Thank you for the good wishes .....................................

Thank you to everyone for all of the good wishes that I have received over the last number of days.  I am about to take on the biggest challenge of my life and to say that I am nervous is an understatement. I am hoping that once we set off for Donegal in the morning that the nerves will be left in Kerry ...............



Donations keep coming in and we are forever grateful, I would never have imagined that before I set off for Donegal that we would have so much raised, 16,725 euro.  Thank you to everyone that has helped and donated in any way.

Over 1,200 people from Kerry are treated at The Mercy every year.

In 2016 they need to raise half a million euro from the public to support the development of an advanced ‘Regional Centre for Gastroenterology’ that will lead the way in diagnosing and treating conditions of the Gastric system including life-saving care for patients from Kerry and Cork dealing with Oesophageal, Stomach and Bowel Cancers.

I have been asked by several people am I ready for the quadrathon? Without the help of the following there is no way that I would be as prepared as I am, I am just hoping that nothing goes wrong on Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Una my physio has been brilliant and without her expertise I would not be as ready as I am, I have a list of strict instructions from her on what to do after each of the 4 marathons.

Ronan in Victory Fitness devised a plan on how to work on my strength and flexibility and even though they have been tough sessions twice a week it has been well worth it.

Eamonn in Adrenalin Sports has been very patient as always, at this stage I think that we have analysed every gel and protein bar available and finally at 6pm yesterday evening decisions were made, whatever about my legs I have enough to eat in Donegal :-)

The bags and packed and I am ready to go .........................  hopefully when I arrive back in Kerry on Sunday night I will have covered a distance of 104.80 miles !!!!!!!!!!!!

Don't forget To donate please use http://fundraise.mercyfundraising.ie/marathonbrenda

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

And so the challenge continues .................

The last 2 weeks have been absolutely hectic and I cannot believe that in 14 days I will begin the challenge of 4 marathons in 4 days in Donegal, this sort of an event is a first or me and the nerves are starting to kick in with the thoughts of having to run 168.8 km - 104.8 miles !!!!!!!!!!
 The support that we are receiving is absolutely amazing, a huge thank you once again to Castlegregory Golf Club and to everyone that supported the golf classic in anyway.  The total raised was an amazing 4,320 euro.  Total raised so far is now 16,425.80 euro.

For the next 14 days training will be relatively light with the emphasis being put hugely on rest and nutrition.  This event will bring me to 10 marathons out of 12 so that alone will be motivation to complete all 4 marathons.
For us reality on what Pat has been through hit home once again today when we were back in the Mercy Hospital.  This is what welcomed us when we walked in the front door. It certainly was a bit strange being recognised as the person on the front cover of the Mercy Fundraising booklet.

I would never have imagined that after having done 6 of the 12 marathons that we would have raised so much money, thank you to everyone that has donated so far.

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

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

Half way through the challenge .............................................

Marathon number 6 today in Killarney ....  It was an early start as we had to be at the Gleneagle to get the bus to the start line.  It was definitely the toughest marathon so far it was 26.2 miles of hills, by now it is getting easier and it is a case of just run until I finish. There was great support along the way from the other runners and it was great to meet runners that I have met in the other 5 marathons.  The roads were closed so I was missing my supporters but it was great to run with the other guys.

1.5 miles to go and Ger, Maureen and Kathleen were waiting for me and as I came close to the finish line Pat and Colin were waiting.  The support today at the finish was unbelievable, the Girls from Killarney were waiting, Noel, Jacinta, Dylan, Dan and Nuala were also there.   I was delighted to see Siobhan and Aisling who came out to support me.  Aisling is 5 weeks old she definitely qualifies as the youngest supporter of my challenge.  Six marathons done only six to go !!!!  and over 11.600 euro donated, which is an amount that I would never have imagined that we would have reached at the half way mark.

Tomorrow we have another great event which is the Captains Charity Golf Classic in Castlegregory,  a great event is promised and again we are overwhelmed by the support.  After a day of golf, the prize giving takes place tomorrow evening at 9pm in Stokers Lodge, so for anyone that fancys a night out it would be great to catch up.

           

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