Join Our Boys’ Archie Naughton is training hard for this year’s Dublin City Marathon with his coach Sinéad Gannon as well as a large group of runners from Roscommon and surrounding areas.
In this special blog we hear from one of Archie’s supporters, Edel Quigley, as she prepares to run Miles for Our Boys.
From the moment I heard about the boys I knew this was a charity I wanted to be involved in and to see how I could help.
Each ‘Wear Orange Day’ I hold a cake sale in BioClin Research Laboratories and each year the support has been terrific. We even had a day where the boys came to visit and got their own lab coats and glasses and were shown a few experiments!
I completed the marathon with some fellow Join Our Boys volunteers back in 2015, and Paula, Padraic and the boys were waiting at the finish line for us when we completed it and to see their little faces light up when they saw us come across the line was something I’ll never forget.
I first heard about plans for this year’s marathon from our coach Sinead Gannon. We held a meeting in Gleeson’s and everything was explained to us.
Earlier this year I had an accident and tore ligaments in my ankle and ended up unable to train for several weeks. I had my doubts as to whether I would be able to take part this year.
During one of the Roscommon Harriers race events in April I was chatting to Archie and he asked me if I was doing the marathon this year. I told him I didn’t think I would be able to and his little face dropped. My heart broke looking at him and I thought ‘If he was so determined to do it then why couldn’t I?’.
Sinead called another meeting and gave us all our weekly plans advising what miles we should be doing, etc.
I decided I would at least sign up and try the training and see how I got on. Myself and three other women meet most weekends and head off to do the miles Sinead has planned for us. There are painful and tiring weeks and bad weather but I just remember why I’m doing it and I hit the road.
There will be a large group from Roscommon and surrounding areas doing the marathon this year and I know my reason is purely for the love of Archie and his brothers.
I want to be part of what will be a very special event and something that Archie will remember forever. I want to be able to wear Orange on the streets of Dublin and to do this for Paula, Padraic, Archie, George and Isaac and all those suffering with DMD.
*Sponsorship cards are available from all participants.
