Twenty-Eight Mile, The Mysterious Castlefin and the longing for a bag of chips!

You know when I agreed to Fergal’s proposal to be a guest walker on the REDHEAD 300 Derry to Crosshaven charity walk , I thought I had plenty time to get ready. Sure August 5th was a few months away.

Donal Dunn, a coach with Foyle Valley AC, agreed to help me prepare.

Yet I never seemed to have that much time to train. I did the two bridges once. I did a great walk out the line, on to Killea and back in through Creggan. I managed a few short stints up and down from Sainsburys. Not much more. Donal kept positive. That’s what coaches do, don’t they? Sometimes he lagged behind me, walking. I’m longer-legged. I called him a slow coach. Donal’s not so slow!

Come August 5th, I was not confident that I could keep going all the way from Derry to Ballybofey. I asked Fergal ” If it gets too much, can I dive into the support car?” Fergal re-assured me “ Just do what you can. Don’t kill yourself. Raise as much as you can for the Irish Cancer Society.”

For Friday night August 4th Fergal had planned an ” inspirational evening” at Holywell Trust inviting the Derry public to come along to hear Galway woman, Shirley McEntee, speak. Shirley has survived seven cancers. Ena, the regional organiser for the Irish Cancer Society, also came along to talk about her encounter with breast cancer. The evening served as a very human way for us walkers to get to know each other a little, warming us up for the task ahead..

On Saturday morning, deputy mayor John Boyle was more than welcoming in the Mayor ‘s parlour. We lined up for the photo-call. Somebody remarked how wonderfully my grey beard went with my bright red wig. I remarked how wonderful it was to have a full head of hair after all these years!

Then off we set, Fergal full of craic, Shirley determined, Aine supportive and kind, me more than tentative…28 miles..??

Our pace setting off was just right. “ It’s a marathon not a sprint.” Fergal reminded us. Fergal maintained his breezy manner all the way to Ballybofey. At times Shirley and Aine and myself needed a rest, a sit down. Fergal was cheerily resolute throughout. Our first major stop came at Lifford. I comforted myself there with the thought that reaching Lifford meant that we had 14 miles completed, the thought of 14 more was daunting. Fergal and Aine had prepared a basket packed with goodies- sandwiches, fruit, flasks of tea, chocolate, health food bars. I gorged myself. And longed for chips.

Ena rejoined us on the road out from Lifford. The support car driven sometimes by Shirley, sometimes by Aine whizzed up and down and as we tramped in single file along narrow windy roads, red-wigged, horns hooting, I sometimes focused on the heels of the walker in front to ward off weariness, sometimes I would ask my fellow walkers about their encounters with cancer, sometimes we laughed and joked, sometimes my hips ached, sometimes we met up with folk who, put to it bluntly, questioned our sanity. Ena chatted amiably about her adventures on the camino. Aine spoke about holistic cooking. Shirley chatted about her life- saving work as a paramedic in Limerick, about the “ living wake” her good great friends Cathy and Linda organized for her when she was very poorly. Whenever we came to another village or town, shamelessly we posed for photographs, all to go up on facebook, promoting the walk, but most of all promoting the “ cause” – after all, it was all about raising funds for the Irish Cancer Society. So you’ll see us on facebook at signage announcing : Magheramason, Bready, Ballymagorry, Strabane, Lifford, Castlefinn-I thought it was never coming, Killygordon and finally under the bright lights of Stranorlar and indeed it was getting for nightfall when we arrived at Kee’s Hotel. The manager and staff there greeted us warmly. And fed and watered us. Ena then so kindly dropped me back to Derry.

Fergal, Shirley and Aine got their heads down to prepare for day 2, Ballybofey to Donegal Town. Cork and Crosshaven is a long way off. Bless them!!