Media members stepping out for charity

TWO members of the club’s media team are swapping their notepads and pens for the hills and beaches of the Causeway Coast as they embark on a marathon walk for charity this weekend…

Aaron O’Neill, who is from Coleraine, and Bushmills man Jonathan McNabb will walk from Larrybane Quarry in Ballycastle to Ulster University in Coleraine, totalling 26.2 miles.

The pair will take in Ballintoy, Dunseverick, Giant’s Causeway, Portrush and Portstewart on their journey, with the event originally being organised by Macmillan Cancer.

However, unfortunately due to COVID-19, the walk had to be officially cancelled due to staff coming over from England having to self-isolate for ten days.

Despite this setback, the pair will still walk the proposed route on Saturday (June 26) as they have been training since confirming their registration back in January.

“We still plan on walking the 26.2 miles as we have been training for it and we have raised a lot of money,” Jonathan said.

“It is a shame the actual event can’t take place as there would have been a good atmosphere and everyone would have cheered each other on.

“However, we have made plans to walk the exact same route on June 26 and we have read on social media that others will as well, which is great to see.

“We booked to do the event back in January when we were in lockdown to give us something to look forward too.

“I would gym five days a week and Aaron is a keen cyclist so we are active on our feet and we have walked across the triangle a few times which is 13 miles, but we have plans to up our steps in the next few weeks.

“It will be surreal to walk past my house in Dunseverick as its part of the route and we are just praying for good weather!”

The pair have raised over £1700 to date and hope to add another £300 to their tally by the time they finish.

“To be honest, we haven’t over publicised the walk as people are struggling financially due to COVID and everything else,” Aaron added.

“That being said, we have raised over £1700 and we would like to thank everyone who has donated so far as it is going to such a worthy cause.

“Macmillan gave us an initial target of raising £250 each but we had eclipsed that amount by the first day.

“We have set a target of £2000 and we are nearly there and it would be great to give something back to charity as they have struggled to fundraise due to COVID-19.

“We would like to thank Coleraine Football Club for donating us a signed shirt which raised £500 and the competition we held proved to be extremely popular.

“The both of us have lost friends and family members to cancer so we know how much this donation can help others in need.”

So what are the plans after pair finish the marathon walk?

“A few cold beer will definitely be in the offing,” Jonathan concluded.

“I think we will be ready for that and a nice meal.”

Aaron added: “It is the first time that either of us has fundraised so we are looking forward to it.

“I would say we will have a few sore legs and feet the next day but that’s all part of the fun!

“If anyone sees us out on the roads this Saturday please feel free to give us some encouragement.”

You can donate to their fundraising page HERE