You have to have a little bit of crazy in this world to make it fun. At the end of October, In 5 weeks, a whole lot of crazy will be unleashed on Dublin City for the annual Dublin City Marathon. I know a couple of these people!?! My amazing cousin Sinead who is doing her… I've lost count but she raises a nice chunk of change for a number of very deserving charities. And this year Thriveabetes cofounder, Rebecca Flanagan is going to Take on An actual Marathon for Thriveabetes!!!! Because, you know, life with diabetes is a marathon, not a sprint;-)
Rebecca is a d-mum and a d-daughter. She works a full time job disguised as a part time, plus a part time job, plus Mum to three girls from 8 - 17 years. She runs the country roads around Doolin, Co Clare to keep her sanity, which goes completely against what I said earlier. Not surprisingly, Rebecca had to take a back seat with Thriveabetes after 2016 but remains a dedicated supporter.
I asked her to wrtie about why Thriveabetes is so important to her and why she has chosen to take on the Dublin city marathon to raise funds for Thriveabetes. Please help her spread the word to her friends and extended family to dig deep by share this post and in particular her fundraising link - Run Rebecca Run Donation Page
Here’s what Rebecca has put together about why she is doing this.
Most everyone who knows me will know that raising awareness and funds for Type 1 diabetes is a cause close to my heart. Hailey, my eldest of 3 daughters, is now 17 and has been living with Type 1 diabetes since before her 8th birthday - a condition she will have the rest of her life. Countless finger-prick blood tests and insulin injections have been part of her life since then, not to mention the emotional side of dealing with a long term illness. If you're not sure what Type 1 diabetes is or would like to learn more, please have a look at www.diabetes.ie.
When my friend, Grainne, who I'd known in the diabetes community for awhile (and is an amazing person with Type 1 herself!), had an idea to start a national conference for adults with Type 1 and parents of children with Type 1, I jumped on board immediately. There is nothing like this in Ireland. The inaugural Thriveabetes Conference was held in October 2015 and was an astounding success. The support we all received from each other, along with the amazing insight and knowledge of the international speakers, left us all with a feeling of not being alone in any struggle we might be dealing with or might encounter with Type 1 diabetes. It also meant we, the organizers, had to do it again. And we did, bigger and better in October 2016, including a children and teen programs.
This conference has grown to be a wonderful way for this community to connect and we've made so many truly amazing friendships in the last few years. Did I mention that the conference is fully organized by volunteers?! Thriveabetes 2018 is set for 24 February and we need your help to make this happen. I've had to take a step back from the organizing committee this year due to personal reasons, but I still want to help out as best I know how - which is to raise some money!
I'll be running the Dublin Marathon in October and my training is going well so far - I've completed a 15 mile run and haven't died, so... YAY! I'm being ambitious with my target but I know how generous all my friends, family and the entire diabetes community are, so please help out as best you can. Any little donation at all will do.
From all of us at Thriveabetes - THANK YOU!
Please support Rebecca's fundraising page, link underneath or share this post.