Leitrim woman completes mini-marathon to honour her late father
Rhona Gardiner, from Dromahair, Co. Leitrim took part in the VHI Mini Marathon on Sunday to raise organ donor awareness and funds for the Irish Kidney Association while honouring her late father, who enjoyed 30 years with a transplanted kidney until he passed away in 2025.
More than 100 women from 22 counties will proudly represent the Irish Kidney Association (IKA) in this year’s VHI Women’s Mini Marathon on Sunday, May 31st.
This comes just one week after Organ Donor Awareness Week which is organised by the IKA.
Many of the women will start to gather at the Iveagh Gardens Hotel, Harcourt Street, at 9.15am for a continental breakfast followed by a pre-race photocall before joining tens of thousands taking to the streets of Dublin for the annual event. Proudly wearing the charity’s bright yellow IKA t-shirts, they are supporting a cause deeply personal to them while raising awareness of organ donation and kidney disease.
The women taking part are united by connections to kidney disease, organ failure or donation. For some, the day is about giving back for the support the IKA provided during difficult times. Others are running in honour of loved ones who have passed away from kidney failure, or to honour organ donors who have given them or a loved one the gift of life, while many are walking or jogging their first mini-marathon simply to soak up the incredible atmosphere alongside thousands of other women taking part in the capital.
The IKA’s small army of women represent many different experiences of kidney disease and organ donation - from transplant recipients and living donors to dialysis patients, healthcare workers and families supporting loved ones through treatment and loss.
READ MORE: Leitrim man celebrates one year smoke-free
Among the charity’s participants are women currently undergoing dialysis treatment themselves, mothers supporting children awaiting transplants, living organ donors, transplant recipients honouring their donors and families remembering loved ones lost to kidney disease.
Participants have travelled from across the country, from Kerry to Kilkenny, Roscommon to Dublin, united by a shared determination to raise awareness and support the work of the Irish Kidney Association (IKA).
Ranging in age and running experience, they have already formed a close-knit support network through an IKA WhatsApp group, where they share training updates, fundraising milestones, and personal stories - building a community rooted in encouragement, friendship and girl power.