Family to take on gruelling run for charity

A family from Jordanstown will be participating in a gruelling run later this year to raise funds for a charity which is close to their hearts.
Chris, Nicola, Yvonne, Ashleigh, Hugh and Dianne.Chris, Nicola, Yvonne, Ashleigh, Hugh and Dianne.
Chris, Nicola, Yvonne, Ashleigh, Hugh and Dianne.

Nicola Goodfellow, along with her husband Chris, her sisters Ashleigh and Dianne and her parents, Hugh and Yvonne Hawthorne will be competing in the Great North Run in September.

The family members are tackling this famous race in Newcastle Upon Tyne to raise funds for the Guide Dogs charity.

They first started sponsoring a dog at the charity after Hugh’s mother become unwell in 2009 and began to lose her sight.

Over Christmas 2016, the family, who were not experienced runners, decided to start training for the half marathon with the aim of raising funds for the worthy cause.

Speaking to the Times, Nicola said: “We all face different challenges; my husband and I are new parents to a nine-month-old baby daughter Abigail, my parents both turn 60 this year, Ashleigh has just started university in Leeds and Dianne is new to exercise in general and living in London.

“Our training has been tough, but I’ve been enjoying it as it’s good to get out in the fresh air. We want to raise as much as possible to support the charity and we will be organising further fundraisers ahead of the run.

“We’ve received a lot of support from people and we’d like to thank everyone who has contributed.”

The family has set up an online fundraising page. If you would like to make a donation, go to www.justgiving.com/fundraising/GNR2017guidedogs