Stockport Harriers’ Kerrie Wood-Doyle is training hard for this year’s London Marathon, which will be her 20th marathon. Kerrie has decided to mark this momentous occasion by talking the opportunity to raise funds for two charities very close to her heart.
The first is the Church of St Michael and All Angels in Mottram, where she got married and her children were baptised. The 15th century listed building is desperately in need of funds, especially after a recent spate of vandalism damaged many stained glass windows.
The second is the Magdalene Centre in Broadbottom, a venue for youth work, concerts and other activities such as the regular exercise classes Kerrie teaches there.
Kerrie is a very modest person and not one to boast, so I’d like to do a bit of boasting on her behalf.
Kerrie is one of Stockport Harriers’ most gifted and highest-achieving runners. She is a loyal club member, a great friend to many of us and a source of inspiration and encouragement.
She has won numerous races, holds several club records and is sure to set many more now she has entered the V45 category. Ten years ago she was the second British woman finisher in the London Marathon in a time of 2.49. That year she also went on to win the Manchester Marathon.
Ten years and three children later, Kerrie no longer has the time for the sort of intense training she used to do in her early thirties. However as anyone who has seen her pounding the track recently will know, she is making a real effort for London this year and is hoping to finish in three hours.
If you would like to sponsor Kerrie and help motivate her to hit her three hour target, please visit www.justgiving.com/Kerrie-Wood-Doyle