Teenagers run first half marathon to support children with cancer

Five friends from the running group ÞABOYS will run the half marathon at the Íslandsbanki Reykjavík Marathon on Saturday to raise money for children with cancer, mbl.is reports.

“We thought about children going through this, and we feel very sorry for them. Children have a harder time dealing with cancer than adults,” Angelo Mikael Korale Arachchige told mbl.is.

Angelo, a 17-year-old student at Fjölbrautaskólinn í Breiðholti, is taking part alongside four friends. None of the five has significant running experience, apart from one member who has trained as a runner and has taken on the role of coach.

This will be the group’s first half marathon. Their final formal training session took place on Thursday evening, when they planned to run about 17 kilometres.

The fundraising has exceeded the group’s expectations. ÞABOYS set a goal of 50,000 Icelandic krónur, but had raised 88,000 krónur by the time of publication. Angelo said the total was 85,000 krónur when he spoke to mbl.is on Thursday afternoon.

Four of the five members are therefore expected to run a half marathon for the first time in the race itself.

Donations can be made to Angelo and the other members of ÞABOYS to support children with cancer in Iceland.