 In case you didn't know, this bank holiday Monday is the date for this year's North West 10K. Always a huge event, always really well supported and people have trained for it for months if not longer and then others just go out and walk it and do it at their leisure just to get through the 10K but it's always a big event and there's always a big turnout for it. Well Nancy McNamee is the vice chair and Declan Care is the PRO of the North West 10K and they both join us in the studio now. Good afternoon to you both, all set for Monday? Yeah yeah yeah we're on the countdown now just four days to go so yeah yeah it's all systems go. Declan you're no stranger to doing a bit of organizing behind the scenes for the 10K and it's come a long way since it was the Rock Hill 10K and you'd remembered those days? I remember the Rock Hill 10K yeah and it was a very successful event until 1995 and then the the Northwest 10K took over from that then so Northwest 10K is now in its 20s running and we're heading out to the 26th hosting of it so yeah it's been a very successful event both at Rock Hill and then Northwest 10K for charities over the years and 903,000 euros raised in 26 years or 25 years. So you haven't head towards the million mark? Well we haven't towards the million mark but we a little bit to go yet but 38 charities have benefited over that period of time so listen it has been very good for the local community all the money goes back and to charities on the county so Nancy off all those 10Ks you probably run most of them? Not a bit no I did actually I ran the Rock Hill 10K back in 1988 was my first right and most successful third overall in that year but then in 2011 I was involved with the orbit with as a charity with mental health and from there then I joined the committee for the Northwest 10K so I haven't run one since believe it or not 2011. Oh right well that comes as a surprise. I've run all the rest of the 10K and this year it'll be behind the scenes. It'll be behind the scenes again all hands involved yeah we have a core committee of 12 but we also have a lot of volunteers including Stewards and Cardi and other volunteers as well and we get volunteers as well from the three charities that are involved with us as well. And the three charities this year are? The three charities this year are multiple cirrhosis, Sympirin to School here in Lederkenny and Lederkenny Community Development Project as well and they're working really really hard they've had a few fundraising events under the umbrella of the 10K to date and they have another one tonight in Arena 7 they have a quiz tonight in Arena 7 and they also have two post-race uh more runs as well they have got uh a tractor run and from Maggie's Tavern and Port Hall and they also have got uh Native the Races and the Glencaron and that's on the 12 of May as well. Right and that's how it works the charities are nominated well the charities are invited to apply and then there's three nominated that's the way it's been in recent years and then the one is this and those three charities to to use the event to go out and and raise money. Yeah it's twofold for the charities as opposed to promoting their own and creating awareness of the charities that are involved and also of obviously the fundraising then and as part it's not just on the day the three charities come together then they will each organize their own events or whatever and the lead-up and that all contributes then to the overall money that's raised and it just boosts it boosts their return from the event and listen that those events are very very very very important to it and three charities this year again have worked together in terms of organizing a variety of fundraisers and listen hopefully that'll all come together now and give them a nice return for them for I mean they all have objectives with the money that they've raised and so hopefully that'll all go well for them now. And the man that's starting it this year the man behind the starter's gun is himself no stranger to the 10k Danny McDade. Yes indeed I mean I was talking to Danny last week about just the 10k I suppose he was saying in the early in the very early years Danny was pretty much an international athlete at that time and with cross country international cross country he didn't get an opportunity maybe as much as he would have liked to have competed but he was telling me one nice story from I think it was nine just before that moved from Rockhull to the to the northwest 10k I think it was 57 years of age and he remembers Sean Daherty being out in Rockhull broadcasting and Sean was asking him how do you think you'll do or what time will you do the day and Danny says well I would hope to break 34 minutes and that was and he did 33 50 that's when he was 57 57 yeah so let's hope for he's yet Nancy there's definitely hope for us yeah but Danny is delighted and he's been a great supporter of the northwest 10k and he's also been involved from a charity perspective because of the Donny Gull Diabetic Association he had family members involved in that so Danny has been you know he's he sees the benefits of the 10k and he was they were one of the charities the Diabetes Association last year who benefited from the 10k so from different perspectives from just actually taking part to to supporting it and being part of a charity Danny has certainly has great experience of the the 10k over the years absolutely so Nancy the root this year where has it changed no it hasn't changed from the the root last year at all it hasn't so it starts at the community centre goes over by Glen Enne you do a circle there and back around to the community centre you go to Glen Enne the polls start around about take a right there back again and by the new dons and right again at the community centre over by Glen Enne again and then you take a left and over by the Mount Errigal and back in the back of by Alde and then you've got the Port Road down the main street down then you take a left and the library and then left then again and then out round the canal road back in the front of the atu getting longer the more you talk along as far as the community centre again and then you're at the finish while it sounds a lot and there's a sort maybe two circles you'll pass an atu three times but i mean it's relatively flat apart from going up the main street and there's a lovely course i've been told i've done it myself but just jogging along yeah well at least it's not the climate guardly it's just up the port road yeah it's just up the port road you take a left the rest is flat yeah you take a left after the Mount Errigal and by the ballerina and screwing on by the Alde okay okay well fingers crossed for big crowds i mean people can still you know show up on the day and yeah online online entries john are still live until tomorrow night friday at midnight and then we have in person registrations on saturday and sunday from three to six and also down at the community down at the letter we have a marquee down there at the letter community centre just on the left hand side as you look down at the community centre so and also on monday morning the registrations will be open from 8 a.m. until and close at 10 a.m. and so we're done just and just encourage as many people as possible now to either enter online until tomorrow night or come down and enter then on saturday and sunday and obviously people can collect their t-shirts and their numbers and have them for monday morning and avoid any queuing then on monday morning as well so absolutely because it does get very congested just before the race yeah and we'd just like to like her like to thank her five sponsors well five major sponsors who have been with us uh donnie goll daily dot uh um brian mccormick enter sport sensory complex the value centre and the monterey girl who are who have been with us for the last number years on our game with us this year great as you know the sponsors are important because just to ease the financial burden and it means that the money money then goes to the charities yeah that's right as well as that we also have other people that donate dollar businesses donate smaller prizes and the the battle helps towards the cost of the run of the race there for anyone who's taken them by the charities all right let's give them back to the charities again okay and i'm sorry and just before and if anybody wants to break the record um john there's a fact there there's 500 euros all right and the record is the record has held since 1998 by noel berkeley whose time that year it was 29 minutes and 14 seconds right and there's 500 years also for the female of the that could or if they want to break the record and that's held by maria mckinbridge since 2005 uh 32 minutes and 24 seconds right now the best looks whoever's attempting to break those records but the best luck to everybody i mean you can you know dander around it you can walk it you can jog it you can run it flat out if you're able to uh whatever way just it's it's about taking part yeah it's a great community event john and the rich family event and social event as well so listen hopefully now we uh people can come out and support us again what's its start time on monday 11am 11 now i'm saying deckling sorry just before we go can i just uh thank everybody larry kenny and donnie gall for supporting the north west 10k over the years and especially for all the charities as well and we'd like to also thank the people and the public here that is inflicting not you know their patients thank them for their patients and their understanding for their convenience of the race in monday but it is the mean a means for charities to raise absolutely and it is a bank holiday and it is early in the day so disruption should be closed up no we should be the road should be open again around one o'clock so everything should be yeah they can get back to normal then back to normal and thank the garradi again for their continued support um union watch especially uh the chamber again larry kenny chamber all our all our donors and all our sponsors we'd like to thank them as well and to the county councillors as well who've also it's a combined effort a combined effort by big community yes and we thank everybody and especially all of all peers we give up their all right now see thank you every Tuesday morning