Ring of Kerry charity run in just one day

A MAN is set to run the scenic Ring of Kerry in a single day to raise funds for a little boy who has stunned medics by his recovery from pioneering surgery for a fatal brain disease.

Father-of-two Paul Gosney, from Beaufort in Co Kerry, will set off on the gruelling 112-mile (180km) run around the tour route on October 15.

He wants to raise funds for brave three-year-old Liam Heffernan, the little Kerry boy fighting Battens Disease which claimed the life of his sister, Saoirse, aged five, earlier this year.

While several people have run the Ring of Kerry before, this is believed to be the first attempt to complete the entire route in a single day.

Paul will set off on the equivalent of just over four marathons at 6am on the Saturday from Killarney.

He will run through Kenmare and up over Molls Gap at sunrise, before heading west towards Waterville, and running through the night in a massive test of stamina, endurance and mental strength.

He will build in a series of 10-minute comfort breaks and hopes to average about five miles an hour.

The route includes some of Ireland’s most spectacular scenery as well as several gruelling climbs through the McGillycuddy Reeks.

Paul is running the equivalent of three marathons a week in training.

Young Liam is still improving after he underwent brain surgery as part of a medical treatment trial in New York last May.

He will return to the US with his parents, Tony and Mary, next month for a six-month check-up at the prestigious Weill Cornell Medical facility.

Tony and Mary, who set up the Bee for Battens charity to raise awareness about the fatal brain condition, are planning to build Ireland’s first dedicated respite facility for children affected with the rare disease.

The have earmarked a five-acre site near Kerry General Hospital in Tralee.

*www.BeeForBattens.org