John running to assist ward

John running to assist ward

24 July 2013

A DOWNPATRICK man has traded his football boots for running shoes to raise money for a Belfast hospital ward.

Four years ago John Smith was left with a fractured skull in an attack in Castlewellan which left him in hospital for three months.

During his time in hospital John spent six weeks in the neurosurgical ward of the Royal Victoria Hospital which he later decided to raise money for by running the Belfast marathon.

John had always planned to run a marathon when he stopped playing football, but when the attack ended his playing career early, he found a running mate in his brother-in-law Gavin Grant, from Ballykinlar.

John Smith said: “I had played football all my life and Gaelic was all that I knew, but after being in hospital I couldn’t do that as I had lost so much muscle, so I decided to start running.

“I have done two marathons now. I was supposed to run six miles in the Belfast marathon last year, but the woman I was to meet for the relay had gone before I met her and I went to the next stage, to one of my friends.

“But I couldn’t find him and I decided to run on and do the half marathon, then I met my cousins and kept going.

“I was so sore after it finished, but this year I wasn’t sore as I had trained for a full marathon.

“Since Christmas this year I have run about 500 miles in training. It takes some building up to run a marathon and you have to have the want to do it.

“Gavin had never ran a marathon either, or really ran big miles either, but he did really well on the day after he had travelled home from work in France to do it,” he said.

The men raised £1,840 for the Neurosurgical Ward in the RVH, with John completing the marathon in 05:04:24 and Gavin in 03:25:57.

John continued: “Once I decided to do the marathon I decided to do something for a charity that meant something to me and I told the nurse on the ward.

“I was really well looked after everywhere and it was just my way of showing my appreciation for how I had been helped.

“Of course my wife, Lynsey, my family and friends were a great help in my recovery and my preparation for the run.

“The money is going to the ward to help them to help other patients in the same circumstances as myself.

“I would never say never about playing football again, but

I will continue running in the meantime. You have to stay active to help keep the focus,” he said.