Heart charity calls on everyone in Cumbria join the fight against heart disease and take part
A 79-year-old woman from Barrow-in-Furness will mark her 80th birthday by taking on the British Heart Foundation’s new MyMarathon challenge this May to help fund life saving heart research.
The nation’s heart charity is encouraging everyone across the UK to join the fight against heart disease by taking on its new MyMarathon challenge, and run or walk 26.2 miles over the month of May.
Rita Tadman, from Morecambe Crescent in Barrow-in-Furness, will be donning her walking shoes and taking on the challenge this spring to celebrate turning 80, and is looking for people to join her along the way.
Rita first started walking last year in a bid to improve her health. Now she can be spotted walking around Cumbria every day of the week for up to 10 miles at a time.
Rita said: “Completing a marathon has always been on my bucket list, and by doing MyMarathon I can finally cross it off. So move over Mo Farah!
“Keeping active is so important and since I’ve started walking I feel so much better for it. People will often see me walking around Cumbria, so whenever I get on a bus they’re like what are you doing!
“It’s great to know that I’ll be helping raise money for the British Heart Foundation, and what better time to take on the challenge than when I’m about to turn 80. If anyone wants to join me on MyMarathon and come walking let me know.”
With MyMarathon, you can complete the challenge in your own time, whether it’s over 4 hours, 4 days or 4 weeks. You don’t need calves of steel or lungs of iron to run a marathon. Now everyone can go the distance!
Heart and circulatory disease affects around 7million people in the UK and is responsible for around 155,000 deaths each year –one person every three minutes.
Every pound raised from MyMarathon will help the BHF fulfil its ambition to fund half a billion pounds of new research in the next five years, to revolutionise and accelerate the fight against heart disease.
If you would like to sponsor Rita or join her on her walks, contact 01229 820878.
To find out more or to sign up for free to MyMarathon visit www.bhf.org.uk/mymarathon
