Five down in local woman’s quest to complete six World Marathons Majors in aid of Crumlin
Kilworth lady and co-owner of FITTstop Personal Training in Fermoy Valerie McCormack, recently braved the Boston Marathon, checking another off the list in completing the Six World Marathon Majors, all in the name of a good cause.
It was no easy feat for Valerie, who trained twice previously for the marathon which she had originally hoped to complete in 2020.
Throughout 2019 and 2020, Valerie and fellow FITTstop co-owner Sylvia Flynn held several fundraisers in the approach to the event in aid of Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin, the charity which Valerie was representing.
“That was the charity I picked when I first started the Six World Marathon Majors in 2015. You always hear of someone who has somebody that has been through those doors,” Valerie told The Avondhu.
A spinathon was held at the door of SuperValu in Fermoy, and at Dunnes Stores in Bishopstown, while through FITTstop, a cake sale was held as well as a sleepover at the premises which saw clients take part.
According to Sylvia, the events received major support from the locality.
“We want to thank the people of Fermoy and all those who supported Valerie and especially all our loyal clients who attended the fundraisers. Valerie has a big goal of completing six major marathons across the world in London, Berlin, New York, Chicago, Boston, and now she just has Tokyo left to do,” Sylvia said.
OVER €8K RAISED
In total, a sum of €8,233.12 was raised for Our Lady’s Children’s Hospital Crumlin ahead of the marathon which was postponed due to Covid-19 and held this year, on Monday, April 18 the same day that Patriot’s Day is celebrated.
For Valerie, the marathon was no easy feat, having trained twice for the event, in 2020 and again this year.
“Usually I do my own 16-week training plan and I run three or four times a week in between work. I do spin classes and strength and conditioning training then at FIITstop,” she said.
Before leaving for Boston on April 15, Valerie noted the high levels of support she received locally, with many offering encouragement and support along the way.
“All of our clients were very much backing me and supporting me. We’re open ten years this year and this was the icing on top of the cake to be able to represent the gym and Crumlin at the Boston Marathon,” Valerie added.
ONE TO GO!
Now, Valerie has just one more marathon to run on her quest to complete the Six World Marathon Majors, a popular lifetime goal amongst runners and marathoners, having sparked the mission after running her first big marathon in Dublin in 2014.
In 2015, she took on the New York Marathon followed by Berlin in 2017, Chicago in 2018, London in 2019 and now Boston this year.
When asked if she plans to tackle the Tokyo Marathon soon, Valerie said: “It’s not in the pipeline just yet. I’d like to do it next year, but we’ll have to see how things go”.
As Valerie often says, she doesn’t stop when she’s tired, she stops when she’s done.