4 days Ago By [email protected] (Deborah Hall)
An East Yorkshire grandmother whose mental and physical fitness “took a nose dive” after the tragic death of her daughter is counting down the days to running her third London Marathon. Julie Wright is on for her best finish at the event, being staged in the capital on Sunday, April 27, but best of all will be helping to raise funds and awareness for Breast Cancer Now. The charity is close to Julie’s heart as she lost one of her four daughters, Vicki Marshall , to secondary breast cancer in 2021.
Julie, of Skirlaugh, said: “Sadly, Vicki died aged just 34. She left behind a devastated husband and two young sons. “I decided to leave work – I’d had 41 years of working in care, with the last 33 years being in nursing - to support our son-in-law by helping to look after the boys when he was at work.
I took up running to improve my physical health - running around after two youngish boys at age 58 really tests your stamina. “My mental health had also taken a bit of a nose dive after our daughter died and I found running helped me to get physically fitter but also helped to improve my mood and mental health. I also started to focus on raising awareness of the Breast Cancer Now charity and help to raise funds for them.
Keep up to date with all the latest breaking news and top stories from Hull with our free newsletter “Doing something for charity helped me through the hard days and I wanted to keep strong for the boys – Alfie is now 14 and Ernie is ten.” Julie is now set to run her third London event in three years after deciding, when she was 59, she wanted to do something amazing to mark reaching 60 and to celebrate being alive. She said: “I have no real talent that I can use to raise money - I don’t bake, I’m not arty, in fact I can’t even run very well - but I can stay on my feet for six-plus hours, long enough to get around the 26.
2-mile London Marathon course. Hence I did my first marathon in 2023, two months after my 60th birthday.” It was supposed to be a “once-in-a-lifetime experience” for Julie, who is originally from Hessle Road in Hull, but she “got the bug”.
Her first London result was 6hr 17min; her second was 6hr 24min – she was recovering from injured knees from a fall during training, and a chest infection, when she took part – and now she is on for a 5hr 30min finish. “All three of my marathon places have been charity places for Breast Cancer Now - and as such I pledge to raise money for the charity. They fund the Institute of Cancer Research and Vicki has got her name on the wall there.
” Julie said: “I’m very slow and, until recently, was embarrassed by my running style and slowness, but now I’ve realised less than one per cent of the population will run a marathon in their lifetime. Here I am doing my third at 62, while also raising as much money as I can for research into breast cancer, in the hope that a cure will be found in my lifetime. “This year it is estimated that around 57,000 people of all levels and abilities, will be taking part in the London Marathon - and I’m one of them,” said Julie, who has been helped in her fitness and training by a personal trainer.
“After 15 miles, it’s not about running anymore, it’s all about your mind.” Julie has a JustGiving appeal page and has been working to boost her total. “I had a tombola outside our village shop in Skirlaugh and I had my granddaughter with me for the cute factor – and it worked for ticket sales.
“I’ve been offered a stall on Cottingham market next Thursday for a tombola and people have donated some amazing prizes for it. I have a foster sister who lives in Hornsea and she’s an amazing cake maker and she does those for me to raffle.” It is the gran’s plan to carry on with her marathon running, with her sights set on the seven so-called “majors” – Tokyo, Boston, London, Sydney, Berlin, Chicago and New York.
“My grandson Ernie loves looking at my medals – he said to me the other day, ‘when are you doing London again?’ – and he said he might do that when he’s older. I think a 62-year-old inspiring a ten-year-old is pretty cool.” Julie said: “With the London Marathon being just around the corner now, I wanted to raise the flag for East Yorkshire, let others know that you’re never too old to start getting fitter and to also raise awareness of the charity I’m running for.
“I also want to say good luck to all the local runners who may be taking part in the event and to remind them enjoy the experience.” Don't miss a thing. Get all the latest breaking news in Hull straight to your mobile via WhatsApp by clicking here .
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