On the first Sunday of November the biggest road race of the year will take place in New York. It is better known as the New York Marathon. Starting on Staten Island the race covers 26.2 miles (42.2 km) through the five boroughs of New York, finishing in Central Park.

Marathon enthusiast David Mahony, Manager of O’Reilly’s Pub, Sandymount Village is in pursuit of his tenth marathon, which he will run in New York. He has become somewhat of a globetrotter, chasing his goal to complete a marathon in less than 3 hours 30 minutes. His best time so far is 3 hours and 31 minutes in Amsterdam in 2006.

David says, “It doesn’t sound like much of a challenge, but you never know how you will perform on the day of a race due to weather conditions and your general well-being. You have to show a lot of respect to the distance, and pacing is very important. Times can vary by as much as 10 minutes which is a lot when you are chasing a goal.”

David has visited London, Paris, Berlin, Vienna and Edinburgh to name but a few of the cities where he has participated in a marathon. As a practice run, he ran a half-marathon in Windsor’s Great Park, London in September.

David has a supportive network of friends and family who encourage him to do his training when he might otherwise like to sit with his family and watch telly on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

Friends, family and customers of O’Reilly’s have shown nothing but generosity and motivation in helping David to raise funds for Enable Ireland, who are making his dream of running the New York Marathon possible by offering him a place in return for sponsorship.

Enable Ireland is a national voluntary organisation providing essential therapy and services to children and adults with physical and sensory disabilities throughout Ireland. They rely heavily on the generosity, support and goodwill of many individuals, companies and community groups to continue to provide and develop these essential services.

David could have chosen any charity to fund raise for in exchange for a place in the New York Marathon, but he chose Enable Ireland because they are part of the Sandymount Community and as David has worked in Sandymount for over 16 years and feels like a local. he wanted to help out the local community.

David has started his fund raising campaign and already he has received sponsorship from local businesses such as JP Foley & Co solicitors and Bennetts Auctioneers.

Other sponsors include Bord Gáis Energy Supply, Cranfield Contractors and Caledonian Life. It is not just businesses that have helped kick start his campaign. Local residents and locals to O’Reilly’s pub have also made contributions.

David aims to raise as much money as possible for Enable Ireland and would appreciate any fundraising help he can get, no matter how small. If you would like to help raise funds for Enable Ireland, you can call into O’Reilly’s where there will be sponsorship cards available behind the counter. If you wish, you can give your donation to any member of staff and they will pass it on to David. You do not have to be a local to O’Reilly’s in order to make a donation– just pop in anytime and they will gladly accept your donation.