Mary’s in great spirits as she hits the 350km mark
TEN days in and Arklow legend Mary Nolan Hickey is doing her home town and county proud as she makes great progress on her Lap of the Map run, walk and hike around Ireland.
Lifelong athlete Mary set off from Arklow Lifeboat Station on New Year’s Day for the challenge of a lifetime and to raise money for the RNLI.
Having passed through Counties Wicklow, Dublin, Meath, Louth and Down to date, Mary has covered approximately 350 km and support is growing daily.
She has been featured on a myriad of news outlets and websites around the world and donations are flooding in, with over €4,500 raised to date.
So far, Mary has been welcomed by many small communities and has visited a number of Lifeboat stations where she received warm welcomes, refreshments and a bed for the night from generous hosts.
She also retired her first pair of running shoes, the first of many this challenge will wear out on her.
Along the way, despite some of the worst conditions possible, including Storm Eleanor, Mary, from time to time has been joined by fellow athletes for moral support which has spurred her on to keep going.
Mary was in positive spirits this week and described the adventure as ‘overwhelming’ so far.
To keep up to date with Mary’s journey see the