Irish Cancer Society, Aware & MND

Hi,

It’s been a barren 3 years since the 40th edition of the Dublin City Marathon, and this year it will have its largest field ever taking to the streets of Dublin for their victory lap & I will be one of the up to 25,000 taking part.

After running in the 2019 Dublin Marathon - which was my first, I got the bug and signed up again for Dublin Marathon 2020 in November 2019 while recovering on a beach in Gran Canaria and that euphoric feeling of wanting to go again was itching to be scratched. However due to restrictions for COVID it has not been held since 2019. So 2022 is not only the biggest field with 25,000 signed up in the 41 years of DCM, but also the longest wait for all participants to take to the streets again.

In 2019, I had the pleasure of the fantastic running group we have in Lucan called “Esker running group”, This time around I have been training for the 41st Dublin Marathon over the past 12 months mainly on my own. Running the quays outside SJRQ and Ringsend early in the morning was great, long runs on my own not so great. I got to meet up with my ERG fellow runners on some race days I participated in this year and it helps running with so many that are out to enjoy a run and not competing with each other. The craic and photo’s add to the great excitement of any race day. I could not imagine turning up on my own, the experience would not be the same without them.

I’ve been training 4-5 times a week on average 40KM a week, up to 55Km in recent weeks, Now, its carb loading and staying in bubble wrap this week to make the start line with the best preparation possible. To date I’ll completed just over 1300KM during the last 10 months of training, a half marathon a month was a goal and some PB’s for 5mile and 10Km along the way too. Over those 10 months of running, 20 weeks of hard training build up to DCM, allowing time off for good behaviour for a holiday to the west coast of America where I ran beaches of California and the hills & bridges of San Francisco (oh those hills). It’s now less than 7 days to DCM 2022. I am nervous, some last-minute niggles have made me re-assess my goal for the marathon and with that in mind I needed some extra motivation for the day & would Like to raise some money for some charities very close to me and ERG. If I have not lost you and you feel you can contribute a few hard earned euro’s they will be split across the chosen causes below.

My mam was diagnosed with bowel cancer in the summer of last year and my siblings and I were all helping her get through the treatment so some small sacrifices to look after her meant I was unable to meet up with the ERG gang to train. Then in January this year she suffered a very traumatic issue when her bowel burst and she spend 3-4 months in hospital recovering. It is with great relief I can say she is home and doing very well and currently cancer free, bossing us all around again which is fantastic. So being able to give back to the Irish Cancer Society is important for me not just for my Mam, but for everyone who has been impacted by cancer and the service ICS give to the patients and families is an outstanding service.

Aware is the Three charity partner we all know so well, and I can say openly that mental health issues were very much an issue during 2022 that hit my family hard. Having to reach out to try and engage counselling services in Ireland is not that straight forward, It’s blood frustrating to be honest, so Aware and the services they provide for Mental health is really important to me and my family. Thankfully, we did get the support we needed, however the mainstream support services like Aware need anything we can provide in support to keep their services going for those in need.

Lastly the ERG charity partner or cause this year is towards “Motor Neuron Disease”, two of our members have had family members impacted by this debilitating disease in 2022 and it can be a short or very prolonged suffering for those impacted by it and their families so any support we can give goes to where it is needed, the patient and their families.

If you can contribute, it will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks Colin