A ROSSCARBERY fitness fanatic climbed Carrauntoohil in her sitting room and walked 100,000 steps in one day as she raised €8,400 for Pieta House.
Ross woman Sinead O’Regan, well known in West Cork GAA circles as a physiotherapist for local teams including her own Carbery Rangers, took on seven days of fitness challenges to raise funds for a charity that is close to her heart.
‘I know how invaluable Pieta House’s services are so I decided to fundraise for them,’ explained Sinead, who used her 32nd birthday on May 3rd as a theme for her week of physical challenges.
‘The annual Pieta House Darkness into Light walk should have been held on May 9th so I decided to start on my birthday and then finish on the 9th with an activity that would challenge me.’
Before she finished her challenges by walking 100,000 steps in one day last Saturday, Sinead had already undertaken an exhausting week of activities.
On Sunday, May 3rd, her birthday, she ran 32.35km within a five-kilometre radius of her home in Rosscarbery.
‘It was 32 kilometres because I turned 32 that day, and the .35 was for May 3rd,’ she explained.
After that, the Carbery hurlers and Ballinascarthy GAA physio took on 32 rounds of 15 kettlebell swings, 10 jump squats and five burpees on the Monday (it took her 39 minutes), then there was a plank challenge (32 rounds of 30-second plank holds with only two rests of 32 seconds) the next day, followed by a 10km run around her house on the Wednesday.
It was onto Thursday and her most demanding challenge – climbing the equivalent of Ireland’s highest mountain, Carrauntoohil, in her sitting-room at home.
‘That was the worst one and I felt the pain on Friday morning,’ she said. ‘I had a 20-inch step and I stepped up and down off it 2,050 times, it took two hours and 18 minutes and it was exhausting.’
Friday saw Sinead take a plunge into a home-made icebath and the CUH physiotherapist finished off her week of challenges by walking a mind-boggling 100,000 steps on Saturday.
‘I wasn’t sure how long it was going to take me so I started early, at 3.30am,’ she explained.
‘My family met me for what would have been the Darkness into Light walk at 5.30am. I broke the 100,000 steps up into two-and-a-half/three hour slots, and I didn’t finish until 8pm. It ended up being 93km in total.’
Sinead set herself an initial target of raising €500 for Pieta House but earlier this week she had raised €8,400.
