AN Irish father has received plaudits for an inspirational run in yesterday’s Dublin marathon in which he pushed his seven year old disabled daughter along the 26.6 mile city course.
Co. Meath native Keith Russell, ran the marathon while pushing his daughter Alanna in a specially made wheelchair fit for long distances.
Alanna, who suffers from spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, is unable to use her limbs and cannot talk.
However, Russell hasn’t let this stop the two in their passion for running and after having already completed the Dublin half-marathon with a time of 1:31:24 they set their sights on the city's main long-distance challenge.
Running alongside over 20,000 participants, Keith and Alanna finished with a time of 3:21:47.
The Co. Meath father was attempting to raise €60,000 for the Meadow Children’s Respite Centre in Navan, which has provided important assistance throughout Alanna’s life.
This money will be used to purchase a new wheelchair accessible bus for the centre, which hasn't been able to afford an upgrade to their current vehicle for over 12 years.
Russell’s GoFundMe page states that this bus will allow over 70 disabled children to travel in better conditions.
Speaking to Irish radio station Newstalk on Monday morning, Russell said that the pair had currently raised €50,000 from their fundraising campaign and their GoFundMe page can be found by clicking this link.
You can view photos of their day below
