Tuesday 5th February 2013



Heather Finnerty, wife of the Sheffield Steelers coach Ryan, is pulling on her trainers and running the London Marathon for local children's hospice, Bluebell Wood.


(l-r) Ryan Finnerty, Jason Hewitt, Heather Lee Finnerty, Chris Frank, Drew Fata

Canadian-born Heather became involved with the hospice after Ryan and the team visited back in December, as they are keen supporters of the charity. She was incredibly touched after hearing about their work from Ryan and as a result offered her services as a volunteer as she is a qualified counselling psychologist.

Bluebell Wood offer care and support to local children with a shortened life expectancy and also look after the whole family.

30-year-old Heather is a seasoned runner too and was keen to take part in runs for the hospice; hence, she was overjoyed when her name was pulled out of the ballot to run the London Marathon for Bluebell Wood.

Heather said: "I am greatly honoured to have been given this opportunity to participate in the London Marathon on behalf of Bluebell Wood. They are an amazing organization, and I feel privileged to run the marathon on their behalf.
 

(l-r) Matt Stevenson, Jonathan Phillips, Drew Fata (kneeling), John DeCaro, Heather Lee Finnerty, Ryan Finnerty, Jason Hewitt, Chris Frank, Lee Esders, Mar Thomas

"It will be immensely rewarding to cross that finish-line knowing that I have given something back to them. This is definitely the highlight of my racing career, and I am hoping everyone will be able to support me in reaching my fundraising goal."
 
Heidi Megaughin, Acting Chief Executive of Bluebell Wood said: "We're thrilled that Heather is going to run the London Marathon for us. It's a tough challenge but one which we're sure she'll thrive on.
 
"It's great to have the support of Heather and The Sheffield Steelers and we'll be extremely proud to see her on the day in our purple vest running for Team Bluebell."
 
If you’d like to support Heather, go to her just giving page at: www.justgiving.com/Heather-LondonMarathon-BluebellWood

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