A LIMERICK-based personal trainer will ring in the New Year by undertaking a 60-kilometre cycle in aid of a Bruree charity.
Aaron Presley Galvin has helped to develop the gym at Cuan Mhuire, which offers an abstinence-based residential programme to people suffering from alcohol, other chemical dependencies and gambling.
He raised €1,800 for the organisation last January when he climbed Croagh Patrick and he will begin 2015 by cycling 60km around Slea Head in County Kerry.
Aaron will be joined on the cycle, which is open to anybody who wishes to participate, by his girlfriend, as well as colleague Paul O’Sullivan and his wife. He is expecting a tricky challenge from the distance and steepness of the route, but it is one that he is relishing.
He said: “I don’t do a lot of long distance cardio like 60km, but It’s a challenge for me and I’ll give it a shot. Even though 60km isn’t a huge amount, it’s still going to be challenging enough. It’s a good three-hour cycle and there’s a lot of hills involved.
“The Slea Head route is not just flat. It’s right outside Dingle town and it’s a loop track, so it ends where it starts. You’ll see the Blasket Islands and a series of scenery and then you go right back around again, so we’ll see how it goes.”
Aaron has managed to raise more than €600 so far and he hopes to add to this figure in the weeks leading up to January 1. He has been delighted with the evolution of the Cuan Mhuire gym in recent months and he paid thanks to those who have donated to the cause.
“I was able to make around €1,800 and I ran a raffle as well. The additions I was able to make to the gym – bench presses, chin-up bars, boxing bags – have seen the gym attendance go through the roof since last January.
“In January I’ll buy new equipment with the money raised. I’m just seeing how it goes. I’m not taking it too seriously. I’ll raise whatever I can raise and people are supporting me which is fantastic.”
