Breffni Challenge a great success

With over 800 participants, taking part, the 2023 Breffni 3 Province Challenge was a great success according to race organiser Philip Brady.

“We had people coming from all over Ireland to take part. Around 130 did 100km cycle, 60 did the 30km cycle, and the remaining 600 runners did the 5, 10, and 20 km runs. It was great to get those numbers on a bank holiday weekend.”

Philip paid tribute to the countless locals who helped ensure the event could go ahead.

“We were blessed with the weather, it was wet for weeks beforehand. There was even a bit of rain in the morning, but we could see clearances coming in the skies so we were optimistic. On the day people came to me and said the Gowna road was flooded, but local volunteers went out and released water in pockets where streams had overflowed onto the road. People also made thousands of sandwiches, stood as stewards and were a great help. I’d also like to thank Donnellys Butchers who donated burgers on the day.”

While the final amount of money raised for the three charities- three cancer charities - The Friends of St Luke’s Dublin, National Breast Cancer Research Institute (NBCRI) Galway and Cavan/Monaghan Cancer Homecare Association is still unknown, Philip says he expects a healthy sum.

“We don’t have our final tally yet, but last year similar numbers did it and we raised over €25,000, so we’re hoping for at least this much, if not more.”