Friends of Derry dad run 100,000 steps to fundraise for daughter with rare cancer

Three friends of a father from Derry have run 100,000 steps each in an attempt to raise funds for his daughter with a rare childhood cancer.

Gareth McGonagle, Phelim McCarron, and Noel Smith started the run on October 25th during last week’s storm, completing the challenge in less than 24 hours.

Gareth and Noel do the 100,000 steps in 24 hours every year for a charity of their choice, and have done so for about five years.

The idea was developed by Noel, who brought 10 personal trainers together to run 1 million steps between them.

Instead of choosing a charity this year, the three friends undertook the challenge as part of an effort to raise funds for Saídie Gallagher's parents.

Three-year-old “warrior” Saídie was diagnosed with germ cell cancer and has been receiving chemotherapy as treatment.

On Thursday, October 22, she underwent surgery.

“It's something no parent or child should be going through, especially a three-year-old...The steps were coming up, so I decided this is what we're going to do, just for some respite and some help for the family,” Gareth explained.

He hopes that Saídie’s parents, Cormac Carlin and Sarah Gallagher, can use the money to find a sense of ease in a chaotic and difficult time.

Gareth said compared to past events, this was “by far the worst.”

“It was horrendous,” he said.

Both Gareth and Noel are personal trainers, so they used one of the gyms they work in as a base.

“We'd go out on a big loop, walk maybe 25,000 steps, loop back, have a quick bite to eat and then go again,” Gareth said.

Noel started at 4am, and Gareth at 5am, with the 100,000 steps completed by 11:15pm on Sunday.

Both promoted it online, asking for donations to a JustGiving page that was set up by Gareth.

It has a goal of £1,500, with over £3,000 raised already.

“If we can take some stress and strain away by giving them some financial support, then it's the very least we can do... There's enough on their plate to worry about rather than having to worry about anything financial. If it helps them in any way, then we’re more than happy to do it,” Gareth said.

Cormac still works to provide for his family, but it’s hoped the fundraiser can allow him to take some time off and be with his loved ones.

Saídie still attends her nursery school and acts as a “typical three-year-old, smiling and happy.”

“She knows nothing else because she's so young. I guess it's her life and she just seems to be happy and dealing with it, which makes it even more heartbreaking,” Gareth said.

The JustGiving page will remain open for another week, in case people want to continue to support the Carlin/Gallagher family.

If you would like to donate, you can do so here.