WOMEN'S MINI-MARATHON:WITH TEMPERATURES in the mid-20s in Dublin city centre yesterday, it is not surprising that the Flora Women's Mini-Marathon had more than its usual share of fainters.
The Order of Malta’s crew of 70 volunteers had a busy time even before the event began. On Fitzwilliam Square and spilling into the surrounding sun-soaked streets, more than 40,000 women where packed together while they waited to begin the race. And the combination of heat and dehydration saw a higher than average drop-out rate.
John Wright, Order of Malta regional director for Dublin, said it was one of the busiest mini-marathons the group had experienced. “People need to have come to the starting line already having had a couple of bottles of water, but when people are standing in that kind of heat and they are not prepared, that’s when they feel it,” he said.
Most fainters were fine once they had been rehydrated and were happy to be put back on the road, Mr Wright said, though a small number opted out.
Along the route volunteers plied participants with bottles of water and many who had planned to jog the 10km route, chose to walk instead.
It was not about winning times for most, it was about taking part and raising vital funds for favourite charities.
All the large charities and hospitals were represented; a record 2,326 women walked or jogged for the Irish Cancer Society and 300 did it for the Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
From Wicklow, two sisters-in-law, Pat Sheane and Debbie Buckley and their teenage daughters Hannah and Megan were walking for the Special Olympics, while a six-member sister and sister-in-law group from Dublin led by Angela Rooney took part for The Children’s Sunshine House and “for the craic”.
Like many of the participants, both groups were motivated by the desire to help worthy causes, but for some, it was more personal. Maureen Clarke came from Portadown with 29 supporters, all wearing haloes, to raise awareness and funds for The Angels of Hope charity. She founded the organisation after the death of her daughter Julie in 2002 aged just 27 from ovarian cancer.
“There’s nothing down south for ovarian cancer, were trying to build links slowly,” Maureen said.
Bernie Rice from Dublin had a team of 15 to support her and a new charity Melanoma Trust, also established after the death of her daughter. Sharon Rice O’Beirne was just 33 when she died of skin cancer in 2008.
This year’s race winner was Rosemary Ryan of Limerick, who crossed the line in under 35 minutes. But the real winners were the women who could take part in the event. As June Byrne from Carlow, who was walking for the NCBI, said: “If you’re healthy at all do it; there’s lots would love to, but can’t.”
