Mother and daughter team sign up to the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation.

Mary Lenehan from Sligo and her mum also called Mary have signed up to the Vhi Women’s mini marathon next month in aid of the Irish Heart Foundation to remember father and loving husband Seamus who sadly died recently at the age of just 57.

Seamus who lived with heart failure following a number of heart attacks was described by his daughter Mary as a very positive person and to lose him as she did on her own birthday the 30^th of December last year was a huge shock.

She recalled that her dad was brought into hospital on the 28^th of December and just two days later he was gone.

Despite the grief and pain of losing her lovely dad being still very raw Mary had generously decided to take part in the mini marathon on Sunday the 05^th of June with her mum by her side.

Mary said she wanted to raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation “to raise awareness of all the work the charity does that goes unnoticed.”

She added that she was both excited and nervous about the prospect of walking the 10k route however she knows that her dad will also be with her every step of the way.

“Dad would be very proud,” she said.

Now in its 40^th year the The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon, an annual 10k charity road race, occurs each June bank holiday weekend in Dublin and is the largest Women’s event of its kind in the world.

In 1983, the inaugural event had 9,000 women entering and the event reached a record attendance in 2014 with 41,006 women taking part. A staggering 1.09 million women have entered the event over its 39 years.

After a two-year hiatus during which the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon went virtual due to COVID-19 the live in person event is back in Dublin this year to celebrate its 40^th Anniversary.

If you would like to join team Irish Heart for the 2022 Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon please sign up here