Nine marathons in nine days for Buncrana's Julie Galbraith
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Rory’s Miles to Mayo challenge, which will raise funds for the Cancer Fund for Children, begins in Derry this Saturday and ends in Cong, County Mayo, on 20 September
For someone who only got into exercise in a serious way over the past 12 months, Julie Galbraith is taking on a fairly substantial challenge.
The Buncrana woman, chief business officer and general counsel at insurance broker Arachas, will join a group of 22 people who will walk nine marathons in nine days in aid of Cancer Fund for Children.
The Rory’s Miles to Mayo challenge begins in Derry this Saturday, 12 September, and covers more than 235 miles, with further legs in Belfast, Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, Cork, Limerick and Galway before finishing in the south Mayo village of Cong on Sunday, 20 September.
For Julie, the challenge is linked to her work with Arachas, which has supported Cancer Fund for Children for a number of years. Former Ireland international rugby captain Rory Best, who created the Miles to Mayo challenges, works for Arachas’ parent company, Ardonagh.
Cancer Fund for Children provides emotional, social and therapeutic support to children and young people affected by cancer and their families, both in hospital and at home and through Daisy Lodge in County Down, and is currently developing a second centre on the shores of Lough Corrib near Cong in County Mayo.
“We were blown away by the work that they were doing, and the support that they are giving to families and young people affected by cancer,” Julie recalled of a visit to the Newcastle centre.
“Daisy Lodge really supports the whole family. It's a really beautiful facility in a great setting with gorgeous views over the Mourne Mountains.
“There just isn't enough room in Newcastle to accommodate every family that needs to use it, so the aim is to build another centre in Cong in Mayo. They're a good way through with that, and this walk will really just give the final push to get Daisy Lodge in Mayo built.
“Last year, they climbed 26 mountains - so part of me is thankful this is flat!”
Last year, Best’s 26 Mountains to Mayo challenge raised more than €1.8 million for the charity.
The first day of her marathon journey will be particularly local for Julie, with the route starting at Ebrington Square in Derry before crossing the Peace Bridge, taking in the city walls and continuing towards Ballykelly and the Kingsbridge Clinic, which is also a sponsor.
Her daughters, Nora, aged 10, and Ailbhe, seven, will walk part of the Derry leg with their granny Mary and granda Liam.
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Julie’s friend Jennifer Doherty will also take part in the first day. An experienced climber and adventurer who has climbed everywhere from Sliabh Sneacht to the Himalayas, Jennifer has been helping Julie with some of the practicalities of her her 235 mile-trek.
“She's brilliant at this kind of thing – a real seasoned adventurer. So she's been keeping me right on the gear to wear, the proper waterproofs and the right socks.”
The physical preparation has been squeezed around a full-time job and family life.
Julie previously worked in a Dublin law firm, where long hours left little time for such pursuits, but with this Miles to Mayo challenge on the horizon she completed a ‘Couch to 5K’ and completed her first 5k in the summer.
“I never ran in my life, but then I did a couch to 5k and completed my first ever 5k in May,” she said. “My training for Miles isn't walking - who has 5 or 6 hours to walk when you've a full time job and two daughters - it's more putting in a 5k or 10k run every couple of days.”
There have also been group walks in Wicklow, including a 30km walk on a Saturday followed by 15km the next day.
“It was good to get together and do that before we end up walking and then stuck on a bus together for 11 days.”
On the days when she is not running, Julie has been keeping active, racking up her daily steps and doing Pilates, with the focus as much on staying injury-free as building fitness.
“On days I'm not running, I make sure to get my 10,000 steps in, and do a bit of Pilates to keep my hips and knees in shape. They tell me those will get really sore from all the walking.”
A colleague sent her a big tube of Uddermint cow cream to help her soothe aching muscles after a day pounding tarmac and concrete.
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The 22-strong core group will be joined by different people on each leg of the journey. Around 20 business leaders are taking part, while sporting figures will also join along the way.
Michael Murphy is expected to take part in the opening leg in Derry, rugby players will join the Belfast and Dublin sections, and there are hopes that some Mayo footballers will be involved on the final day into Cong.
“It’s great there's new people coming in every day, to give us moral support but also someone to talk to when we run out of things to talk about with the core group,” Julie laughed.
The nine days will an endurance test, but the purpose is straightforward: to raise money for Cancer Fund for Children and help fund its support for families dealing with childhood cancer.
The challenge is the third and final chapter of Rory’s Miles to Mayo, with the new Daisy Lodge in Mayo providing the focus for this year’s fundraising.
And for Julie, it begins close to home shortly after 7.30am this Saturday morning, with family and friends among those seeing her off from Ebrington Square in Derry.