Team of five WAY members from Northern Ireland running the Belfast marathon relay

March 2026

On Sunday, 3 May, five young widowed people from Northern Ireland will be running a marathon relay through the streets of Belfast to support WAY – a charity that has been their lifeline since they were all widowed at a young age. Here’s how it all came about…

“My name is Nicola and I first joined WAY 18 months after losing my husband Colm, who was 44. We have two wonderful children together who were 13 and 15 when Colm died in August 2021.

I am very lucky to have wonderful family and friends in my world, along with a positive outlook on life. But back in the early days, I struggled with feeling completely isolated and alone in my thoughts. I knew I needed to find a way to cope and manage all of that, while continuing to support my kids who were rallying to and from school and getting on with the normal life tasks and challenges.

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I found WAY online and thought: why not join this group? Someone there might be feeling or experiencing something similar.

My first meet-up with around ten local WAYers for a walk and lunch in Castlewellan back in February 2023 was a turning point for me.

These – let’s be clear – ‘complete strangers’ just got it. We laughed and joked, we chatted, we walked and just had a great couple of hours. We were normal people doing normal stuff, but we all had something in common. We didn’t need to feel sorry for ourselves or cry about our circumstances – we just wanted the company and to feel normal.

I haven’t looked back. I’ve made so many good friends in this group – nights away, day trips, hikes, comedy nights out, dinners, coffees – and I’ve introduced many of them to my family and friends. These guys are now part of my life.

Last year, a few of us were cheering along and supporting runners at the Belfast Marathon and some of us had the bright idea that we could help raise awareness of WAY here in Northern Ireland by taking part in the marathon this year. Very quickly five of us got together to make up a team. I got us registered, set up a separate WhatsApp group and a fundraising page – and that was it, no turning back!

During my husband’s illness – there were ups and downs over eight years – I had become a regular runner. At least three times a week I would run 5–10km, often more. It definitely helped with keeping positive and steady in the rest of my life.

After he died, the running tapered off and then I completely stopped. I switched to more strength and resistance training, a little yoga and hiking, which was also good and helped me find a new pattern. But I had missed just throwing on my trainers and going for a jog or run.

Now, with the commitment to this challenge and another run I’d signed up for, I’m back out running a couple of times a week with my original local running buddies. I literally have a new spring in my step and, even though I’m five years older now and have multiple aches and pains, I feel more like my old self.

Being part of WAY has 100% taken away those feelings of isolation and loneliness. Yes, I’m still on my own, but I also feel that I’m back. I’m living life again with a real sense of purpose and gratitude, rather than dwelling on the unfairness and all that’s not right.

My kids have matured into two strong, amazing young adults and I’m incredibly proud of us all and where we are today.

Being a member of our WAY Marathon team has been really good fun. We share our training runs and motivate each other to get out there and get the miles in. We’re also very thankful for the donations coming in from all our families and friends, near and far, to help raise awareness of WAY and get us across each of our finish lines.”

Nicola is running the first 4.2 mile leg of the Belfast marathon relay.

David’s story

“I joined WAY in September 2022, actually on the day my late wife Marie-Therese passed away. She’d been sick for a while with advanced cervical cancer and we’d had a lot of time to talk about what I would do ‘after’. 

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Joining WAY had a very positive outcome for me – finding new friendships, seeing people who had walked the road of widowhood and were surviving (even thriving) and giving the opportunity just to sit with people who ‘get it’, something powerful on its own.

Now, 3.5 years later, the Belfast marathon presents an opportunity to give back through fundraising for the charity after everything it has done for me.”

David is running the third 4.5 mile leg of the Belfast marathon relay.

Jennifer’s story

“I joined WAY in June 2021, shortly after my husband died suddenly from a blood clot following the Astra Zeneca vaccine. It was very sudden. He was only 37. We had been together for 12 years and married for just one year and ten months, having celebrated our wedding on 23 March 2019.

Our children were just 18 months old and eight at the time. Our daughter turned nine only nine days after her daddy passed away.

Last year, I took part in the Belfast City Marathon relay for our son’s school PTA and thoroughly enjoyed it. This year, I decided to run again, but for WAY, to help raise funds for a charity that means so much to me. The group of WAY members I’m running with is a fantastic bunch of people. We keep each other going, lift each other’s spirits, cheer one another on and celebrate every small win along the way. It’s incredibly powerful to be surrounded by people who truly understand.

I’ve been building myself up with a few kilometres each week, gradually getting back into it, and I’ve really been enjoying the process.

WAY has helped me tremendously. In those early days, when everything felt overwhelming and I sometimes thought I was going crazy, it was a comfort to know there were people who truly ‘got it’. People who could answer questions, offer reassurance, and remind you that what you were feeling was normal. It’s a club no one ever wants to join, but it’s one that has supported me more than I can say – and continues to do so. I will always be a member and will always try to support those who are in the earliest, most painful stages of their journey.

I remember thinking I would never smile again. Reading stories from people further along than me gave me hope. I could never have imagined then where I would be now.

To anyone at the beginning of this heartbreaking path: I promise you, you will smile again. The days will grow lighter. And you will always carry your loved one with you.”

Jenny is running the final 5.7 mile leg of the Belfast marathon relay.