Cancer Research UK received a welcome weekend boost from an Angus runner who refused to let an unlucky break get in the way of her fund-raising drive.
Last autumn Angus Council early years officer Eileen Jackson made it a double whammy when she decided to tackle the Great Scottish Run half marathon and then the Great North Run over the same distance to raise money for the charity.
The Glasgow event passed smoothly and, with her sights set on another time under two hours, Eileen was all set for the Gateshead challenge when disaster struck.
“I fell and fractured my wrist on the Tuesday before race day and unfortunately had to pull out of the race, much to my disappointment,” she said.
Despite the painful mishap she continued on the fund-raising front and through a combination of activities including sponsorship, a very successful shopping evening in Forfar, car boot sales and undertaking reflexology sessions with work colleagues in her lunch hour, Eileen raised £1000 for Cancer Research UK which was handed over at the charity’s Forfar shop on Saturday.
And she is now back in training for a second-time-lucky shot at the Great North Run.”I managed to defer my place to this year so fingers crossed all will go well this time round,” Eileen said. “I just want to say a huge thank you to friends and family for supporting me in all my activities and for helping me raise this sum of money for such an important cause which touches the lives of many.”