Marathon goal for St Andrews student

A St Andrews student who has set herself the gruelling goal of completing six marathons this year will continue her task this Sunday (14th April, 2002) with the London marathon.

New Yorker Heather McCaffrey (23) aims to raise £1000 in the next month by running for the National Eczema Society.

Heather, a Bobby Jones exchange student from Emory University, Atlanta, decided to make the most of her year in St Andrews by combining her love of travel with running long distances. And she hopes the training will help in her quest to qualify for Olympic trials for the marathon next Spring.

“Instead of just running for myself, I have committed myself to running for a worthy cause, raising money for an organisation that doesn’t have many people running races for their needs. I am one of only five runners in the UK currently trying to raise funds for the National Eczema Society. All funds raised will go towards the education and research of the disease, which affects over 10% of the UK population,” said Heather.

“Also, since I am spending a year in this country, I thought it would be nice to give something back to a UK charity,” she said.

One of only four Bobby Jones scholars selected each year to come to St Andrews, Heather has been taking courses in International Relations, Social Anthropology and Music. Later this year she will return to her native New York to study medicine.

Heather will be a familiar sight to many in and around St Andrews for her daily runs around town and along the beach, reminiscent of scenes from the famous 1981 film ‘Chariots of Fire’.

She was just thirteen years old when she started running competitively, and completed her first half marathon a year later.

Heather recently completed marathons in Paris and Rome, and after London she will travel to Belfast, Prague and Stockholm. By June she will have completed her target of six and will have run almost 145 miles throughout the streets of some of Europe’s most famous cities.

If you would like to sponsor Heather, please call her on 01334 424940.

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media On behalf of the University of St Andrews Contact Gayle Cook on 01334 467227, mobile 07900 050103, or email [email protected] Ref: marathon student 120402 View the latest University news at http://www.st- andrews.ac.uk/extrel/press.htm