Friends, thank you for taking a look at my page. I've decided to sign up to participate in Gael Force West in order to raise funds for Bumbleance (http://www.bumbleance.com/), a child friendly ambulance service that provides stress-reducing journeys for children in state-of-the-art, safe and fun ambulance vehicles.

About Gael Force
Gael Force West is a 67km adventure race spanning Galway and Mayo on 16th August 2014. This race will consist of:

• 12km beach, trail and road  run
• Kayak from the southern shore of Killary Fjord to its northern shore
• 3.5 km bog and road run
• 33.5km cycle
• 4.5 km mountain run (up and down Croagh Patrick - yikes!)
• 12km cycle
• 800m sprint to the finish line

About Bumbleance

BUMBLEance is Ireland’s and the World’s first interactive ambulance service designed specifically for children.

This ambulance service which was launched in September 2013 by the Saoirse Foundation, a national children’s charity with its headquarters located in Kerry. The Saoirse Foundation was set up in March 2010 by Tony and Mary Heffernan.

The Saoirse Foundations first project was the establishment of Bee for Battens, the National Charity for Batten Disease. In 2015, the Saoirse Foundation will open Liams Lodge, Ireland’s first national respite centre for children suffering from genetic and rare disorders.

BUMBLEance has partnered with Lifeline Ambulance Service, who are providing professional services and supports to the charity. This is not a profit making venture and so BUMBLEance requires donations to stay on the road. BUMBLEance is the world’s first interactive ambulance specifically designed for children, with the capacity to operate the latest medical equipment and inter hospital communication systems. BUMBLEance ensures that the journey of a sick child who needs ambulance transportation to and from a treatment centre is the most comfortable and fun journey possible. If you'd like to know more about Bumbleance, or indeed keep up to date with its journeys and the stories of the special passengers that it carries, visit www.bumbleance.com or facebook.com/BUMBLEance.

About Training

Most people that see this page will most likely be friends and family but just in case you're not, well, I'm 32, I try to keep reasonably fit but I can tell you that I've never done anything like Gael Force before. I am under no illusion that this is an absolutely huge challenge. Honestly, while Gael Force is a race, my goal is simply to finish in once piece, and in the process raise as much money and awareness as possible for BUMBLEance. As of today (28th April), I have 109 days to train. I've been doing some fitness stuff over the last year or so thanks to my mate Richie Doran (UrbanFitCrew) and more recently the lads at Xtreme Fitness in James Gate. That's not enough though so this week I will commence a more formal training programme with Gael Force in mind. I'm more of an Average Joe than an elite athlete though. So, if anybody would like train with me or has any advice to offer please do send me a message. I plan on writing some blog posts about my training activities where hopefully I'll be able to keep people up to date on my progress and hopefully encourage some other Average Joes to sign up! 

My good mate Shane Cusack is also training for this. He is based in Kilkenny so unfortunately we'll be training separately. Two weeks ago we actually did the Spar Great Ireland Run which was a 10km race. We didn't try and raise any sponsorship for that as we saw it very much as preparation for Gael Force. We both finished though and with respectable times too. Between now and August, we are also planning on participating in some other races to make sure we are on track.