Many thanks to Orla Burke who raised £2000 for Lyme Resource Centre by running the Paris Marathon in April 2025. Orla wanted to raise awareness of Lyme disease in Ireland after her sister Grace got Lyme disease in 2018. 

If caught early, Lyme disease is very treatable; but unfortunately for Grace and many others like her in Ireland, if not diagnosed promptly, Lyme disease can cause ongoing problems and treatment can be difficult to access. 

If there had been more awareness through signage and campaigns in Ireland, and Grace had known that she had had a tick bite, then her Grace’s suffering could have been avoided. Grace was finally diagnosed and is hopefully on the road to recovery. 

Orla aims to use money raised for creating awareness of tick bites and Lyme disease through signage in forest parks around Ireland.  

Further information of previous awareness campaigns can be found here: 

 https://www.lymeresourcecentre.com/outdoor-initiatives 

Many thanks to Orla for her efforts and congratulations on her success!