A Waterford homeless service will benefit from a fundraiser. Brian Foley will run the Mount Blanc Marathon in France, in aid of The Helping Hand in the city.
All funds raised will go towards the service, with Brian financing the cost of the trip himself. Brian spoke to WLR News ahead of the marathon this June.
"After answering an appeal sent out by the Helping Hand last year looking for food supplies, I visited them. Seeing the work that Vivienne Burns and all the volunteers do, I decided to do something myself to help them.
"Every single cent raised will go towards the Helping Hand. I am also expensing the trip myself.
The Ultra Trail du Mont Blanc (UTMB) is one of the world's best-known endurance running events, taking place each August. It is the centerpiece of a week-long event named after it, the UTMB World Series Finals. Based in Chamonix, France, it sees almost 10,000 runners compete in seven different races.
Brian continued, "I said to myself I wouldn't do it again, as the last time I did it it was a challenge, but myself and Vivienne spoke and I said why not?
"We were invited to Walsh Park where Davy Fitzgerald wanted to wish me luck running the Mount Blanc Marathon in Aid of the Helping Hand.
"I have to thank Davy again for taking time out of his busy schedule to meet us, he is an absolute gentleman. All I can do for now is some long-distance running during the weekends, that would consist of 30-50KM runs in the Portlaw woods or the Comeraghs.
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