Dubliner Elaine Roddy is one of the many thousands of women who’ll be pounding the pavement on Monday 1 June to compete in this year’s Mini Marathon. The Kinsealy native will be sharing her training highs and lows with Herald.ie readers as she prepares for the race of her life.

Wednesday 11th March: Despite having sworn off the event years ago, I have decided to do the mini-marathon again. I did it many, many years ago with little or no training and I found the experience so exhausting and torturous that I vowed never to do it again. Fast forward some five years later and I have discovered a new found and very personal reason to give it a go. My two year old niece Samantha was diagnosed with a rare non-terminal lung-disease which means she has to wear an oxygen tube at all times. She lives with her parents in Chicago and, as her godmother and her number one fan, I visit regularly.

Her condition is known as Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease and despite this she lives the life of a bubbly, active two-year old who is oblivious to her impairment. Not so for her parents. Indeed, as the disease is so rare, even in the US, there is a great need for research funding. Her parents do all they can with the American Children’s Interstitial Lung Disease Foundation. Feeling helpless as a godmother based in a different country, I decided to try and raise funds for them. What better way than to run in this year’s Women’s Mini Marathon? If little Sammy could handle the burden of an oxygen tube in her way all day, every day, then the least I could do is put in the effort for her.

This year I have decided to do it the proper way and start now in the hope that not only will I have more time to raise funds, I might even be able to enjoy the adventure. Unfortunately at the moment there is no Irish-based charity for children with this rare condition, so the money I raise will go to the US organisation. I am active enough when I’m not indulging myself with food and drink that is bad for me or lounging on the couch. But, I am aware of the need to eat less and move more as a general rule-of-thumb when training to run 10K.

So I have decided to start my training plan in earnest this week. I’m just back from a trip to Chicago where I bought myself a pair of state-of-the-art-trainers in the hope that there’d be a little less pounding involved in my running. My first mistake was thinking it is possible to outrun my jet lag. I was fine for the first 36 hours of straight-back-to-routine activity but in hour 37 I hit the wall big time. I’ve never known such fatigue, so suffice to say sleep replaced training for a few days. Mistake number two was tearing out for a 4K jaunt in my brand new trainers, without breaking them in or stretching. I started to feel a twinge in one knee after 2K and by the time I neared home both knees were hurting and I limped rather pathetically through the front door for a hot bath to soothe them. I did manage another run by the end of the week in the trusty old trainers, but after a much-needed chat with an expert at my gym, I have a much more realistic training plan for next week.

Next week: Having worked out a training schedule that won’t kill her, can Elaine put in the hard yards needed while also cutting back on her favourite treats? Will the new shoes ever get a run?

- Elaine Roddy