Leading local charity, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland is delighted to celebrate the success of a three-year charity partnership with Belfast City Marathon, serving as the official charity partner for both the Belfast City Women’s 10K and the Belfast City 5K Christmas Fun Run.
Throughout this partnership, thousands of runners, walkers, volunteers and supporters have come together to champion the local cancer support services for patients and families across Northern Ireland. Thanks to the incredible energy and generosity of participants and the support of the Belfast City Marathon team, more than £105,000 has been raised for Cancer Focus NI.
Over the partnership, this incredible support has funded over over 1,900 hours of support for local people on their cancer journey. These services include counselling, family support, support groups, specialist bra fitting and patient driving service.
Claire O’Neill, Chief Executive at Belfast City Marathon reflects on the partnership, she noted: “Over the past decade, Cancer Focus Northern Ireland and the Belfast City Marathon have built an exceptional partnership through our official charity collective. As we transition to the new Give2You platform, our formal partnership may be ending, but our appreciation and admiration for Cancer Focus NI remain as strong as ever. We have been truly blown away by the incredible fundraising achieved throughout our years working together.”
Claire continued: “Cancer Focus NI has consistently proven to be one of the most proactive and dedicated organisations we’ve had the privilege to collaborate with. Their team works tirelessly to champion our events—driving participation, spreading awareness, and helping our entry numbers grow year after year. They deliver on every commitment with unwavering professionalism, enthusiasm, and a willingness to go above and beyond expectations. We wish the charity every success as they continue their vital fundraising efforts, and we look forward to welcoming all their runners at our future events.”
Maeve Colgan, Director of Fundraising & Communications at Cancer Focus NI, said: “It has been a privilege, not only to have worked with the team at Belfast Marathon the past 3 years, but it’s a relationship that has spanned almost 10 years and has made a difference to countless lives in Northern Ireland who are navigating a cancer diagnosis. Every year we need to raise £4.6 million pounds to continue to deliver our life changing services to the people who need it the most, and we can’t thank every participant, supporter and volunteer who helped us reach the fantastic total of £105,000.”
Maeve concluded: “It’s not goodbye though, and we can’t wait to see all our Cancer Focus NI runners on race day in May 2026.”
If you are interested in taking part in the Belfast City Marathon in 2026 and running for Cancer Focus NI, please get in touch with our events team at events@cancerfocusni.org or visit our website and register here.
