Cork man to take on mammoth 5,200km run for CUH paediatrics unit

Cork man Liam O’Flynn will shortly begin a mammoth 5,200km run across Europe in aid of the paediatrics unit in Cork University Hospital (CUH).

The unit operates as a centralised hub for all emergency care and speciality services for children in the region.

Starting in Dortmund in Germany, his mother’s childhood home, Mr O’Flynn will be passing through the capital cities of 14 different countries on his journey.

During the challenge, Mr O’Flynn plans to cover a distance one ultra marathon a day, averaging between 50km and 75km daily. 

Hoping to complete the challenge in under 100 days, he will be concluding his fundraiser in Togher, at the homeplace of his grandmother and father’s childhood home.

Mr O’Flynn told  The Echo that taking this particular type of challenge has been on his mind for about two years.

“I was going to do this challenge without a charity. But as time went on, I was realising that it was too big of a project not to fundraise for some one.

“The CUH is a good local one and the paediatrics couldn’t be a better choice.

“Thankfully, I don’t have a personal connection to there. But I have friends and family who in the past would have had a child in there, even temporarily.”

Although the challenge ahead of him is a big undertaking, Mr O’Flynn said thoughts of doing it for such a worthy CUH cause will motivate him during the tough times on his journey.

Anyone interested in donating towards Liam O’Flynn’s fundraiser for the paediatrics unit in CUH can do so by searching for “liamoflynn” on https://www.idonate.ie.