Inspirational Omagh woman completes 48-hour run for two charities

THE torrential rain fell, stomach aches caused discomfort, and soreness of the feet and back threatened – but nothing… NOTHING was going to stop Jill McCann from completing her intrepid and ambitious 48-hour run at the weekend for two fantastic charities.

What’s more than being a tremendous feat of fitness, endurance and mental strength is that the event, titled ‘T48’ was the first of its kind in Ireland, and it was organised by the Omagh woman herself, to help raise as much money as possible for ‘The Enda Dolan Foundation’ and ‘Autism NI’.

Taking place at Youth Sport Omagh on Friday evening through to Sunday, the knackering challenge saw Omagh’s Wonder Woman tirelessly run a brilliant 192 miles on a rain-soaked, cold track, over the course of 48 hours – but Jill told the UH that it was a weekend she will never, ever forget.

“It was most definitely an learning experience!” Jill laughed. “It was my first time organising my very own event, and to have to run for 48 hours felt like double the work!”

Describing the weather conditions on Saturday as ‘horrendous’, Jill said that it made the challenge even more difficult than it already was.

But, thankfully, she was not alone: Runners from across Omagh and well-beyond, including Limerick; Dublin; Cork; Dundalk; Belfast; Derry; Kerry; and even England, joined her on the enervating but excellent T48 adventure, and they encouraged her to never give up.

‘Will to carry on’

“The turn-out was amazing,” Jill said. “Saturday, in particular, saw a full track, with plenty of banter. I faced stomach issues and found the surface extremely sore on the feet and back over time, but the support gave me the will to carry on.

“Runner competitor, Christopher McCrory; Richard Shannon; Magdalena Wawryszuk; Iwona Ri; and Dermot McKeogh repeatedly joined me day-and-night, encouraging me to eat, drink, and keep going, while keeping me company. I’m a very lucky girl to have such good friends.”

And how are you feeling now, Jill?

“I’m definitely a tad delicate,” she joked. “I have muscle soreness EVERYWHERE.

T48 is definitely up there in being the toughest of challenges, but being able to raise money for The Enda Dolan Foundation and Autism NI made it all worthwhile.

“Recovery vodka-style is a must!”

Jill concluded by expressing her thanks to all sponsors of T48; and congratulated all runners for taking part, reaching their goals, and offering invaluable support.

She further bestowed special mentions to Sean Curneen, owner of Youth Sport Omagh, for kind use of the track; and to Paul Kelly; Shane Mullan; and Richard Duffy, who provided her with indespensible help with making the event possible.