Monkstown Spartans backing Newtownabbey club's Special Olympics honour with fundraising challenge
Monkstown Spartans are getting behind Newtownabbey Racers Special Olympics Club members selected for the prestigious Summer Games in Dublin.
Newtownabbey Racers is a volunteer-led athletics club based at Valley Leisure Centre, supporting athletes with intellectual disabilities. Six of its athletes have been selected to represent Ulster at the Special Olympics Ireland Summer Games.
And they will be travelling south with support from Monkstown Spartans. On Saturday, May 23, over 50 members of the athletics club will take on a challenge which will see them running 5k every hour for 24 hours for a total of 120km (75 miles).
They will be rotating over three routes from Loughshore to Hazelbank, Hazelbank to Nortel and Nortel to Loughshore.
Link to the JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/monkstownspartans?utm_medium=CF&utm_source=CL
Rodney Farrelly, from Monkstown Spartans, said: “Each year since 2020 the club has undertaken an ultra running challenge to raise money for a local charity.
"Over the past five years these challenges have included running 24 Parkruns in 24 hours, a 4x4x48 event where individuals run four miles every four hours for 48 hours and a couple of 24 hour running challenges around the University of Ulster campus in Jordanstown where some members completed over 100 miles each.”
These events have raised over £25,000 for the following charities:
- 2021 - Aware
- 2022 - PiPS
- 2023 - Cancer Fund for Children
- 2024 - Hill Croft School
- 2025 - DKMS.
Newtownabbey Racers members Adam, Jack, Libby, Rachael, Ruby and Saorla will be representing Ulster this summer. Two volunteer coaches will accompany the athletes, providing full support and supervision throughout the Games.