Halloween Blood Run honours journalist Ken Reid
Hundreds of runners took part in a Halloween Blood Run at Stormont to support blood cancer awareness.
The run followed the Stormont Park Run route and brought out runners dressed in spooky costumes to support the charity Leukaemia and Lymphoma NI (LLNI) in association with the Northern Ireland Blood Transfusion Service (NIBTS).
It honoured renowned political broadcast journalist and former patron of the charity Ken Reid, who sadly passed away from leukaemia in November 2024 and three trophies were handed out in his name to each of the top male and female finishers.
The event was a symbol of strength to many with personal battles with blood cancer, which rang true to Dawn Blain, who persevered in harsh weather conditions to get first place. She said:
“My friend Joanne McCauley was diagnosed with leukaemia a few years ago. She would have been 40 this weekend and when she was diagnosed as a family, we got a lot of support from LLNI, they are a brilliant charity.”
Blain, who finished the 5km race in just 19 minutes said that her friends and family do a lot of fundraising together as a team, in memory of Joanne. Speaking after the race, she said:
“We call ourselves ‘Team JoJo’ and we do everything from the London marathon and fun runs to just different charity events - so we are dedicating today to her.”
The 2.5km race kicked off shortly afterwards where more wacky costumes showed including a Vampire carrying a vile of blood around their neck.
The Chairman of LLNI, Richard Buchanan, said:
“Everything we raise in Northern Ireland, we spend in Northern Ireland. We fund 10 to 12 researchers and scientists who are doing life-saving blood cancer research that would not otherwise be happening.”
The Belfast Rock Choir lifted the spirits of the participants at the start line and refreshments were provided by Duality Healthcare.
Jenny Peebles, the Head of Donor Engagement at the NIBTS spoke of the need for volunteers:
“Every year we issue around 55,000 blood products across NI. That can be anything from whole blood units to blood platelets and plasma, essential for cancer services.”
It actually only takes you 10 minutes to donate your blood, so it’s such a small thing that helps you save up to three people’s lives.”
LLNI is next hosting a Santa Paws event on December 6 where dogs are encouraged to come and get their photo taken with Santa, tickets are available at https://llni.co.uk/event/santa-paws/.