Park run challenge to begin in Derry this weekend

By Ursula Duddy

A man setting himself a punishing challenge in memory of his late mother will start off in Derry this weekend.

Alan Ladd aims to take part in 24 park runs over the space of 24 hours.

He will begin his challenge with the Derry park run which starts at Baronet Street this Saturday at 9.30am.

Alan decided he would challenge himself in memory of his late mother, Catherine.

She died from cancer aged 59 in August 2014.

He will also be raising money for Action Cancer.

A park run is a weekly 5k timed run that encourages runners of all abilities to get out and improve their fitness and wellbeing.

Being a weekly event, it would take six months to complete all of them.

However, Alan, who is from Mallusk, and his club mates intend to achieve this in just 24 hours.

Alan, his brother Jonny and a team of seven of his running club mates from Mallusk Harriers will tackle all 24 of Northern Ireland’s 5k parkrun routes in 24 hours.

Starting at Derry, the team will work their way North, East, South and West of the country and hope to finish 24 hours later by 9.30am on Sunday, June 25, at Lakeland Forum, Enniskillen.

Alan’s mother Catherine was a keen runner, taking on five marathons, with a personal best of 4.18. In 2001, Catherine completed her first marathon in Paris and, in 2007; she completed her final marathon in Perpignan.

Alan was inspired by both his mum’s love of running and comedian and actor, Eddie Izzard’s epic challenge of 27 marathons in 27 days.

He said that he ran his first marathon alongside his mother after a lot of persuasion. However, Alan is now a dedicated runner having completed several marathons; his most recent achievement was completing his first ultra-marathon in the Connemarathon in April. He also said that since his mother’s death, running has been therapeutic.

“My mum loved a challenge; nine months into her second stint of cancer treatment, my brother Jonny ran 100k for charity and my mum completed 15k alongside him,” he said.

“She was first diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 2011. Following treatment, we believed the cancer had gone. Unfortunately, in February 2013, I received a heart-breaking call explaining that the cancer had returned and it was incurable. I suppose I was in a state of disbelief; she’d been through it all already, and now it was back and there was nothing we could do. My mum never let the cancer break her determined spirit; she remained upbeat and positive right to the very end. She is my inspiration.”

He continued: “Running is my release; it helps my overall wellbeing. Looking back, through the diagnoses, treatment and ultimately my mum’s passing and its aftermath, I’d say my mental health probably was slightly affected. It’s always there somewhere in my thoughts but running helps to clear my mind. I’ll always be grateful that my mum introduced me to running, because it has helped me come to terms with losing her.”

Alan and his club mates said they are focused on completing the challenge and raising funds for Action Cancer.

He added: “We would like the local community to get behind the event and show the runners their support by sponsoring them for Action Cancer.”

You can support Alan in his quest of raising £10,000 through this challenge by sponsoring him at www.24in24.run.