Hennessy's Antarctic Charity Challenge
The Nenagh Eire Og 5k which was held once more last Sunday has turned into a very popular annual event, not only for competitive and social athletes, but also as a means of the club giving back to the community.
This year, funds raised from the event, organised by the clubs Healthy Clubs team, went towards the Running for Josie Project, which will see former Tipperary senior hurler Seamus Hennessy take part in the Antarctic Ice Marathon later this year.
Hennessy, lost his mother Josie to suicide in February 2000 when he was just ten years of age. At a time when support services for suicide are not what they are now, Seamus (thanks to his father Seamus senior) was sent to a child-specific, group counselling course, helping equip him with many of the tools to deal with his grief.
Now he is getting ready to undertake this epic challenge to raise €200,000 for suicide charities Pieta House and Tipperary Living Links, to help them provide further supports in the area of suicide prevention.
So, on 13th December next, Seamus Hennessy will jet off to take part in the fourteenth Antarctic Ice Marathon which will take place at 80 Degrees South, just a few hundred miles from the South Pole at the foot of the Ellsworth Mountains.
This 43km run presents a truly formidable and genuine challenge with underfoot conditions comprising snow and ice throughout, an average windchill temperature of -20C, and the possibility of strong Katabatic winds to contend with. Furthermore, the event takes place at an altitude of 700 metres.
It is a challenge that only the mentally strong can take on and no better man than Seamus Hennesssy to do so, having also seen his own inter-county career cut short by injury after winning All Ireland Senior, Under 21 and Minor medals with Tipperary in his career. However, he still plays with great distinction with his club, Kilruane MacDonaghs.
As part of his build up to the race, Seamus Hennessy will be writing a monthly diary of his training preparations for such an extreme challenge, the first of which will be in next weeks Nenagh Guardian.
So far, the Running for Josie Project has raised over €20,000 and if you wish to donate, you can do so online by logging onto the website: runningforjosie.com.