Athlone woman's marathon raises €2,770 for South Westmeath Hospice

By Rebekah O'Reilly

Athlone woman Josephine Kearns has raised €2,770 in a fundraiser for South Westmeath Hospice.

The mother-of-two set out to run the Dublin City Marathon on Sunday, October 27, however due to health complications was forced to withdraw from the marathon.

Persevering, Josephine decided to run the length of the marathon over the span of a day in her native Athlone. "Due to complications with diabetes and other health issues, I had to forfeit my place and stop training before I even started," she said.

"However, I didn’t want that to stop me from completing a challenge and raising money, so I [ran] the full marathon distance over the course of one day."

Speaking about her motivation for the fundraiser, Josephine said the South Westmeath Hospice took such good care of her mother Lizzy.

"I’m so happy to be able to give back to those who helped us so much during the worst time in our lives, they made her feel so safe and I will be forever grateful for that."

On October 13, Josephine set out on her fundraising challenge. She intended to run the marathon distance in small portions, however once she got going she couldn't stop herself from completing the full 42.2km.

"I'm so chuffed with myself," Josephine said. "I visited all of [my] Mam’s special places in town while I could hear her cheering me on when I found the going tough."