Eddie Iz Running - Saturday 22nd to Tuesday 25th August
01 Sep 2009
Saturday 22nd
Eddie and the team travelled from Stranraer to Bangor and stayed in ‘Holywood’ which they all got excited about! They took the ferry and the people at the port allowed Eddie to run up the car ramp. He had cheeseburger and chips on the ferry. It was sunny and very beautiful. Eddie got a full leg and back massage that evening and watched ‘Back to The Future II.’
Sunday 23rd
In Bangor, Eddie went to visit his old house where he used to live when he was 5. The neighbours all came out to celebrate his 24th marathon. They tied helium balloons to the gate shaped as a 2 and a 4. A couple of ladies remembered him living there.
The team stopped at a hospital in Newtownards and some kids took the rickshaw keys! They didn’t believe the team were with Eddie until they were shown the ice cream van. Negotiations ensued and the keys were returned! Had runners with him all day long.
Eddie stopped by a Sport Relief funded project in Belfast called ‘Midnight Street Soccer.’ The boys made Eddie take a penalty and he scored a goal! In many of Belfast's interface areas, where Nationalist and Loyalist areas meet, sectarian violence and tensions are exacerbated by the lack of opportunities and activities for young people. Growing up in the midst of a major conflict is never easy – there are very few opportunities for young people from both sides to come together, get to know one another and understand each other’s views. Sport is one of the few vehicles able to successfully break down the barriers of segregation in the divided communities of Northern Ireland and provides an opportunity to discuss the troubles that have affected everyone's lives. Midnight Soccer is a community football programme for young people aged 8 to 17 years that aims to develop sport and to develop the community. The weekly leagues bring young people from across the political and religious divide together to play football, whilst at the same time raising issues about conflict, difference and fair play.
On Monday 24th and Tuesday 25th Eddie ran from Antrim to Marghera and then to Derry/Londonderry. It was really nice scenery, quite remote and very hilly.
On Monday, Eddie found a bedraggled kitten on the side of a road. He saw him looking scared in the grass under a hedge and wanted to take him to an animal sanctuary in Antrim. The team wrapped it in a towel and gave it milk. It was very strong and leaped about the van. There were 3 houses on the hugely busy road so Eddie went to the residents to see if it belonged to any of them. A man on one of the farms took the kitten and promised to look after it. The man had another little kitten, so they left him there. It was a happy ending thankfully.
Local Police kept Eddie’s path clear as he ran towards the peace monument ‘Hands Across The Divide.’
You can still sponsor Eddie via the Sport Relief donation page here!
Watch the 5th clip on the BBC website here or via YouTube here!
Comments
Add your comments
(showing 3 comments)
claywoman
Brilliant Idea - Midnight Street Soccer - glad you're supporting a positive way for these young people to come together! Thanks so much for the updates... we missed them :)
01 Sep 2009 - 17:25 BST
moiraxxx
i work with community and the football schemes are great ,,,,wish there were more ,,,,,and that all kids wanted to take part.....this is worth waiting for ,,,,,,smashing blog entry.,,,,,,,i enjoyed it tremendously......xxxx big huggggggs to all especially eddie of course because he is bellisima xxx
02 Sep 2009 - 22:40 BST
mrtyoung
Such a pleasure to run across Belfast with you. I hope you saw a positive side to our city. I have been telling my class all about your mammoth task and we watched your video diaries in class. You have inspired me to train for another marathon! I hope to run the Belfast Marathon next May. Nothing compared to your challenge but thank you for the inspiration. Looking forward to the show at the Odyssey in December. Tony
04 Sep 2009 - 21:17 BST