WITHIN THE SPACE of seven weeks last year, Tara Murphy’s life was turned upside down following the death of her father and sister in January and February.
Tara’s father John died from stage 4 lung cancer after being diagnosed with the disease in 2018, while her sister Catriona died from a rare oesophageal cancer following a diagnosis in 2016. She was just 38 when she died.
Speaking about her father, Tara (24) says he was a force of positivity – even throughout his illness.
“My dad was a hard-working family man who loved joking around. He was extremely witty and loved to socialise by going dancing with my mom and, although he never drank, he loved going to the pub to meet his friends.
I never once heard him complain about his illness and remember him saying, ‘if you can’t do anything about it, you may as well smile.’
Tara recalls Catriona’s wedding to Victor, which took place just months before she died. She remembers it being such a special day as her dad was there to walk Catriona down the aisle. Catriona, just like her dad, says Tara, always looked at the brighter side of things.
“She was the joker of the family, and we always said that she was the perfect one out of all of us. She loved being centre of things, was extremely kind and always looked at the positive side of everything. Like dad, I never heard her complain about her situation.”
Following Catriona’s funeral in February, the country entered its first lockdown, meaning Tara couldn’t see her friends or family in the difficult weeks that followed. “It was extremely tough,” she says.
A few months after the funeral, Tara heard about the Irish Cancer Society’s Marathon in a Month challenge.
The challenge, which is taking place this year throughout the month of July, gave Tara something uplifting to concentrate on and provided a way for her to honour her dad and sister’s memory, as well as to support other families affected by cancer.
“I thought Marathon in a Month would be a good way to focus my attention on something positive,” says Tara. “It was quite therapeutic in a way, and nice to do something in their memory.”
The aim is to complete the distance of a marathon over a day, a week or over the whole month. Participants can walk, jog or run the 42km, and can link their online fundraising page to their fitness app to keep track of their progress as they raise money to help those in Ireland affected by cancer.
“Both my sister and dad got so much support throughout their illnesses,” says Tara. “I really wanted to raise funds for people and families going through similar situations, of which there are unfortunately so many more than people realise.”
“My family got great, trusted information from the Irish Cancer Society over the past few years and we have always supported Daffodil Day.”
Tara is taking on Marathon in a Month once again this year and hopes to complete it by walking, jogging and hiking.
“I’m not extremely fit, so at first I thought ‘I can’t do a marathon’, then realised I could walk it and then I did some jogging. This year I’m hoping to do some hiking as well to cover the distance.”
Tara has already raised €500 for families like hers, with the money going towards the vital services which the Irish Cancer Society provides. In 2020 alone, almost 25,000 people were helped by the Irish Cancer Society’s Support Line and Daffodil Centre nurses, while the Night Nursing service provided more than 7,600 nights of nursing care to allow patients at end-of-life to spend their final days at home surrounded by their loved ones.
Whether you plan on completing the 42km in one day or across the month, you’ll be showing support for families like Tara’s who have been affected by cancer.
“Marathon in a Month is a great challenge as you can do it any way that suits you, so it’s suitable for everyone,” says Tara.
The Irish Cancer Society’s Marathon in a Month is proudly supported by Aldi.
Take on the challenge to help support people affected by cancer. Walk, jog or run the 42km distance over a day, week or throughout the whole month of July. Register now!
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