It will be a very early start for four local athletes who are setting off on a 19-hour 190km run tonight in aid of local health services.
Buncrana men Gerard Doherty, Shane Doherty, Declan Irwin and Christian McGinley have teamed up for the endurance challenge, which begins at midnight tonight (Friday).
Together, they hope to conquer consecutive 10km runs to make up 190km. All their fundraising efforts will be in aid of the Buncrana Community Hospital, The Nazareth House and Letterkenny University Hospital in their battle against Covid-19.
The run will be streamed live online on Facebook: 190km Covid-19 Run Challenge for everyone to tune in and cheer them on over the 19 hours.
Plans are in place for a celebration at the finish line at the Shore Front in Buncrana between 2.30pm and 3.30pm on Saturday. Updates will be shared on Facebook prior to the end of the challenge.
The team has already raised over €30,000 on GoFundMe thanks to the support of sponsoring businesses, individuals and a car wash earlier this month. And that fundraising momentum is building even more today now that the start time is in sight.
“It will be a challenge, but there are other people facing bigger challenges every day,” said team member Declan Irwin.
“We were training this year for various events like marathons and Iron Man in Denmark. We came to the realisation we weren’t going to be doing them but we were still training. We decided to put it to use.
“Watching the news and seeing everything that’s going on, you appreciate that the frontline workers are doing and we thought we could do something for them.”
“We’d like to thank everybody for their unbelievable support for the four of us so far,” Declan added.
To donate, please visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/190km-Covid-19-Run-Challenge
You can follow the team’s journey on Facebook at: 190km Covid-19 Run Challenge
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