From Portstewart to Newcastle: Over £10,000 raised for charity as quartet run 300km across Northern Ireland

Ryan Carson, Chris Ward, Phillip McNally and Chrissy Burns - who all attend the same gym - started the venture in Portstewart at 00.01am on Saturday (August 9).

Their fitness levels and mental resolve were certainly tested as they finally landed in Newcastle late on Sunday evening (August 11).

300km is the equivalent of over seven marathons combined, with the quartet balancing a mixture of road running and trails along the route.

Speaking to the News Letter in what he described as being "a bit of a zombie", Ryan explained how the idea began due to their fitness challenges at Apollo Fitness in Banbridge.

"The gym is owned by Chrissy and every month since the turn of the year we have had a monthly challenge," he said.

"My wife suggested that we should do a big run in memory of her parents who she both sadly lost to cancer.

"I decided to pick the route starting from Portstewart Strand and ending in Newcastle...so roughly 300km.

"The date of August 9 was special because it was my father-in-law's birthday, who died last year.

"We were going well until we hit around 1am on Sunday morning...and we were in the depths of despair to be honest with you.

"The tiredness was worse than the pain, so we decided to have an hour's rest near the SSE Arena.

"However, once we saw the sunrise, then we had a new lease of life and we were able to get it done.

"We wanted to complete the run in 48 hours and we managed to do it in 47, so happy days."

Ryan has had previous experience running ultra-marathons - unlike his comrades who were taken on this surreal challenge head on.

He explained: None of the other three have a running background….Chrissy is more strength-based, Philip comes from a football background and Chris started about a year ago.

"Unfortunately, Chris got injured in Larne as his ankle and knee had swollen up. He was devastated that he couldn’t continue but he managed 120km...which is incredible.

“The whole experience was a lot tougher than I thought. On paper I thought ‘this won’t be too bad’ but it was mostly on roads, whereas I prefer to run mountains and trails.

“I’ve ran 200km before for an event and I thought another 100km won’t be too bad...but it was certainly tough. It was probably more a mental challenge than physical.

"We must pay a special thank you to members from Apollo who ran with us to keep us motivated, as well as our partners for their support.”

A five-figure sum has been raised through online donations and bucket collections for Cancer Focus – much to Ryan’s appreciation.

He remarked: “My wife was so emotional with the turn-out for us when we finished and for the money that’s been donated.

"We had Cancer Focus buckets and people were literally throwing money into it, which was greatly appreciated.

"We have raised over £10,000 and we can’t fathom the kindness.