5 out of 12 completed ............

The only way that I could describe this weekend was it was action packed.  The highlight was our U14 team from St Pat's playing in the Feile competition in Wicklow in which they reached the semi final.  We set off early on Friday morning to travel to the first 2 matches in Craanford, it was then off to Wicklow for the team to meet their host families in Newtownmount Kennedy (who were just fantastic),  we eventually got to our hotel at 9pm.
This weekend I was the proudest Mom to watch Gavin in goals for his team not the Mom running a marathon .....................

St Pats Gaa Blennerville

Over all there was huge performances from the st pats side but one that stands out is that of Gavin Doody who was St. pats goalie and pulled off save after save in all the games .He made top class saves in every game some of which you see by a professional in any sport .

It was an early start for me, I left the hotel at 5.30 to drive on my own to Waterford,  I arrived in plenty of time and met Marie had a quick coffee and she dropped me to the start line.  The start of the marathon was busy as the 10km, half marathon and full marathon went off together.  It was a very hot day but an enjoyable marathon.  Again Maureen and Ger were there to offer their support as they have for all 5 marathons.

Marathon completed, a quick shower and straight back into the car to drive back to Wicklow for the afternoon match.  I was glad to get out of the car after the 2 hour drive and to stretch my legs.  5 marathons completed, for me it is 2 weeks holiday and then the Killarney marathon.  I am looking forward to the rest and also looking forward to running in Killarney, this is always a super event.

Castlegregory Captains Charity Day in aid of Cancer Research  : 

Castlegregory Golf Club has very kindly decided to donate all the funds from the Captains (Ladies and Men’s Club) Charity Day to  Brenda's Mercy Marathon Challenge fundraising efforts. The details are as follows:

Date: Sunday July 19th 2015

Format: 4 Person AM-AM

Cost: €120 per team

Timesheet is now open and tee times can be booked by ringing 066-7139444. 

There are opportunities to sponsor tee boxes or greens on the day also. So if you can't make it for any reason and wish to donate in this way then you can do so by contacting the Golf Club at 0667139444 / Pat Doody at 0872170063 

To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons

Fundraising minus the running shoes .........................

Today I was honoured to be invited to be the guest speaker at the ladies lunch in aid of the Mercy Hospital Foundation.  This was a fantastic event and full compliments to the staff of the Mercy foundation.  I was delighted to be joined by 5 very glamorous ladies for the event.  It was great to fundraise wearing high heels and not a pair of running shoes.

This week also saw the end of our marathon challenge with the children from Derryquay school, 18 children aged from 10 - 13 completed their 1st marathon.  They also raised funds by having a raffle and this brought the total fundraised so far to 11,085 euro.  I am so proud of these guys.  Well done.

Next weekend is marathon number 5 in Waterford.  To say that we are overwhelmed by the support so far is an understatement.  Thank you to everyone.

Our next major fundraiser was also launched this week and for anyone of you that don't like to run but prefer to golf this one is for you. Details below:

Castlegregory Captains Charity Day in aid of Cancer Research : 

Castlegregory Golf Club has very kindly decided to donate all the funds from the Captains (Ladies and Men’s Club) Charity Day to  Brenda's Mercy Marathon Challenge fundraising efforts. The details are as follows:

Date: Sunday July 19th 2015

Format: 4 Person AM-AM

Cost: €120 per team

Timesheet is now open and tee times can be booked by ringing 066-7139444. 

There are opportunities to sponsor tee boxes or greens on the day also. So if you can't make it for any reason and wish to donate in this way then you can do so by contacting the Golf Club at 0667139444 / Pat Doody at 0872170063 

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To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons

Fundrasing .....

13 days to marathon number 5 in Waterford,  this has been a relatively easy week as I am still carrying a slight injury, so my aim for the next 13 days is to try to recover as much as possible.  It was great to see our fundraising efforts in Waterford Today this week and also in the Connect magazine in Kerry.

Waterford Today Article: Running for Pat - Brenda is running 12 marathons in 8 months

Running 12 marathons in 8 months is Brenda Doody's way of trying to give back to the Mercy Hospital in Cork after her husband Pat was

diagnosed with Oesophageal cancer at the age of 44. Brenda is running a total of 506.34 kilometres, taking in Waterford’s Viking Marathon in June, to raise much needed funds for the Hospital as a token of her gratitude for their expert care.

"My Husband Pat age 44 was diagnosed with oesophageal cancer in May 2014 in the Mercy Hospital, he was a fit, healthy 44 year old. He had chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery in September to remove his oesphagus. Because of the wonderful care that he received in the Mercy I wanted to say thank you and to give something back."

And she decided to give back in a major way by completing 12 marathons in a time period that most ordinary people would think nigh on impossible "I wanted to do my first marathon in Tralee as it is home, and finish in Dublin where hopefully Pat will run with me (health permitting). As I was planning my marathons I came across the quadrathon in Donegal in August which is 4 marathons in 4 days and decided that it would add to the challenge, and so 12 marathons in 8 months was devised."

That didn't mean to say that it didn't take a lot of preparation. Brenda followed a marathon training plan for the first marathon which was running 5 days a week. There is a short space of time between each marathon so training is easier, 4-5 days. All marathons are in Ireland as she did not want to add to the expense of travel and are as follows:

Tralee- March, Connemara - April, Limerick - May, Cork and Waterford - June, Killarney - July, Donegal quadrathon - August, Dingle - September and Dublin - October.

Brenda readily admits that the support she has been given has been immense "The support that I have received has been unbelievable, Tralee, Limerick, Cork, Waterford, Killarney marathons have all given me free entry to the marathons. People have ran various marathons with me to raise funds, in Limerick we had a relay team and in Cork there were 4 relay teams of friends and family.

"In Waterford Elaine Noonan is doing her first ever marathon to raise funds for the Mercy. The Mercy foundation have been excellent. Friends, family, neighbours have come together to organise various events with our total so far almost 10,000 euro. I had a call this week from a lady in Donegal who has been following my blog and she offered me free accommodation in Donegal for the quadrathon.

"I have been sponsored by Adrenalin sports store in Co Limerick, Brooks sponsored my running shoes and high five sponsored energy and recovery gels."

Most importantly Brenda’s husband is doing well and has even returned to work recently. "Pat is doing well, he is getting used to how his life has changed but he has survived and that is what counts - anything else that is thrown at us we will deal with if and when it happens. Pat returned to work after being off for exactly one year. He is a lecturer in IT Tralee."

When all the marathons are done she will be taking a short rest before taking on a new challenge "My initial plan was that I would finish in Dublin and then retire but as I am ticking off the marathons I am enjoying them more and more and getting faster with each one - Cork finishing times was 3 hours 57 mins, so I may not hang up my runners yet, I might consider 1 ultra run in Spring next year and then take a break."

To follow Brenda’s story see:

http://www.brendasmercymarathonchallenge.blogspot.com

facebook page : Brendas Mercy Marathon Challenge

To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

If anyone would like to run a marathon or to fundraise in anyway they can contact Brenda on the above or by email brenda.doody@gmail.com

Our children from Derryquay school are on the last leg of their marathon having already run 23 miles, this Friday will see them running their last 3 miles, where afterwards we have a great evening planned at our school with a barbecue where the children will be presented with medals kindly sponsored by Marie at swimheadz and t shirts kindly donated by the Mercy Foundation.

On Saturday a group of us are heading from Kerry to support the Ladies Lunch in aid of the Mercy Hospital Foundation.  It will be nice to wear high heels instead of a pair of running shoes ................. It promises to be a great event so I would encourage anyone that is looking for a great day out to consider supporting to raise fund for this very worthy cause.

Mercy University Hospital Foundation Cork

Fashion, music,inspirational speakers, delicious food and amazing goodie bags... a very special lunch indeed! Book your tickets for the Mercy Hospital Foundation Ladies Lunch now: http://goo.gl/nKJa1w

We are delighted to see that our fundaising total is continues to increase... Remember if anyone would like to donate 

To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons

Amazing Support .........................

The weather was the big question today in Cork and we weren't let down.....  For 26.2 miles it was a battle against the wind and the rain.  I decided that today was the day to push the pace and I was thrilled to have run my fastest time since I started my 12 marathons in 8 months.  I ran with 2 excellent 4 hour pacers and at  mile 23 I felt that I could push on.... and on I went.

Today wasn't about me, it was about the support from my family and friends that ran relays. It was great to know that at each changeover they were waiting to cheer me on and I was delighted to be the first of the 21 to finish !!!!!!!!!.  They are already planning their next event to raise much need funds for cancer research in the Mercy.

Thank you to the Mercy Foundation for their very generous gift and support over the last 2 days.  The support around Cork was amazing, people stood in the wind and rain cheering everyone on.  Each time we came to a hill (which there were many) there were crowds shouting and encouraging us to the top. For me it is rest tomorrow, physio with Una on wednesday and then back into training.

4 done and just 26 days to number 5 in Waterford!! Please keep donating.

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To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

Don't forget to share my facebook page:https://www.facebook.com/mercymarathons