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The unique night running series, Run in the Dark, returns to 12 locations across the country on 13th November this year. Over 16,000 people are expected to take part across large events in Dublin, Cork, Belfast and volunteer-led fun runs in Athlone, Ballina, Galway, Inch Beach, Kenmare, Kilkenny, Limerick and Wexford.
Unbroken by blindness in 1998, Mark Pollock became an adventure athlete, including being the first blind person to race to the South Pole. In 2010, a fall from a second-story window nearly killed him, Mark broke his back and the damage to his spinal cord left him paralysed. Now he is pursuing his personal mission to cure paralysis.
Mark’s most recent milestone was the launch of an exoskeleton programme giving paralysed people access to stand and walk in a robotic device, in collaboration with DCU (and more about this programme will be on IMAGE.ie next week) and now supporters are gearing up around Ireland (and around the world) to take part in their November run.
As the Mark Pollock principal fundraising event, over 25,000 people in 50 cities worldwide will get up from their armchairs, slip on their red flashing armbands and pull on their running shoes to complete a 5k or 10k run. All funds raised help Mark to continue towards his mission – “to participate in finding the cure to paralysis in our lifetime” – so every participant makes a difference.
“Through Run in the Dark, we aim to inspire people to build resilience and collaborate with others so that, together, they achieve more than they thought possible. For some, that means gathering a group of friends or colleagues to train hard and get fit. For others, it means building a team of experts to perform better,” explained Paula Cunniffe, CEO of Run in the Dark.
“For us, at the Mark Pollock Trust, it means supporting Mark to deal with the ongoing physical, psychological and financial impact of his catastrophic spinal cord injury while also allowing him to pursue his personal mission.”
To find out more about the event and pop up locations or to register before November 13th, visit www.runinthedark.org/ireland