Tipperary man finishing amazing feat by running the length of Britain for charity

Kiladangan man Ben Banaghan was the toast of Tipperary last week, after he completed his gargantuan fundraise run from the northernmost part of Scotland to the southernmost tip of England.

The 25-year old ran the equivalent of two marathons a day for 18 days in order to help raise money and awareness for two charities, Mental Health UK and a Roscommon-based charity, Join Our Boys. 

The Join Our Boys Trust was established in 2014, after three Roscommon brothers - Archie and twin brothers George and Isaac - were all diagnosed with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a fatal genetic muscle wasting disease, that currently has no treatment or cure. 

Sadly, Archie, at the young age of 16, lost his battle with the disease and passed away on July 7. His dying wish was to find a cure for his twin brothers.

The aim of the Join Our Boys Trust is twofold, to fund and fit out a purpose-built house that will accommodate the Naughton family for as long as the boys require it and also to help fund research projects which if successful, would slow down progression of the disease considerably.

Their hope is that, in time, other treatments or even a cure will be developed. Banaghan, who is now based in London, raised money last year in a similar venture, having successfully ran the length of Ireland, from Mizen Head in Cork, to Malin Head in Donegal over seven days. He raised over €55,000 for Mental Health Ireland and for Templederry woman, Alannah Sheehan, who had been recently diagnosed at the time with GBM.

Banaghan completed the amazing feat on September 25th, and he was relieved and delighted to see the finishing line in equal measure. “It was really tough,” he said.

“There were a few moments along they way where I questioned myself, and whether I’d be able to get the run finished, but I got through it and managed to keep going, so I’m absolutely delighted.

The physical exertions of the run took a toll of Banaghan at different stages of the run, but he managed to push through a few niggles which hindered him at times.

“My feet took a fair bit of a battering during the run.

“They’ve taken a lot of punishment, and I’ve pretty much been wearing crocs since I finished the race to try and get a bit of relief and take down the swelling,” he laughed.

“I’m still quite tired from the run, but I’m recovering well.

Currently, Ben has raised over €40,000 and his employer ISG Construction have decided to match whatever is raised.

Visit Ben’s Instagram or Gofundme pages to donate at the following link