After the tragic death of a student, two Liverpool teachers are raising money for a children’s cancer charity.
Carmel and Joe Traynor are hosting a charity night whilst training for the London Marathon later this year, all in aid of Children with Cancer UK. Their countdown begins with the Liverpool Half Marathon on March 13th.
Carmel works at Belvedere Academy whilst her husband Joe works for Liverpool College and they have been completing as many runs as possible in preparation for the marathon, including the Speke Hall night run last Saturday.
Mrs Traynor told JMU Journalism: “My husband Joe and I decided to run the London Marathon after Belvedere [Academy] lost a student to cancer this year, Jess Fairclough.” Jess, 18, lost her life to rhabdomyosarcoma in November 2015. She was studying her A-Levels at Belvedere Academy.
Carmel and Joe have two kids themselves, Jack aged seven and Darcy, aged five. They have seen their friends’ children battle with cancer as well as their students. All of these tragedies have inspired the couple to raise as much money as they can for all children with cancer.
Mrs Traynor continued: “I taught Jess for five years and her death affected the whole academy as we are a close knit school.”
The charity night takes place on March 11th at Heath Hall in Aigburth, starting at 7pm. Tickets are £10, including food and live music, and can be purchased from Liverpool College or directly from the marathon-running couple.
They will both be running the London Marathon on April 24th dressed as superheroes and wearing capes.
The runners have set up a Virgin Money Giving page to raise funds for their event. Click here for more details.