Running to support crumlin

Almost every weekend there’s a 5k or a 10k, providing an endless outlet for fitness enthusiasts to challenge themselves.

What can often be forgotten is the reason behind them, and more often than not, it’s a fundraiser for a deserving charity.

The Mullingar Park Hotel 10k is fast approaching its fourth year, on Sunday September 6, and it’s one that holds particular significance for 19-year-old Aoife McAnaney.

Studying primary school teaching in NUI Maynooth, Aoife and her family are the main organisers behind the event and every year the proceeds go to Our Lady’s Children Hospital, Crumlin.

“I want to remind everyone that I’m trying to raise awareness more for Crumlin than the actual race,” she said.

“I want to encourage people to raise funds in any way people can for Crumlin,” reiterates the Mullingar girl. And there’s a very big reason for this.

“My story with Crumlin started when I was about nine. I was diagnosed with a tumour on my right kidney.

“One day I just had a pain in my side and I was brought to the hospital. Further tests were taken and I ended up in Crumlin,” she explains.

“It was quite scary, I have to say. You know, when you’re nine years old, you’re not quite sure what’s going on. You don’t really know why you’re in so much pain, why there’s all these doctors around you. And they’re using medical terminology that goes over your head.

“But when you go to Crumlin, they have a special way of making you feel so much at ease.

“I remember from my very first days there, the doctors were able to explain to me what was wrong with me in a way that wasn’t scary. I was able to understand it in my own way.

“They’re doing the best job in there. They just need funding all the time.”

 

Prognosis

Now finally cancer-free after nine years, Aoife knows that the disease is an ongoing battle for many families, and it is the front-of-line staff at the hospital that are fighting to save lives.

“I am 100 percent clear of cancer now, thank God. I had yearly check-ups after I went into remission and my last one was when I was 18 and I was officially told that I was 100% clear.

“And I suppose I was finished then with the hospital that had done so much for me. But the relationship you build up with the doctors and nurses, you never forget.

“They nearly become members of your family you see them so often. They are very caring, they put you at ease.

“We felt a responsibility to give something back because we knew that there were children up there only starting the journey that I had been on and it’s every single day there’s someone going through what I had and worse.

“Having been there, having had that experience, we just wanted to give something back.”

Aoife and her family are hoping to raise as much money as possible this year, both through registration for the Mullingar Park 10k and through donations for people who do not wish to take part in the race.

“We have a link up on our Facebook page (Mullingar Park Hotel 10km) for people who wish to simply donate.

“I’m trying to be more of a spokesperson for Crumlin. I want people to remember just how hard they work, how good they are.

“They give the patients their time, they make children feel at ease, they save their lives. They go above and beyond. And they need all the help they can get.

“But a lot of people don’t realise how hard they work, how good they are.”

Aoife is realising her dream of becoming a primary school teacher and says “to be able to have all that behind me now, and go on a do what I want to do, to me is just amazing. And I want that for other children who were just like me - to be able to realise their dreams”.

• The Mullingar Park Hotel 10k race is on Sunday September 6.

http://www.cmrf.org/get-involved/sign-up-detail/mullingar-park-hotel-10k-run