Thanking You

Thanking You!

There is no way way I could have gone to the MDS without some kind of support network and there are so many people who help you along the way. I owe a lot of people a thank you, so here goes (in no particular order):

My biggest thanks are for my wife Yvonne, who was often denied a sleep-in on the weekends when she would look after our daughter Kate while I was out running. She also did this whilst I was in Morocco and still managed to find the time to email me everyday. Without her, the MDS would not have been possible.

To my Tent140 family (Anj, Sian, Ian, Rich, Alex and Patrick), thank you all for making the MDS what it was. Having a tent with a good atmosphere (as I'm sure the vast majority had) was fantastic and the fact that we all got on really well made it a great experience. I look forward to future '7 out, 7 in' reunions.

To the Irish contingent, especially Ann Marie, Eoin, Paul and Patrick, with whom I shared a great experience, it's been a pleasure. Getting to know the group before we left was a massive advantage and while an Eire Tent did not become a reality, we had a fantastic time. Go raibh maith agaibh!

Daniel Lewis, you are a true gentleman. Thank you for the many hours we spent battling our way through the desert together - we made a good team. It was great to find a like minded person to cover the miles with and we shared some memorable times and some funny ones too (Child of Prague = Alf!).

To my own family, Mum, my sisters and my brother, who were very supportive always, thank you.

A big thank you to my brother Richard who gave me the opportunity to write about my experiences for the Sunday Times. I am now a freelance journalist it appears!

To Niall O' Crualaoich, who first set me on the road to the MDS by telling me it was possible. His advice, experience and help made a huge difference in my preparations both in physical training and mental preparation. He even loaned me a sleeping bag and thermarest! Cheers Niall. 

I greatly appreciate the excellent work done by Sarah and Sinead in Performance Physiotherapy in Cork in getting me to the MDS. Sarah was always realistic about recovery times from my Achilles injury and never gave me false hope. I knew exactly where I stood in terms of what I could and couldn't do when it came to training and racing. The advice and support I received from both of them was invaluable. Thank you.  

To Ronan O'Donnell, who I initially met by chance at the Art O'Neill Challenge and was a gold mine of information. I wish I had taken his advice on the breakfasts!

To everyone who emailed while we were in the desert (some surprising ones too), you have no idea how much your messages lifted spirits after traipsing around the desert on each stage. Thank you.

To my sister-in-law and her family, thanks for the roof over my head on my way to and from Morocco and my parents-in-law for their support at home.

To Dr. Muireann Ni Chroinin, for her last minute help with blood testing! Life saver (literally!).

My employers were kind enough to let me juggle my hours to give myself a little extra training time during the day. Much appreciated!

To Steve and Sarah at running the Sahara UK, you were always a pleasure to deal with.

All of the medical staff, volunteers and organisers who make the MDS what it is, thank you. 

Finally and in many ways most importantly, doing an event like the MDS gives you the opportunity to give back. What you gain from the experience you give back in the form of supporting a charity. I was proud to run for Temple Street Children's Hospital and with all of the generous donations I received, we came in just shy of €2,500, which is fantastic. I can't thank the people who donated enough, your generosity completely overwhelmed me, especially donations from people I had not spoken to in years. Your support is really appreciated. Thank you so much.  

I am sure I have left some people out who have helped me along the way. If I did, I apologise, but you will know that your help will have been appreciated.