200km of hope for Pieta House

By Anna Powell

‘I WANTED to be able to show people that they can get through anything, that they can get through the pain, that they can get through the struggle, that they can do really hard things no matter what,” expressed Nenagh’s Oliwia Imbiorowska, who recently completed the immense challenge of running 200km in three days to raise funds for Pieta House.

“The run itself was really tough,” reflected Oliwia on the experience.

“It felt insane to be honest. My family and friends were waiting where I started. I felt so blessed, so grateful for every single one of them and I felt so loved. I felt such as sense of fullness in my heart and so proud of myself for being able to complete it,” reflected Oliwia on how she felt arriving back in Nenagh after completing her 200km challenge.

“It felt so surreal,” she said. “I’m still finding it hard to comprehend it now. I didn’t think at stages that I was going to be able to complete it, so I’m feeling so happy.”

Funds raised for Pieta House

“I wanted it to spark conversations in and around mental health,” expressed Oliwia, highlighting how she also wanted to raise awareness of mental health services with her challenge while also supporting it through her fundraising efforts.

“We are over €1800..and there are still donations coming through,” she said highlighting how her fundraiser was called ‘One more step, 200km of hope for Pieta House, which can still be found on idonate.

“It’s incredible because I know all that money is going to go towards being able to provide counselling for those who need it, being able to answer critical calls as well when somebody is feeling distressed.

“For every €12, a call is answered to someone who is distressed. That could be anyone, that could be someone’s brother, sister, auntie…you never know who is struggling,” she said, reacting to the money that she was able to raise through her challenge.

“These organisations save so many lives,” she said about Pieta House.

Training for the challenge

With a background in fitness, Oliwia, who works as a personal trainer and online coach, has previously challenged herself by competing in bodybuilding shows. However, this was her first challenge of this nature which focused on her endurance.

“I properly trained for 12-16 weeks before the challenge. The last two to three weeks didn’t go to plan,” explained Oliwia, sharing how she had been unwell during that period.

“No run was ever more than 20km. I just knew I had to build up endurance in my legs,” she said. “For something like [this challenge], you can build up your fitness to a certain level, but I feel when you go to a distance like that, you are building up your mindset that little bit more to stay going when it hurts,” she reflected.

Lead up to the challenge

“I had three days to complete [the challenge]. I did it in two and a half,” shared Oliwia. “I started at 8am Friday morning and I finished Sunday at 7pm,”

“I was feeling really excited…the night before the nerves did start to finally kick in and I was really nervous. I was doubtful of myself,” she shared. “But I knew I had put in a lot of work, I knew that I was headstrong, and I knew I was doing it for an amazing cause and that’s what I kept bringing myself back to when times were hard,” she shared.

Running 200km

On Friday morning Oliwia set off on her run.

“The first day was pretty ok. It was raining, it was miserable. The wind was up against me, but it was the first day. I had a lot of energy that day,” she said, highlighting how she found the end of the first day the toughest. “I was suffering but I knew it was ok.”

Although Oliwia’s legs were tired on the second day, her support team got her through it.

“After I woke up, my legs weren’t really cooperating with me,” she recalled, pointing out how she had travelled 80km on the first day. “After my first 15-20km, my parents joined my… it really help move me forward,” she said, highlighting how her partner who was supporting her throughout the challenge also ran with her for a few km that day as well.

Oliwia resumed her run at 5am on Sunday morning.

“I didn’t do as much as I wanted [on the second day], so I had a few more KM to catch up on [Sunday],” she said. “My legs were in so much pain, I couldn’t sleep again,” she said, pointing out that she also struggled to sleep on Saturday night.

“The morning was one of the hardest mornings, or maybe the single hardest experience that I have every encountered in my life,” she reflected honestly about her start on Sunday morning. “I was hurting. I was hurting so so bad.”

However, an encounter with two individuals made all the difference to Oliwia’s experience while running.

“Two lads drove past me in a van, they knew who I was. I was so in my own world at that stage…[their] words of encouragement did more for me than any painkiller did.

“It’s the same thing as when someone is walking downtown and they might be getting intrusive thoughts or feeling very very low and a stranger smiles at them. That might be the thing that shifts their day or shifts the choices that they are making,” she said, highlighting how this interaction helped her to continue running to her next stop.

“I didn’t stop, I didn’t stop until I got to Roscrea,” she said

Oliwia ran 80km on her first day of running, 60km on her seconds day and 60km on her final day of running.

Support throughout the challenge

Oliwia was greeted by her friends and family in Nenagh after she completed her 200km challenge.

Oliwia would like to thank people for their ‘lovely and kind words of support’ and to those who supported her on her challenge and by donating to her fundraising efforts.

“Every single one of those people has made this such a beautiful experience,” she said.