Nevermind 10,000 steps a day…
These two fundraisers clocked up an incredible 100km each on New Year’s Day all to raise money for Jigsaw.
Craig Hynes, from Birr, Co Offaly, ran 100km of the Offaly Way on New Year’s day.
The fitness enthusiast took on the massive challenge to raise funds for youth mental health and help those facing hardship in their lives.
Craig’s mid-Winter run certainly was very challenging, he explains:
“Everything went against me as the weather was bad. I had wind and rain from the off that morning. I made it to the half way mark, just over 5 hours, and after that I felt my knee and foot give me awful bother but kept pushing through.
“That slowed me down a lot and the mountain trails were destroyed with deep marsh and fallen trees scattered around. It made it a real adventure. I ended up finishing the route at 5:40pm which made the run 13hours and 40 minutes overall.
“Unfortunately , I spent the Christmas in a leg brace as I tore my cartilage and soft tissue around the knee and tore ligaments on my foot but other than that I am happy and absolutely delighted and proud I got the tast completed.
“I had a great crew of helpers and a good friend that ran the second half of the run with me amd kept me safe and motivated.
“It really was a magical day running from dark to light to dark again amd overcoming a lot of pain and discomfort but that was overshadowed by the beauty of the wild mountains and the real reason I was running that day which was to help and encourage others to overcome hardships in their lives.”
Craig presenting his cheque to Eimear and Deirdre from the Laois/Offaly Jigsaw
Barry Potter, from Frenchpark Co Roscommon, also managed the massive feat, clocking up 101km.
The personal trainer ran all the way from his home in Roscommon to Blackrock Pier in Galway, all in aid of Jigsaw.
Barry wanted to raise awareness about Jigsaw and the benefits of running.
“It just seemed right to do it for Jigsaw since it helped me,” he told the Roscommon Herald
“People might be down and they don’t realise that there are tools out there like running, even if it’s 1km or half a kilometre, it’s more than what you’ve done before.”
“All my friends were supporting me, saying, ‘oh you can do this, you can do this’, but I was in Renmore in Galway and I was trying to work out how I could make up this last 10km,” he said.
Barry with his daughter Alaia at the finish line.
