A lawyer in the insurance division of the firm’s Adelaide office, Keane has a special connection to the Council, having lost her mother, Jenny, to lung and brain cancer in August of this year. She is competing in the 42-kilometre ING New York City Marathon in tribute to her mother, and in an effort to raise funds for the Cancer Council of South Australia.

“When mum was diagnosed, I was so proud of her determination and courage to beat the illness,” Keane said.

“The Cancer Council was behind her all the way, providing counselling, information and treatment advice. The organisation is so dedicated to patients and their families that I wanted to give something back for all the help they provided.”

Keane has trained tirelessly since January, covering more than 60 kilometres each week on top of weight training sessions and additional cross training.

To be held on 5 November, the marathon attracts more than 35,000 runners and 2 million spectators, billed as the world’s most popular endurance event. Donations to assist Keane can be made at http://www.cancersa.org.au.

In other running legal news, Allens Arthur Robinson managed second place in the mixed teams section of the JP Morgan Chase Corporate Challenge Championship last week.

Allens partner Tom Highnam, lawyers Peter Beacroft and Anna Thwaites, and client services manager Prue Davison completed the 5.6-kilometre Manhattan course in a combined 1 hour, 19 minutes and 53 seconds.

“It was such a great experience to run down Park Avenue with the New Yorkers cheering us on,” Highnam said. “It was an excellent team effort and we were very proud to represent Allens and the Australian professional community.”

Individual results for the firm were also competitive: Peter Beacroft (10th) and Tom Highnam (19th) ran in the men’s division, while Prue Davison (19th) and Anna Thwaites (43rd) did well in the women’s division.

“It was a great achievement that the team qualified for the final in New York, but to have gone on to finish second on Park Avenue among a highly competitive international field deserves a ticker tape parade on their return,” managing partner Tom Poulton said.