Westmeath County Champion Aine Byrne prepares for 2022 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon

The 2022 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon takes place in Dublin on Sunday June 5, and is the first physical event to take place since 2019.

The event is celebrating its 40th year in 2022 and will be a celebration of togetherness. Whether you participate with friends, family or do it solo, you’ll be part of a special community.

The event has also been instrumental in helping hundreds of charities raise money for their causes. It is estimated that over €226 million has been raised for charities since the event began in 1983.

Representing Westmeath at this year’s event will be Aine Byrne from Emper. Aine will be taking part with her mother, Roisin McConnell.

Aine is a preschool teacher in her area and is taking part in the event for the fifth time this year: “I absolutely love doing the Mini Marathon as it is so much fun and it gives you a great boost when people cheer you on.

"I love taking part, as it is a great experience and you can do it for different charities. I will be doing it for Neurofibromatosis NF this year.”

Aine was diagnosed with Neurofibromatosis at six months old, a condition that her mother Roisin also has.

As Aine explains: “The doctor diagnosed me with Neurofibromatosis when they found cafe au lait spots on my body. I struggled a lot in primary school secondary and even college.

"Secondary school was very tough when it came to exams such as mocks junior cert and leaving cert. I struggled a lot with my assignments in college. I used to get panic attacks, but I never let my condition put me down.”

Both Aine and Roisin are also doing the Mini Marathon in memory of a friend of theirs, Trevor O’Meara from Ballymahon, who passed away last October from a very rare brain tumour.

This year the event celebrates 40 years of #WomenMakingMagic and is inviting women to share the magic to mark this significant milestone in the event’s history.

Entries are open on www.vhiwomensminimarathon.ie. Every participant will receive a Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon 40th anniversary medal, a Vhi commemorative finisher T-shirt and exclusive access to the official event app.

As well, everyone who registers will receive a 20% discount code for Intersport Elverys.

This year, for the first time, the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon will take place as a hybrid event, meaning the event is offering both physical and virtual options for participants who wish to take part in the 10km from anywhere. A limited number of entries for the virtual event will open after Easter.

Entrants can set up a dedicated fundraising page with Givengain, the event’s fundraising partner at www.givengain.com.

About Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon

The Vhi Women's Mini Marathon is the largest all women's event of its kind in the world. The first Women’s Mini Marathon, in Dublin in 1983, had 9,000 entrants - it now hosts more than 30,000 women on the June bank holiday weekend.

Women from across the 32 counties of Ireland, the UK and Europe take part each year to raise funds for their chosen charities and causes.

The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is a world-class sporting event and is dedicated to helping women across Ireland to achieve their fitness goals. It has become an important part of Irish culture and a celebration for Irish women aged 14 and over.

The event caters for women who wish to walk or jog for fun while also catering for competitive runners. It is not only women who have benefited from the event, aascharities are also the big winners.

The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon is the single biggest charity fundraising event in Ireland. An estimated €226m has been raised for charity since its beginning in 1983. All charities benefit as it is the women themselves who decide who they will support, and many local causes gain vital revenue from the event.