Daisy Hill FC captain Jake O’Brien and former Assistant Manager Tom Brown have raised over £1000 each for two charities after completing the Manchester Marathon in April.
The duo ran the race together, with Jake raising money for Bolton Hospice, and Tom for the British Heart Foundation, and Jake explained the motivation they both had for running in the race.
“It was just one of those things. I’ve always thought I could easily do one as I had always been good at running and I wanted to just challenge myself, and be able to say that I had run in one”, said Jake.
“I chose Bolton Hospice as a charity to raise money for as my gran was looked after there, and on my girlfriend’s side of the family they have had family members in there too.
“They were all well cared for when they were in the Hospice, and obviously it’s not anyone’s choice to be in there, so being able to run in the race and at the same time raise money that can be used to help people being treated in the Hospice is good.
“Tom lost his father just under a year ago to a heart problem, which is why he chose to run for the British Heart Foundation, and he did his dad proud.
“I had trained for it for a few months, but I’ve moved into my first house and it’s a renovation project, and with being captain of Daisy Hill too there are a lot of roles and responsibilities, so I didn’t have as much chance as I’d hoped to get some long runs in.
“But I’m proud I’ve got the medal. Not everyone can say they have run a marathon and I’m going to put my name down for races next year too, now I have a timetable to work to.
“I’ve entered the ballot for the London Marathon, although it is always tough to get in there, but I will almost certainly do the Manchester one again, and hopefully run a better time than I did this year”.
