Oran’s marathon journey to Athens

Louth Village man Oran Colgan will set off on a journey of a lifetime today (Wednesday) with the aim of cycling almost 2000 miles to Athens in Greece. The 22-year old works in the Fairways Hotel in Dundalk and his goal is to try and raise money for the Irish Red Cross and help their efforts to provide support and relief to those impacted by the war in Gaza.

Oran’s previous longest cycle was from his home in Louth Village to Galway which took him ten hours but the challenge he has set himself over the next month will make that trip look like a walk in the park giving the almost 2000 miles he will have to travel.
According to Oran he is excited for the challenge ahead and he says he is planning to document his journey at the end of each day via his social media channels.

“I’m the kind of guy that just gets some mad ideas into my head to try and challenge myself and I suppose this one is the ultimate challenge. I love cycling and before I got my car a few months ago I would have cycled into work in the Fairway in Dundalk from Louth Village five or six days a week. A couple of months ago my car was in the garage getting fixed for a few days and I cycled into work again and remembered how much I loved it.

“Around that same time we were getting fed images and videos on the news of the terrible things going on in Gaza and I really wanted to do something to help the humanitarian efforts for the people out there. I decided I would try and cycle across Europe and I wanted an end point where everybody would know so I went for Athens which is kind of apt as it’s where the marathon was first run and where the Olympic Games first took place.

“I will take the ferry to Holyhead on Wednesday morning before cycling to Dover. From there I will board another ferry to Calais and then the journey will begin in earnest. The plan is to travel with a tent and each night wherever I am I will pitch a tent and get a few hours rest. I plan on giving updates at the end of each day on TikTok and Instagram offering a first hand look at the impact of everybody’s support towards me. I have set up a Just Giving fundraising page and amazingly I have managed to raise over €2000 already before my journey has even began. People are so kind! I know it won’t be easy and there will be challenges but I’m pretty strong minded so whatever comes my way I’ll face it and get past it. I’ve giving myself thirty days to do it and have given myself an extra five days as well in case I get into trouble,” explained Oran.

My parents have been very supportive and they will be cheering me on from back home. It will be the experience of a lifetime and more importantly I will be raising money for the Irish Red Cross. If I can help even one family over in Gaza I’ll be happy,” he added..
You can follow Oran’s progress by typing in Oran Colgan on either Instagram or TikTok. His Just Giving Page is called Oran’s Fundraiser for Irish Red Cross.

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