Triple marathon for Belinda
Belinda Neild decided to take on the challenge of a lifetime by running three marathons back-to-back to raise funds for St Ann's where her mum Joyce Bolton died of cancer in 2011.
Belinda is a keen marathon runner and has undertaken many long distance runs before, but she sees this as one of her toughest challenges to date.
Due to COVID-19, the runs were postponed so she is now due to run the three marathons throughout October. She will be taking on the London and Manchester Marathons six days apart then two weeks later she will be completing the Liverpool Rock and Roll Marathon.
Belinda is a member of Salford Met Athletics Club and also trains with B Military Fit. Belinda’s family have been very supportive with her marathon training, with her husband, Stephen, and daughter, Lucia Belle, who also run for Salford Mets, helping her train and going on runs with her during lockdown to make sure she kept up with her rigorous training programme to keep up her fitness levels.
Belinda, an art and design teacher at Fred Longworth High School, Tyldesley, also enjoys applying her creative skills to her outfits. She dressed as a red crayon for the 2019 London marathon, earning a place in the Guinness World Record as the fastest female as a ‘stationery item.’ She has also carried a hand-made memory flag bearing the names of lost loved ones at the London Marathon in 2018. Next year she is planning to dress as a Rubik’s cube for the Bolton 80s Marathon.
Everyone has their reasons for running. I started running after my mum sadly died from cancer and I also lost many other family members. I decided to channel my grief into running challenges and doing fundraising. I know St Ann’s Hospice has touched so many people and the staff there do an amazing job. They cared for many of my family members and some of my friends in their final days. They focus on patients but recognise it’s also a difficult time for relatives, carers and friends and provide support for them too. I want to give back and I know St Ann’s rely on raising £20,000 a day to keep the hospice doors open. As well as being sponsored for the different runs, I've also been doing crazy Strava drawing challenges and selling scratch cards to raise more funds to support the hospice. Belinda Neild, Member of Salford Met Athletics Club
As well as doing a lot of the fundraising herself, she has been well supported by teachers and pupils at her school who have taken part in a non-uniform day and helped by selling sweet cones to increase donations.
She has raised over £10,000 for St Ann’s in Little Hulton which also treated her late father-in-law Kevin Neild and auntie Sandra McStravick.
*To sponsor Belinda visit justgiving.com/fundraising/belinda-neild5
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