Sign up for Tour de Picnic and follow the King of Chemo around Ireland
If you haven’t signed up for Tour de Picnic yet and you’re looking for that little nudge to start your fundraising as you make your way from Tipperary to Stradbally, this is it.
Electric Picnic’s annual charity 17km run or 80km cycle might seem like a big distance if you haven’t done it before but Iain Ward aka The King of Chemo is planning to cycle 52km or run 21 km every day for 31 days as he travels around Ireland. Today Iain will be cycling in Galway starting at Spanish Arch so make sure to keep an eye out for him when he visits Tipperary - the full schedule is below.
Iain is no stranger to sporting charity endeavours as he has been on a mission to raise funds since he was diagnosed with terminal brain cancer in 2019. An MRI on his brain as part of a medical trail detected what was supposedly a harmless tumour, however a later scan indicated the tumour was in fact growing. Iain underwent surgery two weeks after his 31st birthday and it was confirmed that he had Stage Three brain cancer which comes with an average life expectancy of five years.
Iain decided he wanted to put his time to good use and achieve something worthwhile; he has recently returned to Ireland having completed a charity cycle from America’s east to west coast, and while his ultimate goal is to break a record raising the most amount of money for running a marathon, his next challenge will see him spending the month of August cycling and running around Ireland, encouraging people to sign up for this year’s Tour de Picnic. If he can do it, you can too!
As he runs from county to county you can follow his journey on his Instagram ‘The King of Chemo’ and you can donate here https://www.gofundme.com/f/Ultra-Marathon-World-Tour
Iain will be at the starting line of Tour de Picnic in Tallaght Stadium on 1st September as he cycles the 80kms to the Picnic and if you fancy joining him now is your chance to help Iain raise money for some very worthy Irish charities, plus nabbing yourself a golden ticket to the festival of the summer, head to https://www.tourdepicnic.ie/ to sign up now! Registration is open until 18th August!
Funds raised by Tour De Picnickers and Iain will go towards three worthy charities this year: Jack and Jill, Children’s Health Foundation and Childline by ISPCC.
Departing from Tallaght Stadium on Friday 1st September, the cyclists will head for the Blessington Greenway to meander through some of Ireland’s biggest dairy farms and the picturesque village of Brannockstown. They’ll then make their way along the Barrow Blueway before reaching Stradbally, where headliners Billie Eilish, Niall Horan, Fred again, and The Killers are among the acts set to perform across the sold-out festival weekend!
The King of Chemo Iain Ward said: “I’m no stranger to Tour de Picnic as I cycled to Stradbally for the first two Tour de Picnics! It’s all in aid of some great charities too so the journey really starts with the fundraising – so throw yourself into it, click the sign-up button on tourdepicnic.ie, set up a fundraising profile and share it on social media so people can help support you and the challenge you’ve set yourself! And don’t worry, the cycle and run is a one way trip. Everyone gets a bus back, so don’t feel you need to behave yourself on the Sunday.”
Participants are required to raise €450 (including registration) for the Tour De Picnic charities to take part in this exhilarating fundraising and fitness challenge, with their weekend pass to Ireland’s most popular music festival waiting for them at the finish line. There’s a student option available to raise €400, proof of student ID is required.
And if you are looking to get your work colleagues or employees involved in a fun charity activity, TDP also have some great corporate packages available with the bonus of an EP ticket, please do get in touch with us at [email protected].
FULL SCHEDULE
August 1st Clare Run Cliffs of Moher
August 2nd Galway Cycle Spanish Arch
August 3rd Tipperary Run Rock of Cashel
August 4th Carlow Cycle
August 5th Kildare Run Maynooth Castle
August 6th Wexford Cycle Hook Lighthouse
August 7th Longford Run The Corlea Trackway
August 8th Leitrim Run Glencar Waterfall
August 9th Roscommon Cycle
August 10th Sligo Run Classiebawn Castle
August 11th Mayo Cycle Croagh Patrick
August 12th Antrim Run Navan Fort
August 13th Waterford Cycle Ballysaggartmore Towers
August 14th Armagh Run Giant's Causeway
August 15th Monaghan Cycle
August 16th Cavan Run
August 17th Kilkenny Cycle Kilkenny Castle
August 18th Kerry Run Dunquin Pier
August 19th Limerick Cycle King John’s Castle
August 20th Cork Run Mizen Head
August 21st Wicklow Cycle
August 22nd Tyrone Run
August 23rd Fermanagh Cycle The Marble Arch Caves
August 24th Donegal Run Grianán of Aileach
August 25th Derry Cycle Mussenden Temple
August 26th Down Run Scrabo Tower
August 27th Dublin Cycle The General Post Office (GPO)
August 28th Louth Run Monasterboice
August 29th Offaly Cycle Birr Castle Gardens and Science Centre
August 30th Westmeath Run Athlone Castle
August 31st Meath Cycle Newgrange passage tomb
September 1st Laois Electric Picnic Run/Cycle EP Finish Line