Runners urged to crusade for a good cause

PEOPLE in Clare who want to get fit and raise money for a worthy local charity have been presented with the ideal opportunity to kill two birds with the one stone.

A new drive has been launched by the Clare Crusaders’ Clinic to get at least 100 runners to join a group with the goal of participating in the Dublin City Marathon next October and raising money for the Barefield centre.

It is being spearheaded by Kilkenny native, Pat Bogue, who has been living in Ennis for the last 15 years.

Having completed the Clare 10km run in 2007, Pat, who wasn’t a fitness fanatic, started getting involved in training for marathons and raising money for Clare Crusaders.

In fact, his life took on a complete new direction running 12 marathons in five years including five Dublin City, two in Limerick and others in Paris, Rome, Barcelona, Vienna and Rotherdam.

“I wasn’t a sportsman at the time but it became my sport. Running is a bit addictive. Every time I do a marathon now, I get inspiration from newcomers when you see how much they can improve over a few months. People who join the group don’t have to complete the marathon this year. They can join to keep fit and build up their fitness to take on the marathon the following year.

“The group had between 60 and 65 participating in the Dublin City Marathon when Howard Flannery died about five years ago and we now want to increase this to 100. Whether people want to do the marathon in two and a half hours or seven and a half hours by walking we don’t mind as long as they can raise some money for the clinic.

“I would encourage anyone to come along and see if they are up to the challenge of keeping fit or competing in the marathon. There are an awful lot of people who are out running on their own. It is much more fun being part of a group where you can meet and make new friends,” he said.

The group meets in O’Sullivan and Hurley car park on Saturday mornings for training and also has training runs on Tuesday and Thursday nights. When training reaches its peak and the runners are completed up to 22 miles, the group has two or three cars providing water.

The Clare Crusaders’ Clinic in Barefield provides therapy for more than 190 special needs children with autistic spectrum disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Downe Syndrome and other conditions.

Run on a voluntary basis, services are free of charge and include speech therapy, occupational therapy, special education, physiotherapy and reflexology. Clare Crusaders does not receive Government funding and relies on the fundraising and donations to generate the €250,000 required each year to maintain its existing services.

With the fifth year anniversary due in September, clinic manager, Ann Norton explained she was anxious to get as many runners as possible to raise funds for the charity.

The contact details for the running group are Ronan (086 6019829) and Siobhán (087 2831150) or email (ronan_mcmahon@yahoo.com).