Kathryn aiming to complete London Marathon fundraiser in memory of mother and uncle

A BALLYMENA woman is putting her best foot forward to compete in the London Marathon and Belfast City Marathon in the coming weeks to raise much needed funds for Hospice UK and Cancer Research UK.

Kathryn Le Coz (48) lives in Charvil, England with her husband and children but is originally from Ballymena. To date, she has raised over £3,000 through her Just Giving link.

Kathryn is an accounting director for PwC in London and attended Ballymena Academy.

She recently returned for the 30 year 'Class of 94' school reunion over the Easter Break.

A school tour was held followed by a music session in the Heather Clarke Music Suite which is named after Kathryn's mother, who sadly passed away from bowel cancer 40 years ago, and some even managed the Ecos park run the next morning.

Kathryn and her mother are well known in town, both having been piano accompanists for the Seven Towers Male Voice Choir. The choir will be holding their Centenary concert on April 17 at 8pm in the Braid Arts Centre and Kathryn will be attending.

The two charities Kathryn has chosen to support hold a special place in her heart.

Kathryn's mother had Polycystic Kidney Disease but died of bowel cancer before she could get a transplant, while her uncle Brain passed away from a brain tumour.

Kathryn embarked on her first half marathon in 2018 where she raised almost £4,000 for Kidney Research.

To mark the 40th and 20th anniversaries of her mother and uncle's passing, she decided to sign up for not one, but six races!

Speaking to the Ballymena Guardian, Kathryn said: "I completed my first Half Marathon in 2018 and regularly take part in our local park runs with my husband, Yann, and two sons, William and Patrick.

"I completed the Royal Parks Half on October 8, last year, in memory of my uncle Brian who passed away following a long battle with a brain tumour.

"He had a lot of support over that time from St Helena’s hospice in Colchester and also from his wife, Auntie Jean, who sadly passed away this summer so this one - my fifth half - was for both of them!

"This was great kick start to my training and also marked the start of Hospice Care Week.

"I also recently completed the Wokingham Half Marathon in February alongside my husband who has also signed up for his first full marathon at Belfast City.

"I am currently preparing for the big one which is the London Marathon on April 21 closely followed by the Belfast City Marathon and Relay on May 5.

"This is particularly poignant as Belfast City Marathon comes the day after 40th anniversary of my Mummy passing away from bowel cancer.

"I will be running this with some family and school friends with the route passing by Belfast City Hospital where she died. This also marks the start of Dying Matters Awareness week, to encourage open discussion about death, dying and grief.

"Lastly, I will be taking part in the PwC/Hospice UK Hyde Park 5k on May 17."

Speaking about her focus on running, Kathryn said: "Normally it is to help with physical and mental wellbeing and weight management but when I fundraise for certain races then there is a huge emotional element too.

"My first half marathon raised almost £4k for Kidney Research UK. I donated a kidney to my brother who also has the disease and my other brother received a dead donor.

"As this fundraising/race campaign will lead up to 40th anniversary of my mum's death, this will be another emotional one."

Speaking about her preparation for such endurance feats, Kathryn explained: "I am not in a running club as it can be hard to fit in with commuting to London but I have a training app and we belong to a gym so do other cross training activities like swimming, weights and pilates classes there.

"Training is a mix of one long run and one speed run once a week and as many recovery runs as I can fit in, as well as weekly park runs.

"This is my 1st full marathon having completed seven half marathons and I have completed over 50 park runs!

"My best half marathon time is 2hrs 6 mins but I have had a lot of injuries recently and don't want to get injured ahead of the London Marathon so I am aiming for a safer 5-6 hours for London!

"I used to be a keen hockey player but an anterior cruciate ligament rupture ended that. I did have a reconstruction in 2002 and it was physio/recovery from that that got me into running."

An enthusiastic fundraiser, Kathryn is also involved with a number of music organisations and choirs.

She said: "I am part of Twyford Singers and PwC Choir and we had a very busy Christmas season including carol services. I arranged, sang and played piano for a number of carol singing sessions in local old people's homes around Twyford and Wargrave.

"Our PwC choir raised over £10k for PwC Foundation charities including one of my charities Hospice UK, with our carol singing sessions in the office and service in Southwark Cathedral."

If you would like to support Kathryn, please log on to the following link where any donation, big or small, will be greatly appreciated.

https://www.justgiving.com/p

age/kathryn-le-coz-

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