On Friday morning, Brian and Mike were physically drained. The lack of sleep and overnight illness had slowed down their pace but they kept going. They continued on the R445 en route to Kildare town where they were joined by new Twitter friends – Robbie and Ashling who gave them a moral boost. They ran on through The Curragh, Newbridge and Naas. Mike’s knee was gone at this stage so we ended up taking a detour to Clane Hospital so he could get treated. In Clane they were joined by some of their friends even CEO Of Special Olympics Ireland Matt English started running with them! In Cellbridge, they met Eamon who ran with them to the finish line. Brian even took a call from running ledge Gerry Duffy! The nearer to Dublin they got, the more friends and colleagues appeared by their side to run with them to Grafton St. This was definitely needed as the boys were feeling the effects both physically and mentally of having run over 120 miles in 24 hours. The last 10 miles from Lucan village into Grafton St seemed like an eternity! However, the boys were spurred on by new friends who joined them along the last 5 miles from the Strawberry Beds. Shortly before 10pm on Friday night (10 hours behind schedule) Brian and Mike crossed the finish line to rapturous applause. Having watched them run from Limerick to Dublin we are beyond proud of them – They achieved their goal, they completed ‘Challenge 126′ and most importantly raised awareness and funds for Special Olympics Ireland.
Well Done boys – The Challenge 126 Team!
P.S Thanks Michael Rossney for the photos!
