The Kerryman (South Kerry Edition)
MICHAEL’ S LONG ROAD HOME FOR CHRISTMAS
CAUSEWAY MAN TO UNDERTAKE EPIC CHALLENGE FOR WORTHY CHARITIES
A CAUSEWAY man will put charity first this Christmas as he prepares to set off on an epic 200-mile run from Dublin to Kerry, all of which will be in aid of the Irish Cancer Society and Cystic Fibrosis Ireland charities.
Michael McEnerny’s body may be in Dublin, where he has lived and worked for the last number of years but he admits that his heart is still firmly rooted back in his native Kerry. His parents still live in Causeway and he says that the thought of running back to Kerry for Christmas will be a special type of homecoming for him.
“I suppose it all goes back to the reason that I started taking running as seriously as I have been – my mother is sick with cancer and, while it’s contained at the minute, she is still receiving treatment,” said Michael, talking to The Kerryman.
“I found it very hard to deal with it and I suppose taking on more running helped me deal with the worry and stress of the situation.”
The experienced Marathon runner will be setting off on his challenge on the morning of December 22 when he will leave from Croke Park and run towards his first major checkpoint of the run, Roscrea, which he hopes to reach on the first night.
From Roscrea, he will continue on towards Newcastle West on the morning of December 23 and hopes to reach the County Limerick town that same night before making a final push towards Kerry the following day, where Michael hopes to reach Tralee and the finish line of Denny Street on Christmas Eve, where his family and friends will be there to greet him.
“I’d said it jokingly so many times about ‘what would it be like to run to Kerry?’ I’ve driven the route so many times that I’ve often thought about the freedom that I’d have if I was running it, so one day I finally just thought that I better get up and do it.”
As chairman of the Fingal Rotary Club in Dublin, whose motto is ‘Service Above Self ’, it is no surprise then that Michael is no stranger to running long distances for worthy causes, having completed a number of runs in the past year in aid of The Hospice Foundation.
“I chose the Irish Cancer Society because of the whole situation that my mother has been going through with her treatment and I thought that, if I can help the society continue some of the work and research that they do, I’d be delighted.
“Everyone knows someone who has been diagnosed or who is in the middle of treatment and I just hope that the charity can keep coming up with new treatments. Cancer is a horrible scourge on our society.”
Michael said that Cystic Fibrosis (CF) is something that has become more aware of through his running in the last year due to families and friends of people who have CF.
“I’ve met so many of them who are running to raise funds for the condition and it’s wonderful. I want to try and raise awareness of the new drug Orkambi; the cost of this drug by the pharmaceutical companies is just far too high. The government needs to sit down with these companies and sort out a way of reducing the cost, the high cost is robbing people of their lives... simply put.”
“One of the guys who will be running with me for a section of the route has raised a few hundred thousand Euros for CF and some of those who will be crewing for me on the day have family members with the condition, so it is something that is important to me and that I will have with me throughout the run.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not really about me or my run, it’s about helping to raise as much money as I possibly can for the two charities and helping out in some small way,” he finished.
Michael is hoping to raise close to €4,000 for the charities and donations can be given through his online fundraising links which can be found below or on Michael’s Facebook page called ‘Kingdom Crusader - 200 Miles to Freedom’.
The link for donations is found at https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/michael-mcenery3.