Carrick ladies step up to half marathon

Hayley Welsh and Sarah McDonald will be competing in the Belfast City Half-Marathon despite having “never run the length of themselves”. They are aiming to raise £400 for the Autism NI charity.

Hayley’s five-year-old son Harry, a pupil at Victoria Primary School, was recently diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome.

Praising the role of Autism NI, she said: “Anytime I have any questions, I just ring up. There is always somebody there at the end of the phone,”

Harry and his sister Charlotte have both been keen to join in and have aided the fundraising effort by taking part in an ice-bucket challenge, being doused in cold water.

Hayley, from Victoria, has also completed the challenge describing the experience as “freezing”.

Her endeavours have continued with a 14-mile trek in the Mournes, which she noted, took six hours to complete.

“Neither of us have ever run anywhere, There is a three-hour time limit for the half-marathon. You are not allowed to walk the whole way.”

However, Hayley says that she and Sarah, a mother-of-five, from Glenfield, are determined to “go the distance”, “even if it takes us the whole three hours”.

The duo have been stepping up their training, extending their routes to Trooperslane and then to Greenisland,

“It has been exciting every time we go for a run and better our times. It’s exciting. We can’t wait to do it, to push ourselves and be proud we did it and all for a great cause.”

Hayley and Sarah can be supported on the ‘Just Giving’ page or text HWSM51 70070.