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Cancer battles of family and friends will spur on Wallasey family running London Marathon for NWCR
2 months ago
Wirral mum-of-three Julie Woolley smiles as she thinks about crossing the finishing line of the London Marathon on April 21ā¦
āI saw someone on Instagram being asked what their main marathon aim was, and it goes to a clip of the Bee Gees singing Staying Alive,ā she says. āIt is a mammoth task and itās mentally, as well as physically, very tiring.ā
But thoughts of family and friends whoāve survived cancer or sheās lost because of it will keep Julie going ā along with the two family members whoāll be tackling the epic 26.2 miles with her!
Julie, 50, from Wallasey, is running the marathon with husband Alan, 48, and 22-year-old daughter Katrina. And she says:
āAchieving something like this, and doing it together as a family, will be really special.
āA lot of people have been surprised when weāve said weāre all taking part, so itās going to be a very proud moment for each of us.ā
Julie, Alan and Katrina are all running for Liverpool-based North West Cancer Research which focuses on cancers which are more common to the Merseyside and North West area, and targets the work it does on those.
Since 2000 itās funded Ā£45 million of world-class research with more than 50 active research projects being carried out at any one time ā something Julie, an events assistant for the charity for the last 10 years, is delighted to be supporting.
But itās the cancer battles of those close to them which has inspired their efforts just as much.
Alanās mum Mary was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2015 and 2017 and underwent two operations and a course of chemotherapy before being given the all-clear.
Sadly, though, they also lost a close friend, Ann Dalziel, 66, to cancer last year, and know others whoāve been affected by it.
Julie says: āItās always been in the back of my mind to do a marathon, but I never thought I could do it. I have done two half-marathons but Iāve never gone that far.
āBut after what happened with Ann, and being 50 this year, I wanted to set myself a challenge while I still had the opportunity to do it.
āI think too often we think about things we might do but make the mistake of putting them off. Then, like for Ann, the chances of doing them are taken away from you.
āI wanted to push myself in the hope that the funds I raise, and that Alan and Katrina raise, will help prevent other families experiencing loss from this awful disease.ā
Alan adds:
āWe all have been, or will be, impacted by cancer in our lifetime and seeing family and friends battle the disease is heartbreaking. My own mum is a cancer survivor thanks to critical research and development ā the likes of which are funded by North West Cancer Research.ā
The family were already quite active and regularly go on Saturday morning jogs together, along with other daughter, Kyra, 25.
But stepping up their training to include three or four weekly runs, the latest of which was 16 miles, has been hard.
āIn terms of training it has been a bit of a shock,ā admits Julie, who with Alan has another daughter Anya, 20. āBut weāre following a training app that Katrina has downloaded which has helped.
āItās also helped being family ā it might have been different if weād been with a running club. But weāre possibly a bit tougher on each other and, certainly, I need Alan to chivvie me up a bit when itās a Saturday morning and itās raining and even the effort of getting ready is too much.
āHe says ācome on, weāre doing thisā, and we do.ā
Julie and Alan are hoping to complete the run in around five and a half hours, with Katrina aiming for a faster time.
āKatrina will run on her own while Alan has promised heāll stay with me. Then hopefully Katrina will be waiting for us at the finishing line ā and sheāll have had chance to get to the shop for snacks!ā
The three runners are well on their way to reaching a combined target of Ā£6,000 ā with Julie alone already reaching more than Ā£1,600.
And, along with their vital sponsorship funds, their training is on track to see them all pass the finishing line to collect their medals.
āIt will be a battle but itās one Iām determined to win,ā vows Julie. āEven if I have to crawl over the finishing line.
āThere are people here today who wouldnāt have been if it wasnāt for that ground-breaking research or the awareness North West Cancer Research has raised.
āTo be helping and supporting that, with my family, will be incredible.ā