On July 20th runners from all over the country, and around the world, will descend on Killarney for the annual Gleneagle Run Killarney 10k and half-marathon.
As part of this year’s event, organisers have teamed up with the Sanctuary Runners to help raise awareness of their mission and to collect donations of running gear from the public and those taking part in the race.
The Sanctuary Runners were set up by Graham Clifford in 2018. Their aim is to enable local runners to run alongside, and in solidarity with, those in Direct Provision thereby fostering friendship, positivity and respect while bringing greater awareness to the system in which asylum seekers live.
A group of the Sanctuary Runners took part in Run Killarney in 2018 and following on from their positive experience the two have teamed up again. This year the Run Killarney organisers are appealing to the public and those who are taking part to donate any unused or barely worn running gear so more people in direct provision can access running gear to help them get out in their local vicinity with members of the local community.
Graham Clifford said, “We set up the Sanctuary Runners to help bring two communities together, those who are living in direct provision and those who live in the communities around them. It’s all about integration and fostering mutual respect. We’ve had a wonderful response since we set up and a new branch is just beginning in Killarney town, we hope to have our first run as part of the weekly Park Run very soon.
“We are delighted to work with the team at Run Killarney to collect running gear that may otherwise never get used – and to give it a good home. We are very much looking forward to taking part in this beautiful run again in July with a group of the Sanctuary Runners.”
Oliver Kirwan said, “Most runners will have a pair of shoes they bought too quickly or a running top that’s just a little too small and rather than throwing these out or leaving them gathering dust in their wardrobe we’re encouraging them to donate them to the Sanctuary Runners. We’ll look after sorting them and distributing them, all donors have to do is drop off their unwanted gear at registration for Run Killarney in the Gleneagle Hotel on Friday 19th July. We’ll also have a collection point in our offices in the run up to the event. We’re looking forward to welcoming more than 2500 runners to Run Killarney this year and we’re sure the event will be bigger and better than ever.”
Run Killarney caters for all running abilities and is open to everyone including walkers, newcomers and people who just want a challenge and a great day out. The routes give competitors the chance to run one of the world’s most breathtaking and scenic road races through Muckross House and the Killarney National Park.
If you want to know more about getting involved with the Sanctuary Runners you can email info@sanctuaryrunners.ie. For further information and registration details for Run Killarney visit www.runkillarney.com
