Barbara Vierling, Halee Sharpe, James Brown, Katy McKnight, Paul James Rea, Sara Lindsay

This year the Students’ Union entered two relay teams into the Belfast City Marathon 2010.

Students’ Union President Sara Lindsay reports:

On Bank Holiday Monday (3rd May), ten dedicated individuals met at 8am to check the final details and make their way to Ormeau Park. The teams consisted of a mixture of past, present and international students. Many departments of the College were represented, with runners from ECS, Heath and Leisure, as well as both the primary and post-primary BEd.

Those of you familiar with the event will know that it is no walk in the park! The gruelling 26.2 miles is divided into 5 sections, the shortest of which is 3.5 miles and the longest 7.1 miles. For some of our runners this was their first time to take part in the event and while a few of us professed some level of athletic ability, others required dedicated training and commitment. Special mention must go to our Student Executive Secretary Eddy Baird (4th year Primary BEd Music), who has been committed to training for the past number of months and who successfully completed the 6 mile leg of the event – Well done Eddy!

Thanks must also go to our international colleagues who took part- Barbara Vierling, from Germany, was an Erasmus student in Stranmillis last semester and has stayed in Belfast since Christmas to work for a local charity, and Halee Sharpe, an American student currently on exchange in the College, who was roped into running at the last minute and did us proud! A big thank you to everyone else who gave of their time, money and energy to take part in the event: James Brown, Paul Rea, Ruth Hill, Katy McKnight, Annette Henry, Victoria Henry and Gareth McBeth. We couldn’t have done it without you.

All sponsorship from the marathon is in aid of our chosen charity, the Northern Ireland Children’s Hospice, and while we are still in the process of collecting the remainder of the sponsorship money, the current total stands at over £500. Another particular note of thanks should be directed to Annette Henry (2nd year ECS) and her daughter Victoria (aged 11) who have also been dedicated to both their training and fund raising. Victoria and her mum both walked the 3.5 mile section of the race and are responsible for collecting £300 of the total so far – A huge thank you to you both.

 So if this has inspired you why not dig out your running shoes and get practising for next year’s event.
‘Even the longest journey begins with a single step.’ (Proverb)