Johnny Donnelly

10 million strides, 2000 miles, Visit 43 countries On Friday February 22nd 2008, Roscommon native and marathon enthusiast, Johnny Donnelly (36), formerly of the Saw Doctors, will embark on one of the most extreme challenges to be undertaken by an Irishman when he completes 60 marathons back to back across the world. Starting with the Seville Marathon at the end of February 2008 and taking in Europe, Africa, the USA, South America, the Middle East, Antarctica and the Far East, Johnny will run around the world over the course of the next four years to raise funds for the Sea Change Foundation, an Irish charity established to raise funds and awareness for Microcredit Projects.

Now living in Galway, Johnny has been running marathons since he was 13 and to date has competed over 30, with the 6 completed in 2005 alone raising over €150,000 for various charities. In 2006, Johnny completed the ‘Hot Cold Challenge’ which saw him complete the Sahara Desert Marathon, the North Pole Marathon and the Cape Town Marathon. From February 2008 until December 2011, Johnny will make his way around the world to complete his latest challenge, running over 2000 miles in over 43 countries. As part of the challenge, Johnny will also complete the Marathon Des Sables in April 2011. Considered to be the toughest footrace on Earth, this event is a six day, 254 km ultramarathon in the Southern Moroccan desert with competitors running six stages while carrying all their supplies for the duration of the event along the way.

Through this latest undertaking, he is hoping to raise awareness for the Sea Change Foundation and the work it does. Established on 2006, the Sea Change Foundation is a new Irish charity that works with Microcredit organisations to tackle world poverty. Microcredit is ‘tiny loans’ targeting the worlds poorest, empowering them to lift themselves, with dignity, out of extreme poverty. Microcredit is having dramatic effects in moving families, communities and entire countries out of extreme poverty and received worldwide recognition when Muhammad Yunus was awarded the 2006 Nobel Peace prize for his pioneering work in the field of Microcredit. Sea Change is presently funding and working with microfinance partners in Haiti, Kenya, and Thailand and is raising funds to continue the important work carried out over the last number of years. Further information on the Sea Change Foundation is available at www.seachangefoundation.ie.

Johnny is working on raising a target of €250,000 through sponsorship which will see 6 Microcredit Banks opened in the poorest parts of the world. Each bank costs €35,000 to establish and directly affects over 3000 borrowers in the first two years. The bank will become fully sustainable and will go into profit after approximately 18 to 20 months. These loans allow the borrowers to create employment for themselves and thus educate families, provide accommodation and raise the standard of living in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Marathon lovers can also join Johnny in this challenge and details of how to join him or indeed support him are available at www.runjohnnyrun.ie or by calling 1800 938 016

During the course of his challenge Johnny will
• Take 10 million strides
• Complete 2000 miles
• Go through 154 pairs of runners
• Visit 43 countries

Run Johnny Run Marathons:
2008
FEB Seville Marathon-Spain
MARCH 2 Oceans Ultra 35 Mile Marathon-Cape Town South Africa
APRIL Turin-Italy
MAY Prague Marathon-CZE
JUNE Midnight Sun marathon-Norway
JULY 100 Miles ultra Marathon of Namib Desert-Africa
AUG Helsinki Marathon-Finland
SEPT Brussels Marathon-Belgium
OCT Amsterdam Marathon-Holland / Dublin City marathon-Ireland
NOV New York City Marathon-USA
DEC Lisbon Marathon-Portugal
2009
JAN Dubai Marathon-Dubai
FEB Philippines Marathon-Pasig River, Philippines
MARCH 5 Towers Marathon-Denmark
APRIL 2 Oceans Ultra 35 Mile Marathon-Cape Town, South Africa / London Marathon-UK
MAY Inca Trail 27.5 mile Marathon-South America
JUNE Edinburgh Marathon-Scotland
JULY Swiss Alpine Ultra Marathon 78.8KM-Switzerland
AUG Reykjavik Marathon-Iceland
SEPT Budapest Marathon-Hungary
OCT Dublin Marathon-Ireland
NOV Athens Marathon-Greece / New York City Marathon-USA
DEC Antarctica Ultra Marathon 100 km-Antarctica
2010
JAN Lahore Marathon-Pakistan
FEB Egyptian Marathon-Egypt
MARCH Kenya-Africa
APRIL 2 Oceans Ultra 35 Mile Marathon-Cape Town South Africa / London Marathon-UK
MAY Vienna Marathon-Austria
JUNE Comrades Ultra marathon 56miles – South Africa
JULY Gold Coast Marathon-Australia
AUG Victoria Marathon-Zimbabwe
SEPT Toronto Waterfront Marathon-Canada
OCT Venice Marathon-Italy / Dublin City marathon-Ireland
NOV Himalayan Ultra Marathon, India 100 Miles / New York City Marathon-USA
DEC Marathon PowerAde Monterrey-Mexico
2011
JAN Tiberias Marathon-Israel
FEB Tokyo Marathon-Japan
MARCH Marseille Marathon-France
APRIL 2 Oceans Ultra 35 Mile Marathon-Cape Town South Africa / London Marathon-UK / Marathon Del Sables 151 miles-Sahara Desert
MAY Great Wall Marathon-China
JUNE Stockholm Marathon-Sweden
JULY Tallinn Marathon-Estonia
AUG Rio Marathon-Brazil
SEPT Moscow Marathon-Russia
OCT Poznan Marathon-Poland / Dublin City marathon-Ireland
NOV Bangkok Marathon-Thailand / New York City Marathon-USA
DEC Reggae Marathon-Jamaica
Please note that Johnny will also be doing the Connemara Marathon-Ireland, The Gobi March Ultra Marathon (250km)-China and the Berlin Marathon-Germany. The dates for these marathons will be announced soon………

Elisabeth Fitzpatrick
Providence PR Ltd.
19 Pembroke Road
Dublin 2
Tel: +353-1-2390744
Fax: +353-1-2390744
Mobile: +353-86-6092571
Email: [email protected]