An Armagh man is currently putting the finishing touches to his training ahead of a mammoth 107-mile ultramarathon from Belfast to Dublin on this Friday.
Stephen Campbell is among a field of 30-plus runners taking on the Atlas running event and he will be doing so in aid of two local charities – Firs Playgroup and 1st Armagh Scouts.
The running enthusiast (you’d have to be) has a target time in mind but remained tight-lipped on what that will be, however, he has officially 30 hours to complete the run!
Stephen told Armagh I that training has gone to plan and he’s “as ready as I’ll ever be” for the epic endurance feat.
“Injuries were my biggest fear; to get this length, putting all this training in and then picking up an injury would have been devastating, which is why I hadn’t gone public until two or three weeks ago. I was sort of confident that I had done all the big training runs and that the worst of it was over me.”
It will be Stephen’s first official attempt at the distance having signed up for the same event in 2020 only for COVID to curtail those plans.
“It was an itch I had to scratch,” he said.
Stephen did complete the same distance over 25 and a half hours in Loughgall Park in lieu of the main event, however, it was never an official attempt – something the 41-year-old will aim to right this time around.
The Belfast 2 Dublin Ultra on is 170km / 107 miles starting from the Europa Hotel in Belfast. The course takes the old bus route to Dublin, finishing at St James Gate.
Stephen is raising money for two great causes, first of which is The firs Play Group in Armagh, a cross community facility providing early years education and care to children in the Armagh area.
As a charity the playgroup relies on funding from the local community and government support for the day-to-day running costs.
The second is the 1st Armagh Scout Group who are a voluntary organisation which has been operating in the area for 92 years and currently has 196 members.
Stephen is a new leader this year and his son also attends.
It too relies on the local community, families and fundraisers to finance the group.
All funds received will help provide training for leaders, high quality programme for its youth members and the upkeep and maintenance of the scout den.
Nieve Latham, Firs Playgroup leader, commented: “This funding will allow the playgroup to continue to provide high-quality provision and improve the outcomes for families and children in the Armagh area.
To donate to Stephen’s fundraiser click here.
