A determined Dublin mum will be running her 19th Women's Mini Marathon in aid of a charity that helped her daughter with a rare condition.
Liz Collins, 55, will be doing the 10k run in a bid to support the national charity which helps her daughter battle a horrific skin disease. The Terenure woman's daughter Claudia Scanlon suffers from a severe form of epidermolysis bullosa (EB), the genetic skin disease also known as Butterfly Skin, which leaves 80% of her body covered in open wounds.
Liz will be undertaking the mini-marathon to raise awareness for DEBRA Ireland, a charity that supports people living with EB and their families. Liz said: "You put on your t-shirt with pride, with the patient in your heart.
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“I was hooked after my first run and I saw it as a case of women empowering women, it was amazing. When DEBRA was a very small charity, the Mini Marathon was one of the things we did and I watched it go from one other lady on the 10k to a couple of years ago, watching a sea of blue (DEBRA) t-shirts and that indicated the awareness being created."
Liz has appealed to people to give what they can to the charity as she is set to make good on her promise to Claudia and DEBRA of raising vital funds by taking part in the mini-marathon every June bank holiday. She even completed solo runs in 2020 and 2021 in Phoenix Park during the Covid-19 lockdown.
She said: “I’ll always have a passion for it, it’s my favourite event. I think that when women get together, they have the ability to move mountains and the camaraderie is fantastic."
Liz spoke proudly about her daughter who will be finishing her make-up artistry course at Blackrock this June. She said: "College has been tough, she wants to get out and like everyone else, work and earn and have workmates. She has hit every milestone in her life so far, this is going to be tough and I have to believe there will be someone out there who will take a chance on her and give her an opportunity.
“If the right job came along for her, she would be such an asset and a bonus to anyone’s company.”
You can donate to help support Liz's cause on the IDonate.ie website.
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