Jane Weekes running Auckland Marathon in support of City Mission

Jane Weekes is lacing up her running shoes to "pay forward" the support her family received in the immediate aftermath of her triplets' death in a 2012 Qatar mall fire.

Mrs Weekes has entered the ASB Auckland Marathon and will be running 21.5km -- the half marathon -- this Sunday as part of a team fundraising for the Auckland City Mission.

She hoped the money would go towards the work it does providing emergency food parcels each year for families in crisis.

Mrs Weekes recalled the meals neighbours and friends provided to her family in the week after the fire were a big help.

However, she said not everyone was so lucky to have support so readily available.

"No matter how hard things were for us, we were blessed to have amazing friends and family who could support us. Not everyone is fortunate enough to have that and I hope in this small way I can encourage others to reach out and help other New Zealanders in need."

While it's not her first half marathon, having run her first earlier in May, she would not describe herself as a keen runner.

"I never ran before in my life, I used to say it was a sign of bad planning ... but it was on my bucket list."

Nevertheless while Mrs Weekes had been running three to four times a week in preparation for this Sunday she didn't think she'd ever love running.

"I'm a kilometre counter ... I can't wait till the end of the race."

Mrs Weekes has set herself a goal of two hours and 15 minutes for the half marathon.

"But as long as I finish that'd be great."

For those wanting to help support the City Mission go to www.fundraiseonline.co.nz/JaneWeekes/

So far she's raised almost $3,000 for the mission.