Brothers run London Marathon for children’s cancer charity

COALISLAND brothers Brendan and Marty Woods crossed the finishing line together at the London marathon on Sunday, raising vital funds for a children’s cancer charity.

A member of Galbally Runners where he now lives, Brendan and his family received great support from the Clic Sargent charity when his two-year-old son Daniel was diagnosed with cancer in October 1998.

Tragically Daniel passed away in June 1999 and in his memory and motivated to help other families, the Woods brothers took on the famous marathon with a fundraising page opened for donations. They raised over £8,500 for Young Lives vs Cancer Northern Ireland (which was formerly the Clic Sargent charity).

Brendan explained, “It is a great charity that helps families with the likes of petrol costs and they have a house near the hospital where families can stay when a child is getting treatment. I stayed there all the time when my lad was sick and it was a great comfort to be able to be near the hospital.

“Clic Sargent were there for my wife Edel and my family when we needed it most and are there today for other families that need it too.

“Having a child at home with cancer is as hard as life gets and Young Lives v Cancer help make it that little bit easier on those families.”

It was Brendan’s eighth marathon while Marty completed his second. With 40,000 taking part in the famous run, after starting from different positions, Brendan phoned home to locate his younger brother.

He explained, “They were following the tracker at home and I was told I was ahead of him. I located him after three miles and we ran the rest of the route together, crossing the finish line on three hours 55 minutes. I felt very comfortable and had prepared well. It was a personal best time for Marty and he wanted to do a sub four hours, so that was great.”

Brendan was delighted with the response to the fundraiser.

“The amount of donations was unreal,” he said. “A good friend Fergal O’Donnell, who is also with Galbally runners, did a double lap of Lough Neagh in July last year, just under 80 miles in one day, which was an incredible achievement. He raised money from that event which also went towards this fundraiser.

“The response to raising money for the children’s cancer charity was brilliant. Myself and Marty had a great day at the London Marathon. It is a fantastic occasion. I’m preparing now for the Dublin marathon at the end of the month.”