click to enlarge Since the senior girls of Fortwilliam had run the 10km at the Titanic Quarter earlier in April, the school decided to enter the junior girls for the May Day event. The organising teachers Mrs Niblock and Mrs Breen rallied the troops in Castlecourt at 8:45am ahead of the 9am start from City Hall, whilst the School Principal, Miss McGahan, and another member of staff, Mr Donnelly put their best foot forward in support of the school's efforts for SVP.   Final instructions Team Dominican City Hall click on any any image to enlarge Year 8 pupils with Miss McGahan Year 8 pupils with Mr Donnelly

Year 8 pupils from Dominican College Fortwilliam in Marathon "Fun Walk" for SVP.   SVP Youth Development Officer Sarah-Jane Goldring, reflects on her day with the girls on Monday 5th May 2008.   Like the first bank holiday of the summer, the Belfast City Marathon has come and gone and although these things are by this stage a distant memory, this year's marathon was particularly more memorable as I was encouraged (courtesy of Mrs Niblock, the power of the teacher) to experience it for myself for the first time this year.   Along with nearly 20 junior girls from Dominican College Fortwilliam, I walked the 9 mile fun walk with nearly 4,500 other walkers (mind you, 1,500 of them completed the 26 mile walk later that day!)   With i-pods, mp3 players, mobile phones and a carton of Capri Sun to hand, we were ready to hit the streets of Belfast at a leisurely but confident pace. The starting line provided us with that initial carnival feeling that pushed us gently out of the city towards the Woodstock and Holywood Road, where plenty of locals took advantage of the good weather to cheer us on from their well positioned deck chairs!!   Ten band-aids and three pairs of socks later, we'd somehow made it back to the Queen's Bridge, where the "fun" and "hard-core" walkers parted company. We veered left towards the Waterfront Hall, whilst the real walkers headed north for another 18 miles!! By 11:10am the first group of Fortwilliam walkers had reached Ormeau Park, just 10 minutes before the first marathon runners made it back home. By midday all the Dominican girls were home and dry, just in time to bask in the glorious sunshine.   In all, a great day to have participated in. No casualties, medals all around and money in the bag for SVP!!! Sarah Jane Goldring YDO