Marathon for Maddie

Come join Team Maddie Ryan for the Sydney Morning Herald Half Marathon!

I know, I know…………………. Running 21 KM on a Sunday in May does not sound like too much fun but please read on.

Some of you may know Sally Ryan as an Account Manager at Virgin Australia and prior to that, Virgin Atlantic. Anyone who has met Sally would agree that she is an amazing and beautiful person who unfortunately has gone through a horrific time of late.

Sally, her husband Ged and Tilly have a daughter/sister, Maddie Grace Ryan, a beautiful baby girl, who has tragically spent the first four months of her life in the ICU unit at Westmead Children's Hospital. Little Maddie does not have the ability to breathe on her own and is undergoing extensive testing to find the cause. To breathe, Maddie needs the assistance of a respiratory support ventilator. She also has a condition called Arthrogryposis, which affects her limbs and because of this her little legs are in plaster and arm in splints.

The funds raised will go to Maddie's parents, Sally & Ged for associated medical expenses and further support equipment needed in order to bring Maddie home.

Sally has requested it be noted that there will be no personal gain for them from the funds raised. Should Maddie grow her angel wings and join her twin siblings Poppy and Oliver in heaven, all monies will be donated directly to Westmead Children's Hospital.

With that said...

We are all very well connected in Sydney as well as throughout Australia. We are hoping to make Team Maddie Ryan as large as possible to run in this Half Marathon and use our connections to raise money. We will get T-Shirts made etc. and request that you pass our story on to everyone you know in order to grow the team and ultimately raise as much as we can for this very special family.

A Half Marathon can seem scary, however there are different options for all of us:

Race options:

1. Register for the 21 Km!
2. Register in a relay run (two team members share the distance) http://www.smhhalfmarathon.com.au/race-centre/relay-information/
3. Register for walking/jogging (register in the “yellow” category), you can even push a pram! http://www.smhhalfmarathon.com.au/race-centre/race-info/

I know that some of you may not know Sally and so can’t really feel the connection, however this is for any of us who is a Parent or hopes to be a parent and would hate to see this happen to them.

So…………………..WHO WILL JOIN US?!

For those of you not able/interested in running, please show your support by donating to our cause - every cent is greatly appreciated.

Many thanks in advance. Let's do this!