It has been a tough time for sports clubs recently but that hasn’t stopped Thomastown Athletic Club from moving forward with their fundraising plans.
A number of their members took part in a 24-hour sponsored run from Saturday morning until Sunday at 11am.
They ran a relay style race for the full day in compliance with all current government guidelines. Groups of two (or two families) ran for 30 minutes and were constantly followed by the next group.
There were three routes in place so that all restrictions were adhered to.
The run began as a small fundraiser to help the club buy new equipment but has developed into a complete club effort.
Support Thomastown AC’s 24hr sponsored run pic.twitter.com/6rp89jX6kJ
— Thomastown Athletic Club (@ThomastownAC) March 6, 2021
Michael O’Keeffe told KCLR’s Scoreline on Sunday the reasoning behind the structure of the run.
“We wanted to find a way to involve everyone in the club while also raising funds, so it was a team effort, and every single juvenile ran.
“We had 120 athletes from the club running in total, so it was a great success,” said O’Keeffe.
O’Keeffe explained that the three different routes enabled everyone in the club to be involved and it also allowed them to train and run as a team.
He said: “We had three routes so that we wouldn’t break the 5km zone and then the remainder of the night was in Thomastown. It was great for the kids to do a bit of training and then compete as a team.”
The avid runner said that the fundraiser was crucial in helping the club develop in the coming years.
“The fundraising is to help improve our track and field side of athletics because we need a better surface.
“The local business’ that sponsored us were crucial to us and I have to thank them because it’s a very difficult time for business’, but they have helped us no end.”
O’Keeffe remains optimistic that the club is in a position to cope with the financial constraints of Covid-19.
“It doesn’t cost athletics clubs too much to survive because it’s not an awfully expensive sport. We have cut our costs like any other club and we will be able to survive.”
Listen back to full interview below:
You can contribute on their GoFund me where theey have raised over €5000.