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World Record Holder Helps Make Big Apple Dreams Come True

Two Aberdeen business women are well on their way to raising £10,000 for charity after a chance encounter with world beating runner Paula Radcliffe while in New York to compete in the marathon.

Judith Thorpe and Karen Molloy of Thorpe Molloy Recruitment were among the 47,000 runners who completed the world famous event on 6th November. So far the girls have raised over £9,000 for the children’s charity Dreams Come True.

Judith, who has been running for only a few months, finished in an amazing 4 hours 50 minutes said,

“By complete chance we bumped into Paula Radcliffe in Central Park the day before marathon, we couldn’t believe it was her and had to ask for a photograph, of course she knew what we were about to go through and wished us the best of luck.”

Keen runner Karen, who was over the moon after completing her run in 4 hours 15 minutes adds,

“We started the marathon on Staten Island to the sound of New York New York blasting out. All along the route there was music and phenomenal cheering from the crowd which really helped get me through it as the going was very tough on such a hilly course.”

The New York marathon, considered one of the toughest in the world, has certainly grown from humble beginnings. The first marathon was in 1970 and only 175 runners and 100 spectators participated - compare that to the 30,000 male runners, 17,000 female runners and 2 million spectators this year!

The girls were prompted to enter their first ever marathon after Karen persuaded Judith to give it a go to raise more money for the charity, even though Judith has never run seriously before! The pair trained for five months to prepare for the grueling feat and Karen in particular suffered a few injuries.

“It’s all been 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 were determined to raise as much money as we could for them – and we are delighted that the money is still pouring in,’’ says Karen.

Running this marathon was a once in a lifetime experience for us. It was also really emotional, I don’t mind telling you that I burst into tears once I crossed the finish line. 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 falling asleep by 9.30pm!!

It’s not too late to donate, if you’d like to support this fantastic charity you can online at www.thorpemolloy.com/bigapplerun2011.

Dreams Come True (www.dctc.org.uk ) is a registered children's charity (No 800248) serving the whole of the UK. What will a donation pay for?

o £10 will pay for 100 miles of a flight to a family dream holiday of a lifetime

o £20 will pay for breakfast for a child and family while on a dream

o £50 will pay for entry to a zoo to meet a dreamed of adopted giraffe

o £100 will pay for the return travel costs of a family to attend a concert and meet a favourite music star backstage

o £200 will pay for a snowy sleigh ride to meet Father Christmas in Lapland

o £500 will pay for the tickets to the parks at Walt Disney World in Florida

o £1,000 will pay for a specially adapted trike that will enable a child with mobility problems to ride around with family and friends

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