With not a hair out of place and in full make-up mother and daughter marathon runners Catherine and Leila Ashton have raised ?4,685 for Age Concern Isle of Man. The pair recently completed the Dublin marathon, crossing the finishing line holding hands in four hours 47 minutes. For Catherine, who is head of HR at Douglas Borough Council and lives in Albany Street Douglas, this was her first, but perhaps not her last marathon. She said: ‘Everything went according to plan. I didn’t get any blisters, didn’t “hit the wall” and the weather conditions were perfect throughout the 26.2 miles. We’d both trained so hard which was an enormous help, especially as there were more hills on the Dublin route than we thought, but we were prepared as we’d been tackling hills back home in the Isle of Man. It was definitely not as hard as I’d envisaged and I might do another marathon, or perhaps a half-marathon. For the time being, though, I’m resting a little then I might take up cycling with my husband John. And I’m still going to be running for pleasure…something I thought I’d never say – or do.’ Meanwhile Leila, who encouraged her mother to enter the marathon, has already set her sights on the Berlin marathon in 2011 and, along with her mother, has joined Age Concern Isle of Man’s fundraising committee. The charity’s chief executive Penny Creighton MBE, who retires at the end of 2010, said: ‘Cath and Leila put their heart, mind and soul into this. To have raised such a tremendous sum of money is truly awe-inspiring, all the more so as they managed to stay immaculate throughout the entire four hours and 47 minutes. My successor, George Quayle, and I are delighted that this amazing mother and daughter have chosen to support Age Concern Isle of Man and we wish them every success in their next challenge.’ www.ageconcerniom.com Ends