and I used to get my son to cycle along with me. I became more confident, though, and I ran the Runher 5K in October and loved it. The atmosphere was great and it was very casual so everyone could run at their own pace.

I also ran with Eddie Izzard last year when he came to Bangor on his 43 marathon challenge.

Eddie asked if we fancied joining him for a bit so we did. I ran six miles that day which was the furthest I had ever run.

His legs were amazing, they’d become so toned. I'm currently running about five times a week with a long run at the weekend.

Naomi Magowan (29) is a civil servant. She lives in Newtownards with her husband Scott. She says:

I've been running for a couple of years but I mostly do it on my own. I decided to join the Up And Runners last October.

I wanted to be safer and to have a bit of company while I was out on the road. It's been great for motivation.

I love Runher because it's a relaxed event and everyone is out just to have a good day.

I'm running the 10K one this time around so I run about three or four times a week.

My husband Scott even cycles alongside me sometimes.

Rachael Kelly (31) is a PhD student from Belfast. She says:

I used to go out with a guy who was very into sports and outdoor pursuits so he got me interested in running.

In 2007 I just put my trainers on and hit the pavement on my own and managed about a half mile every time.

Last year I ran the Race For Life through the Eden Project in England. It was horrible. The course was either over steep hills or through sticky rain forest.

Once I managed that I thought I could run anything.

I joined the Up and Runners last year because I thought it was the only way I could get motivated enough.

I've got the running bug now. There's nothing like it for pushing yourself, so this year I’m going to run the 10K race.

Sarah Benton (39), a civil servant who lives in Belfast with husband Michael and daughter Jennifer (6). She says:

About five years ago I started running. I had just come back from maternity leave and a friend convinced me to run a relay in the Belfast Marathon — I loved it.

After that I joined the North Down running club. I've run a few races; most of them have been for both men and women. It was just such a positive day.

I'm used to pressure when I run races but this was much more fun. It's my favourite event because everyone enjoys going along for the craic.

Amanda Holmes (33) is a sales director living in Ballinderry with her husband Kieron and baby Megan. She says:

Last October I tackled Runher at Stormont. I had just come back from maternity leave and I thought it would be a way to get back into the world after having a baby.

I did no training for it at all. I did manage to run a good bit of it but I will admit I took a break and walked for a while.

I loved the atmosphere on the day, though. Everyone ran at different paces so you could chat to people as you went.

Everyone along the route cheered us on as well — my husband and friends came to cheer me on. This time round I would like to be able to run the whole thing. I have not quite decided yet if I'm going for the five or 10 kilometre run though!

Cathy Robson (41), an HR Manager, lives in Bangor with her husband Phil. She says:

I've been running off and on for about 15 years but I only joined the Up and Runners club in October last year. I just didn't want to run on my own anymore.

The club splits us into groups of different abilities which keeps everyone motivated because you don't feel intimidated.

Runher isn't about competition because it's an all-female event. I love running even though I might not be very fast but it keeps me fit.

I like to run both with the club, which I do about three times a week, and on my own.

Fionnula Mann (43), a speech and language therapist, lives in Belfast with husband Simon and girls Lara (16), Amy (12), Kate (9). She says:

Just before I turned 40 I was a chaperone on a school trip and I realised how I couldn't keep up with the kids. I set myself a goal of running a marathon by the time I hit my 40th birthday and three years ago I ran the Prague marathon.

I don't like races though — I run for fun, to keep fit and to clear my head.

I love Runher because it's not competitive and I also like to support other people like my nine-year-old daughter Kate who ran it last year.

Noeleen Gorman (29) is a physiotherapist from Lurgan. She says:

This will be my first time taking part in Runher. I'm training for the Berlin Marathon in September so this is one of my goals along the way.

Lots of my patients run marathons and I help them with their training so it seemed like I should give one a go. My sister Roisin will be running with me. I like that Runher is an all female event — it's quirky and I think my sister prefers it that way too. That many women together will have so much fun.

Children’s nurse Alison Megarry (49) lives in Belfast with husband Nick and children Lucy (10) and Max (4). She says:

Last year I did Runher with a group from the gym. We would meet up and train together. I really enjoyed the experience because there was such a lovely atmosphere and it was a really nice hot day.

I haven't managed to run the whole route yet — we do a mixture of running and walking. I'd like to be able to run more of it than walk. I'm enjoying the running, even if my knees aren't.

Barbara McKeever (46) is a transport administrator. She lives in Belfast with her daughter Clare (17). She says:

I've been running for about two years. I tried to run the Race For Life but I couldn't do it — it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. I joined Up and Runners to get motivated and since then I've run five half marathons and the Great North Run. I've lost two stone and two dress sizes in the process.

Runher is great. Because it's all female you don't feel the need to perform like an elite athlete. There's no pressure on you.

Kerry, Annie and Ella Connolly from Ballyclare gave Runher a big thumbs up after competing in the last event.

Kerry, a teacher, took part in the 10K race last year. She says: “It's a great way to get exercise and it showed the girls that keeping fit is fun as well as being good for your health. The whole atmosphere was very inspirational.

“We'll definitely be doing the next one in June this year.”

Sisters Annie (11) and Ella (9) made it a real family event by competing in the 5K.

Annie says: “I loved running and enjoyed the whole day out. We all felt very proud of ourselves when we had finished our race.”

Her little sister Ella adds: “It’s great fun. The crowds gave us so much encouragement and the atmosphere was brilliant.”

Belfast Telegraph Runher 5k and 10k events, Stormont Estate, Belfast, Sunday, June 13, 2pm. To enter log onto: www.runher.co.uk