--- title: "Jersey Spartans runner, 80, tackles half-marathon for Lily McGarry" url: https://www.nsfw.info/janine-fossey-80-half-marathon-lily-mcgarry-sepsis/ published: 2026-10-09T06:01:02+00:00 modified: 2026-10-09T06:01:02+00:00 author: "Chief Editor" categories: ["News"] image: https://www.nsfw.info/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/janine-fossey-80-half-marathon-lily-mcgarry-sepsis-1024x572.webp summary: "Janine Fossey, 80, is running the Royal Parks half-marathon in London to raise funds for Sepsis Research FEAT, inspired by Jersey amputee Lily McGarry." publisher: NSFW (https://www.nsfw.info) --- # Jersey Spartans runner, 80, tackles half-marathon for Lily McGarry **In brief:** Janine Fossey, an 80-year-old member of Jersey Spartans athletics club, is running the London Royal Parks half-marathon this Sunday to raise funds for Sepsis Research FEAT. She was inspired by Jersey Islander Lily McGarry, who lost all four limbs to sepsis after contracting meningitis B at university. ## A Jersey Stalwart Takes on London There are people who take up running in their forties and quietly give it up by their fifties. Then there is Janine Fossey. The 80-year-old, who only laced up her first pair of running shoes at the age of 48, is heading to London this Sunday to tackle the Oysho Royal Parks half-marathon, a 13.1-mile route that finishes in front of the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall. Ms Fossey has been a member of Jersey Spartans athletics club for 28 years and her CV would put many younger runners to shame. The Jersey Evening Post reports that she has completed four full marathons in London, Paris, Brighton and Chester, two Great North Runs, a Spartan half-marathon, and a string of 5k and 10k races. Her personal best for a half-marathon stands at two hours and 20 minutes, set when she was 61. She completed a full 26.2-mile marathon in five-and-a-half hours at the age of 54. Having turned 80 in July, Ms Fossey says she has spent the year working her way back to a “decent” speed. “I started trying to increase my speed from the beginning of the year, and then I managed to get into a race,” she told the JEP. “I had a plan, but I wasn’t pushing it. If you push it too much, you will get injured. But, I’m going to be able to do it. I will do it.” ## Lily McGarry: The Islander Behind the Inspiration Ms Fossey’s motivation for entering the race is deeply personal. She is running in support of Lily McGarry, a young Jersey woman who suffered a catastrophic medical emergency during her third year of university, where she was studying medicine. Miss McGarry went into septic shock after contracting meningitis B, and doctors were forced to perform a quadruple amputation to save her life. Miss McGarry has since returned to Jersey to continue her recovery and has become an ambassador for Sepsis Research FEAT, described by the JEP as the UK’s only sepsis research charity. She has also been a vocal advocate for students to receive the meningitis B vaccination and to recognise the early symptoms of the disease. Ms Fossey has known Miss McGarry and her family since Lily was a toddler. “Over the years I have seen her grow up, and she is just such a lovely girl who deserves all of the accolades she can get,” she said. “I really wanted to do something to help Lily raise awareness and do something for the charity she is following.” ## How to Support the Cause Ms Fossey has set a fundraising target of £1,000 for Sepsis Research FEAT and is currently around halfway to reaching it. Donations can be made by searching “Janine’s fundraiser for Sepsis Research FEAT for Lily McGarry” on JustGiving. For Islanders who may not be familiar with sepsis, it is a life-threatening response to infection that can escalate with terrifying speed. Lily McGarry’s story is a stark reminder of how quickly meningitis B can turn fatal, and why awareness of early symptoms matters, particularly among young people heading off to university. ## The NSFW Perspective In an age when “inspiration” is handed out like loyalty-card stamps, Janine Fossey is the genuine article. Taking on a half-marathon at 80, for a friend’s daughter she has watched grow up, is the sort of quiet, community-minded determination that Jersey does rather well and that no government programme could ever manufacture. If you have a spare few pounds, the JustGiving page is waiting. And if you are feeling a little smug about your own exercise routine, perhaps reconsider. *Source: [Jersey Evening Post](https://jerseyeveningpost.com/news/2026/10/09/80-year-old-inspired-by-amputee-islander-to-take-on-half-marathon)*