It was announced today that Ireland’s biggest ever triathlon challenge, the 2068km Endurance Challenge, will take place in August 2014, with the ambitious goal of raising over €500,000 for Breakthrough Cancer Research.
Sean Buckley and James Colbert, the men behind the challenge, will complete an un-paralleled feat of endurance which will see them swim 120 kilometres of the River Shannon, cycle through every county in Ireland and complete 4 consecutive marathons – 2068km – in an incredible 22 day period – which makes Ironman seem like a warm-up.
Members of the public are also being invited to join the Endurance team at the marathon events and cycling challenges to help raise further funds.
Swim
The team will swim 120 kilometres of the River Shannon, the longest river in Ireland and England. This element of the triathlon is closed to members of the public but support is welcome.
Cycle
The cycling challenge will take the team through every county in Ireland, covering in excess of 1800km. This is the equivalent of over half of the distance covered in the 2012 Tour De France. 4 cycle tours will take place in total and 250 cyclists are invited to join the team on each tour.
Run
The 2068 Challenge team will complete the running element of the triathlon with no less than 4 consecutive marathons in the main cities of each province, in almost as many days! Each individual marathon is a distance of 42.195km or 26.385 miles, totalling 168.78km. 300 runners are invited to join the team at each marathon
Commenting on the upcoming endurance test, Sean Buckley said, “I love to challenge myself mentally and physically and have had the ambition for a long time to create an ‘ultimate challenge’, which would test my mind and body to the limits. Having recently lost my father to cancer, I hope that by completing the Endurance Challenge and inspiring others, we will also raise much needed funds for Breakthrough Research to facilitate their work into new treatments for cancer. To have witnessed personally the pain and suffering that a cancer patient endures during treatment made me realise that any pain I would endure during our 2068 challenge would pale significantly in comparison.”
His Endurance Challenge 2068 partner James Colbert said, “I have long had a feeling that there is something I can do that will not only fulfil personal ambition to achieve something that no one else has achieved but that will benefit others. It is only when cancer touches someone in your family or friends that you realise how powerless you are. All your trust and hope goes into treatments, which all stem from cancer research. We hope our challenge we will raise much needed awareness and funds for Breakthrough Cancer Research, while at the same time fulfil our personal ambition to bring our bodies to their ultimate endurance – to breakthrough all walls.”
Eoghan O’Sullivan from Breakthrough Cancer Research said, “Sean and James are two of the most determined individuals we have met and we are honoured that they are making us part of this amazing challenge, which will see them take on Ireland’s biggest ever triathlon challenge. We have set an ambitious fundraising target of €500,000 to help our researchers find new treatment options for poor prognosis cancers, and are appealing to the public to get involved and make Endurance one of the most successful fundraising events of 2014.”
Sean and James will be participating at a number of events throughout the country over the coming year in preparation for their ultimate Endurance.
If you would like to find out further information on the 2068km Endurance Challenge, get involved yourself, or help raise funds, see www.endurancechallenge.ie or #endurance2068 on Facebook and Twitter, or for information on the charity see www.breakthroughcancerresearch.ie .