Wecome to the Grad Soc Dublin Marathon 2009 Donations Page

Well we did it:  All 12 who started finished, a fantastic effort.  BDDF was first home in around 3 hours 25 mins

Thanks to all those who sponsored us, we raised over £7000 with the gift aid included, more than we could have imagined.

 

A qucik run down of all those who finished...

BDDF - What else can I say.  The king of the roads.

Patch and Goat - A sprint finish after 26.2 miles is quite an effort.  Goat just got faster and faster all race, probably unique amongst all 12,000 entrants. 

Fraggle - Booze on Saturday, hung over Sunday, jet lag, and a time of 3.46. Unreal

Simon and Col K - Banged out the miles all the way.  Questionable walking style by Col K on Monday night.  John Wayne meets Frankenstein's monster. 

Vader - Mr Consistency, you can tell he has a PhD in maths.  10 minute miles all the way and within 14 seconds of his predicted time (though the prediction was post-race)

Bagman - No training, falling to bits, but still did it in a great time.  Special mention from me for picking me up when I was feeling at my worse (16 miles).

Ead - Must be in the genes, made it look effortless.

Nathan - Stuck at it and never gave in.

Mr Scouse and Mrs MacScouse - Surely the best effort of the day.  How Mr S managed to 'take a pit-stop' at 20 miles and then stand up again and start running is a mystery to me. 

Sugar, Sens and Vicky - The support for me in the last 3 miles made me want to laugh, when all I really wanted to do was cry.

 

Thanks again to all of you for sponsoring us.

 

Why? - Back in early June it was suggested (by Goat) that we should honour our friend, Donagh Lynch (Kebab), by running this year's Dublin marathon.  We chose Dublin because Kebab was a Dublin lad.  We chose a marathon because Kebab had completed the Dublin marathon in 2008, and because none of us had done one before.  Finally, we chose to raise money for the Nepali Children's Trust because that was Kebab's charity last year and we thought it was a great way to honour his memory.   So far, so good.

Mid-September - Three and a half months later, and from a rigorous selection process and advanced training regime have emerged 16 (further injury permitting) highly tuned atheletes ready to take to the streets of Dublin.  We have had to overcome septicemia, cellulitis, Delhi belly, flu (regular flu and man-flu), tendonitis (achilles, knee and shoulder), nipple rub, chaffing, rain (?) and an unlimited number of strains and sprains.  Still, with about 5 weeks to go, the mileages are in the mid-teens, average weight is in the 80's (kilos) and we are on course. 

Colonel K is setting a blistering pace with a 20 mile run already.  Meawhile, BDDF has started to talk big and indicated a finishing time of sub-3.30.  Will Patch take up the challenge...?  Will Bagman and Sugar recover in time for Dublin...?  Will the light drizzle in Western Australia stop long enough to allow Goat to get in a training run....?  Will Scouse beat his wife round...?  Can Mrs Magic live up to her nickname....?  Will Fraggle be running with jet-lag....?  Is there enough vaseline in the whole of Derry to stop Vader's nipples from bleeding....?  Just what is fit-ball class.....? 

5th October - Only three weeks to go.  The miles are still stacking up, as are the niggles.  At this late stage talk has turned to race nutrition.  Everything from a breakfast of oysters and Lucozade sport to gel supplements whilst running have been discussed.  Almost everyone appears now to be fantasising about 'that' post-race pint of Guinness, which will probaby come back up much quicker than it goes down. The excitement is palpable.     

19th October - One week to go.  Fantastic; training is pretty much over!!!  This is an enormous relief.  We have one week to eat like pigs (and not feel in any way guilty), and one final challenge.  All those lonely miles, all those jobs left undone, all that beer left undrunk.  In 7 days time, and after a very few brief hours of pain and exhaustion it will all be worth it.  All that is left is to enjoy the excitement of the day. 

Please donate generously; it would mean a lot to all of us, and would help a great cause.

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 and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

So please dig deep and donate now.

Thank you,

Goat, Kebab's sister, Sugar, Pie, Patch, BDDF, Scouse, Mrs Scouse, Vader, Fraggle, Colonel K, Bagman, Mrs Magic + 3 of Goat's mates.