Robbie O’Brien – Ireland (687) Robbie the brave
Robbie’s come a long way. Just five years ago he had an
operation for a brain tumour and is still paralysed on the left
hand side of his face and deaf in one ear. He took up running
as soon as he started convalescing from the operation. “I
absolutely had to move around, running helped me a lot”.
He heard about the Marathon des Sables on Eurosport and since
arriving in Morocco to take part in his first edition of the
race he’s as happy as larry blending in with the campsite.
But Robbie couldn’t imagine doing the marathon des sables
without trying to help people with cancer. He’s therefore
promised to raise 10,000 euros for the Irish Cancer Society by
simply getting friends and family to cover the length and breadth
of his hometown of Cobh to get people to sponsor him. He laughs
when asked if he’s aiming for a place in the rankings : « I
just want to finish with as few blisters as possible. I’ll
be very happy with that.” And so will we…
