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Pounding The Pavements To Make Big Apple Dreams Come True

Two Aberdeen business women are lacing up their running shoes to take part in New York’s world famous marathon, hoping to raise thousands for charity.

You may have seen business partners Judith Thorpe and Karen Molloy of Thorpe Molloy Recruitment pounding the pavements around Aberdeen as they prepare for their first ever marathon in November for children’s charity Dreams Come True.

The girls were prompted to enter after keen runner Karen persuaded Judith to run a marathon with her to raise more money for the charity, even though Judith has never run seriously before!

The pair gave themselves five months to prepare for the grueling, long distance feat on November 6th and hope to raise £6,000.

Karen says her love of running will help ensure she is ready for the 26 miles slog, “It’s going to be a huge challenge! I’ve been a keen runner for a number of years but this is in a different league. I think I started racking up the miles too enthusiastically and have picked up a few injuries recently.”

“Jude and I are following different training schedules, because I’m used to running every day I’m already clocking up a lot of pretty long distance runs and am concentrating more on my stamina and pace. As a novice runner, Jude is running much shorter distances at the moment but is gradually increasing her mileage.”

Judith adds, “It’s no secret that I like my food and find regular exercise a bit of a chore. But training for the marathon is a win : win for me, a chance to get fitter and lose weight for my brother’s wedding whilst raising money for charity too.”

“Although I am a less experienced runner, I’m warning Karen that like the story about the hare and the tortoise it’s not always the fastest that finishes first!”

Look out for Judith’s “Dreams Come True” dress. She’s wearing it at every function she attends between now and the marathon to help raise awareness about their fundraising activities.

Karen continues “A lot of time has to be set aside to fit in the training and that can become a bit manic while running a business and leading busy family lives. We’re keeping focused in different ways, Jude is working one to one with a personal trainer while I participate in a weekly group session with other runners from Aberdeen who are taking part in the marathon for the same cause and Royal Aberdeen Children’s Hospital ARCHIE Foundation.”

“Running this marathon is a once in a lifetime experience for us, although other runners have told us that we’ll become hooked and want to take on another one. However, I’ve promised my husband, Mike, that this is my first and last - he can’t get used to me sleeping by 9.30pm!!

“It’s all worth it though, we are both very proud to be running for Dreams Come True. This charity arranges unforgettable experiences, which fulfill dreams and create memories for very brave, seriously and terminally ill children who often endure painful and frightening treatments. We’re determined to raise as much money as we can for them – so if you drive past either one of us during our training sessions, toot your horn, it’ll give us a boost!”

If you would like to support their efforts to make a difference for children through Dreams Come True then there is a number of ways you can help. They can be sponsored in a number of ways, either through www.thorpemolloy.com/bigapplerun2011 or by using www.easyfundraising.org.uk which is a free website where you can shop with your favourite online stores and at no extra cost raise funds for any charity. The girls also welcome any prize donations which could be auctioned off or raffled for charity.

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