Croí celebrate 10 years of Annual Night Run

Over 2,000 people gathered on the Salthill Promenade for the Croí Annual Night Run on Friday 11 October.

The 5k run sponsored by Benecol, sold out due to high demand for Croí’s 10th anniversary of the event, with participants starting at Mutton Island and running to Blackrock Tower and back again, or joining in virtually.

Croí is a heart and stroke charity located in Newcastle, Galway and aims to fight against heart disease and stroke in Ireland, with particular focus on the West of Ireland. The charity focuses on preventing heart disease, saving lives and promoting recovery and wellbeing, with all proceeds of the Night Run funding the charity’s work.

Irish broadcaster Dáithi Ó Sé, who launched the run, highlighted the importance of the charity run:

“The first message we want to get out there is to take off your heart and mind your heart…whether you young or old or anywhere in between, you only have one heart.”

“There’s such a great buzz… people walking, people running. People go fast, people go slow, but the main thing is that we do it all together.”

When asked how presenting the Croí charity race compares to events he usually hosts, Dáithí said that it’s “all about people, and that’s what the Rose of Tralee is about, and that’s what this is about, that’s what the Today Show is about as well.”

“It’s about people at home, it’s about being together. There’s a lot of crazy stuff happening in the world at the moment, so it’s nice to have distractions and happiness, spread the good word, and ensure your hearts are in a good place,” he said.

“We sold out early this year, and there have been lots of people disappointed that they didn’t secure their place early,” Emma Leetch, the communications officer for Croí said.

“We are limited on numbers due to health and safety, so we will be encouraging everyone to register early again next year so that they don’t miss out!”.

Marathon runner and annual Croí participant, Faith Ugiagbi also took part in the race. This was Faith’s fourth time taking part in the annual Croí run.

“I’ve done this race every year since I first started my podiatry course in the University of Galway and every year I enjoy it.

Faith added that she felt “empowered, seeing everyone run together and bringing Galway together, we all enjoyed ourselves. I just love running for charity. I paid for my place in the race, and that money is going to Croí’s heart; it just makes me feel good; I feel happy helping people”.

To find out more about Croí you can visit Croí.ie