THE JOURNEY FROM west to east is one of the most well travelled routes in the country but David Galbraith is taking the long way round this week.
Starting in Galway on Monday morning, the 32-year-old will embark on a gruelling physical and mental challenge as he begins the journey to Dublin on foot.
With a background in running and as many as a dozen marathons under his belt, Galbraith has plenty of running experience but this a challenge of extreme magnitude.
For five consecutive days, the Dunboyne Athletics Club member will run 50 kilometres as he weaves his way across the country before finishing at the Gibson Hotel on Friday evening.
“Before Christmas I was thinking about ways to raise money for charity,” he told The42 a couple of days before the starting gun sounds. “I did quite a bit of research and found this challenging, but manageable, route.
“It’s a popular one on a bike but not many have done it on foot so that’s what caught my eye.”
With just a handful of days until the starting gun sounds, it would only be natural for Galbraith to be feeling somewhat nervous but he knows his body is primed for the challenge.
Ten months of intense training have followed since the idea first originated, equating to between 50 and 100 miles per week and three marathons in the last three months.
“I’m confident,” he adds. “It’s not a race, it’s a distance so I can pace myself accordingly and there will be plenty of support along the route so that’s sure to keep me going.”
Galbraith hopes to raise at least €5,000 for his chosen charity, Bumbleance, and has received generous support from Sonia O’Sullivan and Eamon Coughlan among others.
He’ll be joined along the 250km route by family, friends, colleagues from Europcar and complete strangers who have contacted him to lend their support.
With an abundance of similar charity events and challenges taking place all over the country, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to get the exposure and funding to make a real impact.
But after a slow start, the fundraising drive is really taking off and Galbraith expects a big response once the challenge gets underway.
“We’re going to have buckets in all the towns I pass through and people have already been very supportive. I don’t want this to just be another charity event and I think people have realised that as the day gets closer – they can see I’m serious about this.”
At present, Galbraith has raised close to €2,000 through online donations but once he’s up and running, that figure is expected to soar.
More information can be found here and donations can be made via the iDonate page.
