Jonnie gets into his stride in charity runs

A Birches man who far exceeded a marathon target in memory of his mum has handed over a cheque for more than £4,000 to charity.
Jonnie Odgers, left, and family, Michael, John, Red and Leeanne, hand over a cheque for £4,232  to Carla Smyth, second left, of Chest, Heart and Stroke. INPT02-210.Jonnie Odgers, left, and family, Michael, John, Red and Leeanne, hand over a cheque for £4,232  to Carla Smyth, second left, of Chest, Heart and Stroke. INPT02-210.
Jonnie Odgers, left, and family, Michael, John, Red and Leeanne, hand over a cheque for £4,232 to Carla Smyth, second left, of Chest, Heart and Stroke. INPT02-210.

Jonnie Odgers, who lost his mum Rowena suddenly to a heart condition in March 2014, had planned to run 12 marathons in 12 months but actually ran 20 marathons in just eight months.

And rather than the £500 he had initially hoped to raise for Northern Ireland Chest Heart and Stroke, the final tally was £4,232.

Jonnie, along with wife Leanne, dad John and brothers Red and Michael last week handed over a cheque to Carla Smyth from the charity.

And a further sum - approximately £1,000 - raised at various functions is to be distributed to a number of local charities, still to be decided.

The family has thanked everyone for their support and donations .

And an unexpected bonus for Jonnie is the number of new running friends he has made along the way. He said, “I have met a lot of different people who have become friends.

“These guys run marathons for a hobby and they are doing far more than I did.”

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