Officer trains for marathon effort for cancer relief

A Gibraltar police officer is preparing to pound the streets of Lisbon to raise thousands of pounds for a Gibraltar cancer charity

ASH BOLTON

Friday, 5 April 2019, 15:38

A Royal Gibraltar Police officer is swapping her boots for her running shoes as she prepares to run the Lisbon Marathon in Portugal later this year.

Sharon Berini is hoping to raise thousands of pounds for The Cancer Relief Centre by completing the gruelling 42-kilometre run.

The officer will be running the marathon in memory of her mother Catherine Berini, who passed away from cancer in January 2018.

For Sharon, 43, who was born in Peterborough, and has been in the RGP for 12 years, this will be her first marathon on 20 October.

Asked what made her want to run a marathon, she told SUR in English: "It was a moment of madness I think! I wanted to raise money for the Cancer Relief Centre in Gibraltar as my mum was diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer in September 2017, where she was devastatingly told she had about a year to live. Sadly she only made it to four months as she passed away in January 2018.

"The Cancer Relief Centre offered my mum and family support during her illness and to me and my sister after her passing.

"I wanted to show them our gratitude for what they do and initially thought about doing a parachute jump, but I had already raised money for charity in that way and, although it was challenging, as I am quite fearful of heights, it wasn't challenging enough. I am not a runner and never have been, so the most challenging thing I could do was run a marathon."

Sharon, who is hoping to raise £5,000 for the charity, added: "In September 2018 my partner's father was diagnosed with terminal cancer and passed away within a very short period of three weeks. [My partner] will be running the marathon with me to help drag me to the end and in honour of our parents and everyone else who has been touched by cancer."

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