Ballina’s Elaine Cloonan – or Lainey as she is best known – has achieved a fantastic fundraising feat, running 100 miles in less than 24 hours and raising money for two fantastic charities. The Mayo woman completed the gruelling challenge a few short weeks ago, and has set her sights on a €12,000 fundraising target. All money raised will be divided between the Mayo Roscommon Hospice Foundation and SHOUT (Sligo Hospital Oncology Unit Trust)
In February 2024, Lainey was out for a run on her late father’s birthday, when she began to conceive the idea. ‘Run for Richie’ soon grew legs and before long, she had committed to the daunting challenge. Lainey decided to remember both her mum and dad in the fundraising efforts, dividing the money between the two organisations who cared so well for the late Eileen and Richie.
Lainey began training for the 100-mile run almost immediately after hatching the plan. From the outset, her focus was on consistency, and intense training and mileage, ramping up the preparation and intensity during the latter six months. When it came to her race plan, Lainey adopted the Scout’s motto to always be prepared. From experience, she knew it was always a good idea to have a Plan B…and sometimes Plan C and Plan D…but it wasn’t
necessary. Undoubtedly, she had a strong team cheering her on from above, and the run went pretty much according to Plan A.
At 2pm on February 28th, Lainey began her mammoth challenge at Ballina Athletic Track.
Of course, it was a particularly poignant date for her, as it was that of her late father’s birthday. Sticking with her plan, Lainey used a run/walk technique up to the 100 km mark, and from there, it was more comfortable and
sustainable to walk a little more than run. There were perfect weather conditions on the day – dry, cool and fresh mostly, with low winds and only a little drizzle that night. Again, she definitely had a helping hand in this department. “Mam must have had the Child of Prague out above for me,” she said with a smile.
When it came to nutrition, it was a bit of a mixed bag. Lainey’s tummy was a little nervous for the first half, and her usual fuel didn’t want to go down. Instead, Muller Rice, bananas and run gels took her through, amazingly. It certainly doesn’t seem like much for that distance, but it worked, and that’s the main thing. Thankfully, the usual
long distance runner fears of gut disturbance didn’t materialise.
Hydration came in various forms…a small vodka and white in honour of her Dad started her off, and a Captain and coke (courtesy of T. Breathnach) perked her up half way through. But, despite these somewhat unusual drinks for a 100-mile run, it was mostly electrolytes that kept her going. While Lainey had set a tough 24-hour time scale for her challenge, she managed to come in ahead of schedule, finishing her 100th mile at 23 hours and 27 minutes. An absolutely incredible achievement by all accounts.
Along the way, family and friends cheered her on and joined her for sections of the run, and Lainey was absolutely delighted with every bit of support she received before, during and after the run.
“I hope that the funds I raised will benefit many more people in the future. I have to say I was completely overwhelmed by all the support, good wishes and positivity I received in the run up to this event. From family and friends, to people unknown to me, I have received incredible kindness and incredibly generous donations. You all have raised an amazing amount of money. I am beyond grateful to each and every person who contributed in so many different ways to the success of this event…so many people shared cash, miles, wisdom, services, expertise, etc. Just know it is appreciated so very much,” Lainey commented.
