Niamh Delaney tells us why she will continue to run the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon for NCBI

Niamh Delaney and her mother crossing the finish line

Niamh Delaney has won in the Vision Impaired Runners category at the VHI Women’s Mini Marathon!

“The National Council for the Blind of Ireland became involved in my life when I was 11 years old. I was left visually impaired due to a brain tumour and never regained my sight. When I was discharged from hospital the NCBI were a support network for my mother and family to help me adjust to this horrific life changing experience. The NCBI provided me with equipment so I could attend school, support groups for my mother and introduced me to a special phone with speech to ensure that I could contact my friends and not feel isolated from them.

I have participated in the Women’s Mini Marathon for some years, for the NCBI, amongst other charities that helped save my life. Running has been a hobby of mine for some time as it is something I can do safely (most of the time!) and it gives me great independence.

Once again my chosen charity is the NCBI for 2019, as I would like to say thank you and show my appreciation for all the fantastic work they do for people with sight loss in Ireland. In the past I found the Mini Marathon an exhilarating experience for me. The freedom and independence you get from running is truly satisfying for anybody but for me to be able to achieve that goal of crossing the finish line is an amazing achievement. The buzz and excitement on the day of the Women’s Mini Marathon was lovely to see and be a part of, everyone has their own story to tell and their own personal reasons for raising money for their chosen charities.

I am proud to say that I am a member of the NCBI Women’s Mini Marathon team this year to give back to a charity that helped give me independence that I could not achieve without them. For this I am truly thankful to NCBI and will continue to run the Women’s Mini Marathon for years to come.”

Join team NCBI for this years VHI Women’s Mini Marathon, register online here.