SONIA O’SULLIVAN TO RUN FIRST MARATHON IN THREE YEARS
Athlete announces she will run the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon on 6 June 2011

Irish Olympian, Sonia O’Sullivan has announced today that she will be running her first marathon in three years this year and her first Irish marathon in over ten years, when she lines out at the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon on 6 June 2011. Sonia will be competing to raise funds for the Children’s Leukaemia Association, which supports and assists families during the course of their child’s treatment at the Mercy Hospital, Cork.

Sonia is seeking participants to sign up to be a member of ‘Team Sonia’ and run with her on 6 June, to raise funds for the charity. Runners on ‘Team Sonia’ will have access to advice and tips direct from Sonia and will be invited to an exclusive training session with Sonia in Cork on 2 April 2011.

On announcing her participating, Sonia O’Sullivan said For the past 3 years I have taken part in the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon, I ran the last leg of the relay and last year started on the first leg and continued on through Blackrock and on returning to the city at about 15 miles decided I had enough but definitely with the prospect of filling in the missing sections along the route in 2011.

“So for this year, I have decided that I will head up a team  of runners aiming to complete the full marathon running for the Children’s Leukaemia Association . I haven't run a marathon since Boston in 2008 when I ran 252. This time around I will once again be aiming to break 3 hours, but feel that the challenge will be more difficult as I get further away from my more competitive days.

“This will be my second marathon in Ireland, having run Dublin in 2000 shortly after winning the silver medal at the Sydney Olympics. I am really looking forward to sharing my experiences with my team and gaining inspiration from so many people who take on the marathon challenge while also working full time and squeezing in the miles whenever they can. I have started to pencil in some runs and sessions for the coming weeks and I look forward to really getting the marathon bug and getting fitter and faster as the weeks progress.”

Rosarie O’Donovan of the Children’s Leukaemia Association said “We are delighted and honoured that Sonia has nominated our charity to benefit from her participation in the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon on 6 June 2011. We are a local, Cork-based charity and are thrilled that one of Cork’s finest athletes knows about the work we do. A diagnosis of Leukaemia, cancer and other blood disorders has a profound effect on a child, their families, friends and schools. The CLA supports and assists families from the Munster area in any way possible during and after the child’s treatment. Our services range from providing financial support to families, purchasing essential medical equipment, funding ongoing education for staff, providing for the exceptional needs of the child and their family such as family counselling and play therapy; to providing a home-from-home apartment for use by those families that have to travel distances while their child receives treatment. Last year, the charity proudly launched a unique home and hospital tutor service for the children which allows them to continue with their studies while undergoing treatment. We are a registered charity and we rely entirely on voluntary donations from the public to maintain and develop the services we provide to the children and their families. We look forward to this wonderful event and thank Sonia for her support. Go Team Sonia!”

Bord Gáis Energy’s Sports Sponsorship Manager, Ger Cunningham said Sonia O’Sullivan has been a great supporter of the Bord Gáis Energy Cork City Marathon and it’s testament to the excellent quality and profile of the event that she will be running the full race for 2011. We are pleased to be supporting her and the rest of ‘Team Sonia’ in their ambitions for raising funds for this very worthy cause.”

Each participant of ‘Team Sonia’ must commit to raise at least €500 for the Children’s Leukaemia Association. To sign up to Team Sonia, email your name, address and phone number along with four lines on why you are running the Bord Gáis Energy Cork Marathon to teamsonia@omfpublicity.ie.