By Róise Collins

LETTERKENNY woman Louise McKeague is preparing to take on the Great North Run this weekend.

The Letterkenny AC runner will join 60,000 people on the 13.1 mile route from Newcastle to South Shields.

Louise will be decked out in a pink tutu as she runs from city to sea in aid of a very important charity, 4 Louis.

The charity is UK based but they work in hospitals across Ireland. They provide support to anyone affected by miscarriage, stillbirth and the death of a baby or child.

She said to her this charity was important because “we all know somebody who has faced this misfortune”.

Louise explained that the charity provide memory boxes filled with keepsakes and mementos to help families create lasting memories of their loved one.

They also work to improve the care bereaved families receive from health care and other professionals.

Through her own personal training and Monday nights with Letterkenny’s Fit4Life group Louise has spent the last few weeks preparing for the 21km run.

“I really love running but I hate having to do a certain amount, so I have got up as far as 17k but I am hoping the atmosphere will drag me through the last four,” she laughed.

Louise has been trying to secure a place half marathon for many years but has been unsuccessful until now when she got her place through a ballot. Every year herself and her son Ethan watch from home, roaring at their TV and blowing their whistles in support.

The 11-year-old is a plane enthusiast and he can’t believe his mum is going away without him. But he will be watching from home, cheering his mother on and keeping a close eye out for her pink tutu in the sea of 60,000 runners.