Marathon men hit the road for Cystic Fibrosis

Marathon men hit the road for Cystic Fibrosis

Local athletes to take on Cork, Dublin and New York City Marathons

Two West Kerry men are preparing to take on three major marathons over the next few months in an effort to raise much needed funds for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland. Veteran local runner, Martin Halloran from Ballyeightra, Dingle will be joined by Seán Cahillane, a Ballydavid man new to the marathon circuit, in an effort to complete both the Cork City Marathon this June and the Dublin City Marathon in October (making it Martin's fifth Dublin City Marathon and Seán's first), which are both 26.2 miles in length. Four days later, Martin will board a plane to head for the US where he will take part in the world renowned New York City Marathon, where 38,000 people, with many celebrities thrown into the mix, pound the streets of the Big Apple. Over the next few months, the lads will be busy preparing for the immense tasks ahead, training hard on wild and windy roads of West Kerry while launching a concerted drive to raise sponsorship for Cystic Fibrosis, which claimed two young lives over the past year and a half in the West, that of young woman Mary Hand of Dingle and teenager Paidí Grummel of Carrig. Seán and Martin train during the week and each Sunday they run from Baile na nGall to Dún Chaoin and back.
"The Cork City Marathon in June will be my first marathon, hopefully it will all go well and I'll be able to finish it!" said Seán. Martin is also looking forward to the challenges ahead, especially the New York City Marathon. "Its a lifelong dream to compete in the New York City Marathon" said Martin, who has completed the Dublin City Marathon an amazing four times over the past few years. Both runners are keen to raise as much as they can for the Cystic Fibrosis Association of Ireland and a number of sponsorship cards will be made available in local shops and outlets in the West Kerry area over the coming weeks. Anyone interested in sponsoring the lads in their quest or in obtaining a sponsorship card may contact Seán at 087-7855419.