Barry Ahearn

27 half-marathons for Epilepsy Action, in memory of Abbie

Fundraising for Epilepsy Action

£8,488
raised of £7,000 target
27 Half Marathons
In memory of Abbie Walsh
Epilepsy Action

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 234343
We are creating a world without limits to support people affected by epilepsy.

Story

On Thursday 14th September 2023, my sister, Abbie, suffered an epileptic seizure, having only been formally diagnosed with the disease 6 weeks earlier. The seizure was so severe, it sent her in to cardiac arrest.

Although paramedics arrived promptly and despite the best efforts of the doctors, nurses and support staff over the next few days, the worst possible conclusion was reached on Sunday 17th September, when doctors informed us that Abbie could not be saved - she passed away that evening, 3 months before her 30th birthday.

The current statistics for the UK show that on average, 3 people die from epilepsy per day, and a much larger number suffer the effects and live with the disease every day - some 600,000.

Speaking personally, losing my sister has been the worst experience of my life and every day since has been emotionally painful - so why not add a little physical pain to that, in honour of Abbie, so that she wasn’t just “one of the three” on the 17th September? I want her passing to mean something; to help make a difference, not only by raising money to go towards research, but also to raise awareness of how serious this illness is.

I am aiming to run 27 half marathons, one for every minute that Abbie was without oxygen to her brain, whilst the paramedics tried to revive her.

The majority of these runs will be at organised events around London, the first of which will be on Sunday 14th April at Crystal Palace, but some will be solo runs in various settings.

Event Schedule:

Sunday 14th April - Crystal Palace ✅

Saturday 20th April - London Bridges (Solo Run) ✅

Saturday 11th May - Battersea Park ✅

Sunday 19th May - Wimbledon Common ✅

Saturday 25th May - The Fox Trail ✅

Sunday 2nd June - Richmond Park ✅

Tuesday 4th June - Nonsuch (Solo Run) ✅

Summer Break until September, as I’ve realised running this distance in the heat is horrible. I will still be doing 10k Run Through events through the summer though, anyone is welcome to join me…get in touch to find out dates / locations.

I’M BACK!!!!

I have continued running short distances throughout the summer break, but have stepped up the pace w/c 19th August to return to relative fitness ready for the final 20 runs…all to be completed within 26 weeks, with the final run scheduled for 8th March at Battersea Park. See below for schedule for the next couple of months, with a few more solos to be decided and added.

Friday 6th September - Hove to Ferring Beach (solo run) ✅

Saturday 14th September - Undisclosed Location (solo run) ✅

Sunday 6th October - Victoria Park ❌ due to illness, unable to make this one 😢

Saturday 12th October - Lee Valley Velo Park ✅

Thursday 17th October - The Unnamed One (Solo) ✅

Sunday 20th October - Battersea Park ✅

Wednesday 23rd October - Battersea Park (The Re-Run) ✅

Saturday 26th October - Carsington Water ✅

Tuesday 29th October - The Nonsuch Strip ✅

Wednesday 8th January - Hyde Park (Solo) ✅

Saturday 11th January - Regents Park The Rose Garden (Solo) ✅

Tuesday 14th January - The Wandgas Loop (Solo) ✅

Thursday 16th January - Battersea Park (with Paparazzi Ryan Russell) ✅

Sunday 26th January - Crystal Palace (Runthrough) ✅

Friday 31st January - The Nonsuch Nonsense Run (Solo) ✅

Tuesday 4th February - The Richmond, Wimbledon & Raynes Park Rampage (with Coach Brown) ✅

Sunday 9th February - Goodwood (Runthrough) ✅

Thursday 13th February - London Bridges Part Two (Solo) ❌ pathway closures

Sunday 16th February - Cardiff (Solo) ❌ venue closures

Tuesday 18th February - Battersea Park (solo) ✅

Thursday 20th February - Regents Park Outer Circle (solo) ✅

Saturday 1st March - Kempton Park (Runthrough) ✅

Saturday 8th March - Battersea Park (The Final One) ✅

See www.runthrough.co.uk/events for further info.

If you could spare a couple of quid to sponsor me to raise money for this cause I would greatly appreciate it. I will update this page with further dates in due course (in case anyone wishes to spectate or even participate), along with the results of each one. xxx

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About the charity

Epilepsy Action

Verified by JustGiving

RCN 234343
Epilepsy Action is creating a world without limits for everyone affected by epilepsy, connecting people with others, and providing support and information you can trust. We’re calling out the misunderstanding, prejudice and barriers that stop people with epilepsy living their best life.

Donation summary

Total raised
£8,487.49
+ £1,827.38 Gift Aid
Online donations
£8,487.49
Offline donations
£0.00

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