St. Mary's relay teams taking on Belfast City Marathon fundraiser

Parents, staff and community members of St Mary's PS Glenview will take on the Belfast City Marathon this year to help raise funds for a revamped sensory playground for the children of the school.

The school has entered three separate relay teams into the race, which will take place on May 5, and training is already well underway for the mammoth 26.2 mile course around the city. Made up of participants of varying running experience, the teams have taken this innovative step to raise much-needed funds for a new sensory playground, which will benefit those children who need it most.

Principal Michael O’Kane has praised those involved in making the idea a realty, insisting it will be of great benefit to St. Mary’s.

“It's something that we've identified that we want to use to develop the children,” he explained. “It gives them the opportunity to learn about the outdoors but also for a number of children with additional needs it helps to develop their ability to regulate themselves and to develop their area of sensory as well. So, it's a good collaboration between the staff of the school, the parents of the school and members of the community who have come together to make up the three teams of five.

“Everybody's in training at the moment and they're preparing for the big day in a couple of weeks and we're all going to travel up and hopefully come the end of the marathon, we're all running on a leg each!”

The school set an initial target of £1000 on their own GoFundMe page, and they are already close to hitting their target, just under two weeks away from the big day.

“It's been a great response definitely,” Michael agreed. “We're really appreciative of the support from the community. Schools are always requiring money and the parents and community of Maghera have been extremely supportive of St. Mary's Glenview over the years and we really appreciate it and couldn't do without it.”

“It's a great idea and we're really appreciative of the support of the whole community who have been raising money on the GoFundMe page and also as well the support of the community members and the parents who have volunteered to be part of the teams. We couldn't do it without them and it just shows you the strength of community that we have here in Maghera.”

Taking on a marathon is no easy feat, but Michael has faith in those who have put themselves forward, regardless of age or experience.

“There's a large group of people in Maghera who run and also we have a large number of runners in our staff as well who have run marathons in the past and also, they run recreationally as well,” he explained. “So, the team definitely is up for it and as I say, the practising and the running has started already over the last few weeks. So, we're really appreciative of those members of staff and those members of community and parents for giving up their time towards it.

“I am doing it myself. I've been roped in and I'm pretty glad to be able to do it as well and to be able to support the school. I've really taken inspiration from the staff members and the parents and the community members who have volunteered. So, I really appreciate that and I'll try and keep up with them so I will.”

All the hard work preparing for the race will pay off on May 5, but for the three relay teams of St. Mary’s, Glenview, this year’s Belfast City Marathon is not about times or personal bests. It is about something much more valuable.

“Ultimately, the only reason we're here is for the children,” Michael emphasised. “As my predecessor, Mr. Francis Lagan, regularly says, it's all about the wins and that's exactly why we have these fundraising initiatives to make sure the children get the very best that they deserve.”

“It'll be very tough running through the different parts of Belfast and up different hills but we'll have plenty of support keeping us going through the streets and we'll gee each other on as well. We're looking forward to it, we hope we get the weather and we look forward to a great day.”

If you would like to contribute to the fundraising, please visit the school’s GoFundMe page on:

https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/stmaryssensoryplayground?fbclid=IwY2xjawCLPqoBHUacZPPw7lSHpZTA687DoSMwLOX4ot9t7gmYxiePFCKSZp-muIbwS6brOA