Hundreds turn out for South Westmeath Hospice 5k Fun Run

Heavy rain did not deter the hundreds of people who turned out to participate in the South Westmeath Hospice 5K Fun Run. Over 400 people from all over Athlone and the Midlands participated in the race with triathlete Wayne Reid finishing the race first. Athletes were treated to a five-minute rant from Irish comedian Tommy Tiernan who officially started the race at Athlone Institute of Technology. Tiernan said he thought he was coming to Athlone for 5K and not a 5K race, however he decided to come along anyway as he would encourage anyone 'to run out of Athlone'. Speaking about the success of the race Chairman of the South Westmeath Hospice Foundation Dr. Tony Lowry said: 'We were overwhelmed with the number of people who showed up to participate in the Fun Run. With the bad weather we thought people would stay away. The atmosphere was brilliant and everyone"s spirits were up despite the weather. It was great to see it all come together so successfully on the day... The final tally has yet to be done but the run has raised almost €25,000 which is a major contribution towards the cost of the hospice building ... we are simply delighted.' Dr Lowry said: 'I want to thank the support of my committee who organised this event. A lot of hard work went into it. I want to particularly thank Gordon Brett, Sports Manager in Athlone Institute of Technology, for managing the technical aspects of the race. Gordon"s input and that of his team has been invaluable and the race would not have been possible without his efforts and indeed without the support of Athlone Institute of Technology.' The race route went from Athlone Institute of Technology up by Garrycastle, Retreat Road, into Retreat Heights, down Killyon Hill, onto the Dublin Road and finished with two laps of the state-of-the-art running track in Athlone Institute of Technology. The race was run in association with Athlone Institute of Technology Athletic Club, which provided its services to the South Westmeath Hospice free of charge. Dr. Lowry has promised another Fun Run for 2010 saying 'It is definitely on the cards... This run was so successful both in monetary and social terms that people are already asking what the date is for next year. I don"t think we can get away with not having one. My sincere thanks to all those who took part and for all the effort that everyone made in generating their individual sponsorship. It was a great example of community spirit and enterprise in action and all in good fun and for a good cause. I also wish to acknowledge and extend our thanks to our official sponsors,Westmeath Independent, Temple Print, and Ballygowan.'