What's Happening Now? Welcome to Dee Curran's "Summer of Running".

From now until September I will be participating in a series of running challenges culminating at the AJ Bell Great North Run on September 10th for the benefit of Foyle Hospice.

About the Foyle Hospice

Foyle Hospice  has taken care of my family, personal friends and family friends. Their dedicated staff supported our family and friends while attending to their physical, emotional, psychological and spiritual needs. People like my late Grandmother, Elizene Curran; my uncle, Declan Curran; my Granda, Willie Curran; my great-uncle Robbie Kennelly and my friend "Big T" McGilloway who were cared for with love, dignity and respect.

Foyle Hospice, this year, faces running costs of over £3.7 million to provide 24-hour palliative and end-of-life care to patients suffering from cancer and other life-limiting illnesses such as Multiple Sclerosis, Motor Neuron Disease, Parkinson's Disease and COPD. The Foyle Hospice through community fundraising depends on donations from people like us for 65% of these running costs. Without the community's support they simply would not be able to provide this service. 

All your donations to this fundraising campaign go directly to Foyle Hospice and benefit users of the service in a number of ways. The funding will cover construction costs such as patient beds (costing over £300 per night), electricity, heating and patient meals, as well as salaries for an excellent medical team and staff to provide a high standard of palliative care that brings comfort to patients at the end of their life. 

The Challenge

Please note that the number of challenges can be increased or changed depending on how hard I want to make my life. My current focus is on seven distinct challenges:

Challenge 1: Run 100 miles (at least) every month between now and the end of September. COMPLETE.

Challenge 2: Strabane/Lifford Half Marathon. On June 11th the cross border challenge returns for its 8th edition, starting at Meeting House Street, into Lifford then finish at the Melvin Sports Complex, Strabane. COMPLETE IN A COURSE PERSONAL BEST OF 1HR 43 MINS.

Challenge 3: Run the Camino de Santiago (Virtually). The Way of St. James is a network of pilgrimage routes that stretch across Europe and converge in Northwestern Spain at the shrine of St. James in Santiago de Compostela. This stretches for 800km, or 487.2 miles. Over the course of the challenge I hope to virtually run the distance that covers this route. COMPLETED ON SEPTEMBER 29TH.

Challenge 4: Joe Duffy BMW Clontarf Half Marathon. This is the flattest half marathon in Ireland. Race takes place on an off-road promenade and Bull Island. This race takes place on July 8th. COMPLETE IN A DISTANCE PB OF 97 MINS 25 SECS.

Challenge 5: Run at least 5km per day, every day in August. Running in a streak can be done on the road, trail or treadmill and is a fun way to stay motivated after a fast half marathon to the final challenge. COMPLETE, COVERING OVER 150 MILES

Challenge 6: Donegal Half Marathon. August 28th I hope to draw a close to Challenge 4 by competing in a Half Marathon in Letterkenny. Beginning on the Conwal straight and finishing in the Aura Leisure Centre track the race is now a quicker, flatter event following last year's changes. COMPLETE IN A DISTANCE PB OF 95 MINS 8 SECS

Challenge 7: Waterside Half Marathon. At the last minute I have joined the line up of the 40th edition of this race, taking in a tougher route from previous years. Gone is the Gransha circuit and the run towards the Daisyfield (thankfully) but it is replaced by the horrific Strathfoyle Greenway route. COMPLETE, IN 1HR 53 MINS

Challenge 8: AJ Bell Great North Run. Main event; 'TenaciousDee' Curran will try to outperform Mo Farah by passing him in his final race. The key word is "try" but no doubt failing miserably. COMPLETE IN 1HR 45MINS, FINISHING 3513TH OUT OF 60000, WITHIN THE TOP 6%.

Other challenges may be added to keep the month of August more interesting. If this happens, I’ll keep everyone updated on this page, as well as other fundraising, training and race preparations.

For those concerned about donating through the page, rest assured donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity. If you wish to make an offline, personal donation I will certainly accept your support.

No matter how little or large you wish to donate, the Foyle Hospice and I would like to thank you for your support.