Sore legs were constant companion on the road
They say there is no rest for the wicked, but it appears that there is no rest for the charitable either as the Mullingar soldier who was part of a three-man to run non-stop from Sligo to Dublin last week in aid of Irish Autism Action was back in work less than 72 hours after his mind boggling feat.Sgt Mick Devaney and his fellow midlanders, Niall Murphy from Offaly and Longford's Brendan Doyle, arrived at the finishing line in Liffey Valley at 1.45pm last Friday, a little over 32 hours and a whopping 131 miles after they set off from Sligo on Thursday morning.While most of us mere mortals would need to take a month off after such an undertaking, Mick was back at work with the Defence Forces on Sunday night.Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner on Monday evening from the Glen of Imaal, Mick admitted that his legs were still very tender after his ultra running excursion, but said that the biggest obstacle to overcome on the road was mental rather than physical."I'd say it was the hardest thing I have ever done in my life. We were very lucky we had a brilliant physio, Mark Scally, and the rest of the support team - Joe Scally, Martin Moffatt, John Nugent and Ollie Kelly kept us constantly going."The stiffness and tiredness you couldn't get over it - it was constant, you just had to put it to the back of your mind. It was a huge mental challenge."Mick, who ran the Dublin City Marathon last year with a full military kit on his back to raise funds for St Brigid's School, knows all about tough mental challenges. A veteran of six overseas missions with the Defence Forces, he is heading off to Lebanon in the coming weeks for his fourth tour of duty in the Middle Eastern country.When asked if his fund-raising days were over, Mick said that he had something in mind for next year, but joked that it was "top secret" as he hadn't discussed it with his family yet.Mick, Niall and Brendan would like to thank everyone who supported them including, Jack Cooney in KC Leisure, Bernie and staff in Snap Printing, Tri 'n' Run, Revolution Signs and John Cochrane and the staff at The Greville Arms Hotel.