Maeve Curley from Lavey (who is a member of Termoneeny Running Club) is busy training for next year’s London Marathon as she is determined to raise as much as she can for Children’s Liver Disease Foundation (CLDF) the charity which has been close to her heart ever since her six year old son, Ted, was given a life-saving liver transplant when he was just 22 months. Now Maeve has come up with a novel idea to keep her on track with her training and boost her fundraising – it’s the Tedathon!
“I want people to pledge to walk, run, swim or cycle for 5K or 30 minutes each day during December,” says Maeve. “It’s only £10 to join in so it’s a simple way both to raise money for a fantastic cause and to improve health and fitness during a month of over-indulgence. I’m lucky to have got a London Marathon place but I appreciate not everyone can do that. However, anyone can join in the Tedathon I’ve got friends and family both here and overseas who have signed up. With a choice of a Tedathon medal (that doubles up as a Christmas tree bauble), or a pair of glow in the dark laces (as well as a ‘fit’ December) upon completion, I would love if as many people as possible could get on board and get Tedathon done!
“To have a child suffer liver failure and go through transplant at such a young age is truly traumatic but Children’s Liver Disease Foundation have been there for us with information and emotional support all along. We want every family in our situation to have that kind of support and this is my way of giving something back.”
“I would not have been able to launch Tedathon without the support of Declan and Emma Leung at Virtual Run NI. They have provided guidance and ideas, and are designing the most amazing medals,” said Maeve. Declan said, “At Virtual Run NI, we want to encourage people to get fit and active, we want to motivate and encourage runners (and in this case walkers, cyclists and swimmers too!) of all abilities and ages. We always reward all finishers with the most fantastic medals and we are really excited about our Tedathon medal!”
Jacqueline Mc Gonigle, Chair of Termoneeny Running Club said, “We are proud to support Tedathon, and would encourage all runners, walkers, swimmers, and cyclists to sign up for this very worthy challenge. Termoneeny Running Club is only too happy to promote this fundraiser, and have enjoyed coming up with lots of ideas to support Maeve and Tedathon. We wish Maeve all the best with her London marathon training.”
Alison Taylor, Chief Executive of Children’s Liver Disease Foundation commented: “CLDF is the only UK charity dedicated to fighting all childhood liver diseases, by providing information and emotional support, funds for research and a voice for all those affected. In order to do this however, we rely on voluntary donations, so we are delighted to hear about the Tedathon. What a fantastic and fun way to get people involved in raising awareness and funds!”
You can join in the Tedathon by going to http://bit.ly/32piz4K.