WHAT?
Galway Bay 10 is a 10 Mile Road Run or Walk around the streets of Galway and Salthill which took place on Saturday, 4th October at 2.00 starting and finishing at South Park, Claddagh.

HOW?
This event aims to raise €300,000 for Cancer Care West. Each participant in the event was asked to raise €150 for entry and teams paid €2,000 to enter a team of four – eight in the Team Challenge. All proceeds go directly to Cancer Care West which is a registered charity.

WHY?
The event supports the building and servicing costs of Inis Aoibhinn Residence and Cancer Support Centre.

In March of last year Cancer Care West opened Inis Aoibhinn Residence and Cancer Support Centre. Inis Aoibhinn is located on the grounds of University College Hospital Galway and provides residential accommodation for radiotherapy patients and their families. The Cancer Support Centre offers supports to cancer patients such as psychological counseling, relaxation therapies and stress management techniques.

Cancer Care West is aiming to raise €1 million this year to complete the capital funding of Inis Aoibhinn, and the Galway Bay 10 event is huge in helping to achieve this goal.

Spectacular Success of Galway Bay 10

The fifth Galway Bay 10 mile run and walk took place on Saturday 6th October 2007 and attracted a spectacle of over a thousand runners and walkers. This turn out was even more impressive as each participant had to raise a minimum of €150 for entry. A number of participants far exceeded this target, arriving at registration with cheques of €1,000 and €2,000. Bernard Duffy, chairperson of Galway Bay 10 said: “It is amazing to have raised such an amount of money in one evening. People have put tremendous effort into this with many far exceeding the €150 entry.”

A group of one hundred and four trainee Gardai travelled from Templemore to participate in the event. They had spent months holding special fundraising events to raise their €18,000 contribution which they formally presented to Cancer Care West before setting off on the ten mile challenge. The banks were out in full force with hundreds of staff from AIB and Bank of Ireland city and county branches participating and supporting the event.

There was a buzzing sense of anticipation in the tented village area before the race began. Race participants did group warm ups to the sound of uplifting disco beats, led by a group from the Western branch of Irish Chartered Physiotherapists.

Fergal Geraghty of Ballyburke won the 10 mile race with a time of 58.49, Regina Casey of Ballinrobe won the women’s race with a time of 65.21. Tommy Joe Whyte was first in the senior men over 40 category and Ann Carter won the race in the senior ladies over 40 category. NUI, Galway took first place in the team challenge.