Donegal Oil

HOME HEATING

It takes brave souls to even contemplate attempting the Race Across America, which is known as the ‘world’s toughest bike race’. But these four Donegal lads have been planning this for some time, training hard & they will travel to the United States this coming June to take part in the “ Race Across America” and they are ready to take on the biggest challenge of their lives.

The ultramarathon event, which was first held in 1982, is one of the longest endurance races in the world, trumping the Tour de France in terms of distance. The course for RAAM generally extends from the west to the east coast of the US and is approximately 3,000 miles long, spanning 12 states from Oceanside, California to Annapolis, Maryland. It generally takes a little over a week and up to 22 hours a day of cycling for a solo competitor to finish, though in a four-man event, it is possible to take just over five days to complete the race in occasional cases. To make matters even more difficult, there is a time limit placed on competitors — nine days for teams, so these 4 Donegal lads hope to complete this within the time limit afforded to them. They will be passing through some of the most iconic American landmarks including the Mojave and Sonoran Deserts, Monument Valley, Great Plains and Gettysburg. The popularity of the event has increased steadily, with over 35 countries represented since its inception 35 years ago.

Local businessman, Arthur McMahon, Managing Director of Donegal Oil Company and Team Donegal Oil Founder, has had this in the back of his mind for a while. Always looking for the next big challenge, Arthur gently mentioned this to three of his Donegal cycling buddies, Gerard Callaghan, Gavin Harris & Padraig MacGinty and there was never a question of how would they do this, they all immediately agreed to take on this challenge, the biggest cycling challenge that they themselves could ever imagine to take part in.

Arthur McMahon, an endurance athlete in his own right played rugby until he was 36 years old and, by his own admission, didn’t do very much for 7 or 8 years after that. He found that he missed the dressing room camaraderie and banter and struggled to find something to replace that. He did some motor racing for a few years and really enjoyed that and then got involved in the original Coastal Cancer Challenge in Dunfanaghy, County Donegal to help raise funds for Cancer Research, and he was hooked.

At the finish line of that event Arthur remembered thinking, “That was great, with some more training I could go much, much faster”.  “How wrong I was! It turns out I couldn’t go faster but I could go longer, much longer.  So, for the last 6 years I’ve basically been training and racing slowly, but for a long time, and I love it. My first Ultra distance event was The Race.ie in March 2014 and then Race Around Ireland (4 man) in 2015.  Last year I did Coast2Coast Ireland, a single day adventure race, The Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra, a 555km bike race in a 2 person team with my wife Julie, and Ironman Barcelona. There are so many other great races in County Donegal, WAAR being my favourite, that adventure is never far away.  I’ve been mulling over the idea of a 4 person RAAM for a few years and this year, with the fantastic help of Circle K and Donegal Oil Company, we can finally get to the start line. It’s great to be able to pull together a team of people who already know each other for one of the most grueling cycling events in the world and we are looking forward to this challenge.”

Gerard Callaghan from Letterkenny, Co. Donegal commented, “Cycling was the first sport I really took seriously as a child. By the age of 14 I was regularly competing at cycling events around Ireland with the help of our local cycling club ‘The Tir Conaill Wheelers’. At the age of 15, I was part of a three person team for the Irish Time Trial Championships and we won, that was the highlight of a very intense but also satisfying period of my teenage years. For the next 20 years motor sport became my priority, competing both nationally and internationally. Motorsport is a passion I think will be with me always. I’ve had success as both a driver and co-driver. By 2012, with a young family, I had decided that I wanted to be an active role model for my children so I took up cycling again!. The urge to ‘Have a Go’ and challenge myself came right from the start and I was regularly competing in local adventure races and cycling events pretty much straight away. ‘The Race’, a 24hr ultra adventure race was my first attempt at ultra racing and I’ve completed it every year since it started in 2014. In 2015 I completed Race Around Ireland in a 2 person team. I’m looking forward to Race Across America 2018 with Circle K Team Donegal Oil Ireland with huge excitement.”

Padraig MacGinty from Downings, Co. Donegal, also commented, “Growing up in rural Ireland and not being of farming stock, there was no donkey or tractor at hand, therefore the chosen mode of transport was the bicycle. Without the bicycle there would have been no discos, no visits to the candy shop, no music lessons and definitely no rendezvous with the fairer sex in neighbouring villages. Ireland is not known for its tropical climate nor is it known for its flat landscape, so it proved to be a fantastic training ground for a young man as he constantly battled in the strong head winds, pouring rain and battled all those hills. During my time in secondary school, there was an absence of a cycling club, and so I focused my energies and my playground was the running track. During this period, I noticed very quickly that finishing second was not an option and so my competitive streak blossomed, and this has remained with me to this day, whether in sport or my career as an Audiologist. I am really looking forward to RAAM 2018 and meeting up with other nutters of the same mindset. Bring it on!”

Gavin Harris from Convoy, Co. Donegal was mostly involved in motor sport, particularly stage rallying as a young man. He started when he was about 17 and it was a big part of his growing up years. In 2007 he hit eighteen and a half stones on the scales and thought he had better do something about it so he started cycling.  In his own words he said, “Before long I was cycling competitively and that led to an adventure or multi-sport race involving running and kayaking. After a while of doing that I had a go at Triathlon and found I was enjoying that too. I did my first Ultra, TheRace.ie, in 2014 and they seemed like a great bunch of people so I ended up competing with and against many of them in the Race Around Ireland 4 man team in 2015. In 2016 and 2017 I did therace.ie again, for anyone who has competed in it, it’s a real endurance test!  A mixture of running (64km), climbing (5km), kayaking (15km), cycling 170km around some of the most stunning parts of Donegal. 20 hours non-stop in the month of March with not so favourable weather conditions. I also did The Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race (555km solo) in 2016 and the sunburn is just fading now from Ironman Barcelona in September last year.  I can’t wait until June comes around so that we can get RAAM started and the excitement from planning & training is just unreal.”

Securing sponsorship from Circle K, was a huge factor in this team of four being able to financially & logistically being able to plan, execute, put a crew together & take part in this event. Topaz are currently globally rebranding to Circle K and the timing fits perfectly for this sponsorship. Circle K has already launched it’s brand across America & will be rolling out in Ireland this year. The team have branded themselves as “Circle K Team Donegal Oil Ireland” and their branded clothing, logo & online presence will launch soon.

Arthur McMahon and the team at Donegal Oil Company have also launched “The Donegal Oil Foundation”. When asked what it is, and why he’s doing it Arthur said, “The company has always supported local fundraising efforts and that won’t change. However, we have a really busy few years ahead for our Team Donegal Oil initiative and we’d like to make sure that there’s a lasting benefit from all our hard work. We’ll be asking local charities, sporting and other organisations, who need help with buying equipment, to contact us.  We’ll have a few rules about how we handle funds raised by the Foundation. These are: We will always publish on our Facebook page, every 3 months, all the money raised and donated by the foundation.  All funds raised will only be donated in County Donegal. We will always aim to buy equipment for the organisations we seek to help rather than giving money. We will never take any salaries, expenses or fees of any kind from The Foundation.”

“Team Donegal Oil has raised over €30k for charity in the last 4years and we wanted to have an open and transparent way of showing people how the money raised was spent. That’s why we have rules about what we can help with. Keep an eye out for things that Team Donegal Oil are getting up to over the next few months and we are happy that any funds raised through The Foundation will be distributed in County Donegal in a transparent way.”

Now it’s cycling training and Arthur, Gerard, Gavin & Padraig are geared up & looking forward to the biggest challenge they will possibly ever undertake in their lives & they would like to extend a thank you to their families, friends & sponsors for their encouragement & support & they look forward to taking you on their journey from now until the finish line! And if you can support them in anyway by sharing their journey & charity fundraising efforts online they would be eternally grateful! RAAM USA here they come!

Photo: Arthur McMahon, Gavin Harris, Gerard Callaghan & Padraig MacGinty.

 

Arthur McMahon, Team Donegal’s founder, held an open evening to encourage & inspire ladies from right across Donegal to get off the couch & take part in training for next years 2018 Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Challenge 555k Cycle along Donegal’s Wild Atlantic Coastline, as part of an 8 person ladies only team for Team Donegal Oil.

A huge number of ladies came along to the open evening at the offices of Donegal Oil Company looking for inspiration, encouragement and to express their interest in taking part in Donegal’s biggest cycle challenge. And they got it!

Arthur McMahon, explained to the ladies how the process worked after they register their expression of interest, what was involved & how Team Donegal Oil would help them complete this endurance challenge.

Arthur McMahon commented, “Everyone who wants to be included need to commit, they need to be self motivated & work as part of not only an 8 person team but as part of an overall larger support crew & each individual will have a chance to contribute their own strengths to ensure the teams success. It’s not just about completing the challenge though, but enjoying the journey and having fun, making new friends & participating. I was overwhelmed to see the response to our Facebook Post calling out for ladies to register their expression of interest for this challenge. Although we have to narrow it down to an 8 person ladies team, we will also need a ladies crew & back up support. I wish everyone of you ladies the very best of luck”. says Arthur.

Shaun Stewart, organiser of the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Cycle Challenge, gave a simple outline of the 555k Cycle Challenge route & how to fit in certain parts of the challenge route into an overall training programme. Shaun said “We did have some all ladies teams participate last year, and we are delighted to have Team Donegal Oil, encourage a novice team of ladies to take on the challenge next year. We also welcome anyone who perhaps won’t make the team to consider entering a team themselves. Going by the amount of interest expressed & the ladies present, we could easily make up 10 teams. I would like to wish Team Donegal Oil & all the ladies the very best of luck.”

Grania McGinty, from Downings a busy working mum, took part earlier this year in the “Couch to 555k” Challenge, as part of an 8 person with Team Donegal Oi. She gave a blow to blow and honest description of the route they took, the challenges & organising they did to ensure that everyone was motivated, fed, looked after & how they as a team gelled which led to them successfully completing the challenge, all of whom had never done anything like this before. Grania is a really true Inspiration & the ladies related to her excitement and enthusiasm. Grania gave the ladies a really great piece of advice, “ You all must go into this with the mindset not only to #haveago but to enjoy it and have fun.” Grania finished by saying,  “Myself & my other team members, have become great friends since day 1 & still take part in challenges together & we are so grateful & thankful to Arthur McMahon from Team Donegal Oil for giving us this amazing opportunity and encouraging us to get off the couch. We will all be friends for many many years to come.”

The inspirational evening finished with Donegal’s inspirational speaker and motivator, Nikki Bradley from the Motivation Factory. Nikki Bradley is a real inspiration herself & you could listen to her all day, a real motivator & inspiration. This young woman from Donegal has taken on & completed many extreme challenges herself, many thought impossible over the years, she was delighted to be able to provide inspiration & encouragement to the ladies in the room. Nikki is an adaptive adventurer, motivational and mental health speaker, SideStix ambassador and the founder of ‘Fighting Fit For Ewing’s’.

Nikki’s life has not been what you would call, ‘normal’. Diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer (Ewing’s Sarcoma) at sixteen and the receiver of a second total right hip replacement at the age of twenty six, Nikki has been on a truly unique journey. So unique in fact, she has been informed by her consultant that she is currently one of less than ten people worldwide to have lived through what she has. In 2013 Nikki set up a fitness based awareness campaign called Fighting Fit For Ewing’s where she regularly participates in physical challenges to highlight the importance of exercise for rehabilitation.

Nikki’s story was warmly felt throughout the room & as she said herself to the guests, “If I can do what I’ve done, anyone can set their mind to take part in any challenge that will improve not only their fitness but their mental health wellness and by taking part in a team of ladies novice cyclists, like this one, will be a journey that before you would not have had a chance to participate in and one that you certainly will never forget. The fact that a company like Donegal Oil have had the foresight to set up a Social Corporate Responsibility part of their business to encourage people to participate in activities to improve body & mind, at no cost to the participants, is truly amazing & I wish everyone on this journey every success. I am delighted to see so many women getting active & this is the first step in your own individual journeys, the fact that you are here tonight says it all, good luck ladies.”

“Team Donegal Oil was set up to encourage and motivate people who are sitting on the couch, thinking of doing something active and who would love the opportunity of a support team to help them to just simply #haveago at anything that will increase their fitness levels and mindfulness & just get them off the couch. We all know that a healthy body leads to a healthy mind and we all need support and encouragement sometimes. This is Team Donegal Oil’s 3rd year & we are continually trying to encouraging more people to join us and we are delighted by the response from right across the county from an amazing bunch of ladies. I would like to wish these determined, motivated ladies well with their application & look forward to training which will start soon. These ladies will #haveago & we will do this together.”  concluded Arthur McMahon.

Photo Caption:
Arthur McMahon, Team Donegal Oil, Nikki Bradley, The Motivation Factory and Rory Kennedy, Smart Renewables.

 

A huge number of children from Donegal travel to Crumlin children’s Hospital and in 2016 alone 1438 Children from Donegal attended Crumlin Outpatients Dept. Children attend for a range of clinics such as Orthopaedic appointments. This year the Outpatients Dept, which caters for 80,000 children annually will be upgraded to provide better facilities for the children, staff and their families. Nazareth’s Baby Ward will also be refurbished to ensure that the rooms there are fit for purpose and can facilitate the new technology needed to treat seriously ill children along with improving the space for parents to stay overnight with their children. CMRF are also funding priority equipment needed for the hospital and for vital research which is being conducted at the NCRC into Paediatric Cancer, Immunology, Eczema & CF.

 

Shaun Stewart & Lonan O’Farrell recently took part in a challenge that involved climbing all of Ireland’s 26 Peaks over 32 counties and they beat the fastest known time by a record 27 hours. They did this to try & raise money for Crumlin and have raised a huge total of €6276 for their chosen charity Crumlin Children’s Hopsital, which was presented to Antionette Kelly from CMRF at the offices of Donegal Oil Company this week.

 

Shaun’s sister, brother in-law & niece, Katie, Ronan & Cara Murphy will be on a journey over the coming years with their little 2 year old daughter Cara, with many visits to Crumlin’s Childrens Hospital. Cara Murphy was born with a condition called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD). This is a rare birth defect that affects the pelvis, particularly the hip bone, and the femur. The disorder may affect one side or both, with the hip being deformed and the leg shortened. At birth Cara’s right leg was approximately 1.5cm shorter than her left leg. As she continues to grow so does the discrepancy between her leg lengths. Currently her limb difference is 7cm and this will continue to increase. Cara wears a shoe that has a raise of 7 cm and she manages great with these. The good news is they hope that Cara will be able to have lengthening surgeries. It is uncertain yet as to how many surgeries Cara will need as each case of PFFD is individualised and there is no set plan of treatment that suits every patient. Lengthening surgery is a slow and painful process and the Limb Reconstruction Unit in Our Ladies Children’s Hospital, Crumlin have the expertise and skills necessary to carry out these procedures.

 

The challenge was sponsored by Donegal Oil Company and the crew teams took turns in driving, supporting Shaun & Lonan throughout the challenge. Crew teams were Arthur McMahon, Donegal Oil Company & Shaun Doherty, a friend of Shaun Stewarts. They were relieved half way through the challenge by the infamous Donegal Road Trekkers, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell.

 

The challenge it’s self was tough and Shaun & Lonan are extremely grateful to their team, families and the people who generously donated towards their charity. They would especially like to thank Arthur McMahon from Donegal Oil who sponsored the event & gave up his time to crew the challenge. Rory Kennedy, known in rallying circles for helping organising the navigational routes throughout Ireland. Shaun Doherty for crewing & providing support, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell who took care of them while crewing for the 2nd half of the challenge & getting them to Errigal Mountain in Co. Donegal safe. Paul Doherty, Paul Dohery Photography who climbed to the top of Errigal Mountain to capture what are just the most amazing images at the finish. John Dillon from Manor Motors who provided them with transport for the Challenge. Their own families & friends who supported them throughout, the media for all the fantastic coverage, Grace Ann McGarvey, for organising all of the Press, TV & Radio coverage & managing all the social media updates, before, during & after the challenge, Antionette Kelly from CMRF who was so helpful in providing materials & travelling to Donegal for the cheque presentation & to absolutely everyone who donated to the charity and met them along the way to support them & to everyone who were there at the finish to congratulate them.

 

Whats next on the agenda for this duo is yet unknown but they are never far from an adventure race, a mountain or an adventure cycle. They are always ready to #haveago.

 

A huge number of children from Donegal travel to Crumlin children’s Hospital and in 2016 alone 1438 Children from Donegal attended Crumlin Outpatients Dept. Children attend for a range of clinics such as Orthopaedic appointments. This year the Outpatients Dept, which caters for 80,000 children annually will be upgraded to provide better facilities for the children, staff and their families. Nazareth’s Baby Ward will also be refurbished to ensure that the rooms there are fit for purpose and can facilitate the new technology needed to treat seriously ill children along with improving the space for parents to stay overnight with their children. CMRF are also funding priority equipment needed for the hospital and for vital research which is being conducted at the NCRC into Paediatric Cancer, Immunology, Eczema & CF.

 

Shaun Stewart & Lonan O’Farrell recently took part in a challenge that involved climbing all of Ireland’s 26 Peaks over 32 counties and they beat the fastest known time by a record 27 hours. They did this to try & raise money for Crumlin and have raised a huge total of €6276 for their chosen charity Crumlin Children’s Hopsital, which was presented to Antionette Kelly from CMRF at the offices of Donegal Oil Company this week.

 

Shaun’s sister, brother in-law & niece, Katie, Ronan & Cara Murphy will be on a journey over the coming years with their little 2 year old daughter Cara, with many visits to Crumlin’s Childrens Hospital. Cara Murphy was born with a condition called Proximal Femoral Focal Deficiency (PFFD). This is a rare birth defect that affects the pelvis, particularly the hip bone, and the femur. The disorder may affect one side or both, with the hip being deformed and the leg shortened. At birth Cara’s right leg was approximately 1.5cm shorter than her left leg. As she continues to grow so does the discrepancy between her leg lengths. Currently her limb difference is 7cm and this will continue to increase. Cara wears a shoe that has a raise of 7 cm and she manages great with these. The good news is they hope that Cara will be able to have lengthening surgeries. It is uncertain yet as to how many surgeries Cara will need as each case of PFFD is individualised and there is no set plan of treatment that suits every patient. Lengthening surgery is a slow and painful process and the Limb Reconstruction Unit in Our Ladies Children’s Hospital, Crumlin have the expertise and skills necessary to carry out these procedures.

 

The challenge was sponsored by Donegal Oil Company and the crew teams took turns in driving, supporting Shaun & Lonan throughout the challenge. Crew teams were Arthur McMahon, Donegal Oil Company & Shaun Doherty, a friend of Shaun Stewarts. They were relieved half way through the challenge by the infamous Donegal Road Trekkers, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell.

 

The challenge it’s self was tough and Shaun & Lonan are extremely grateful to their team, families and the people who generously donated towards their charity. They would especially like to thank Arthur McMahon from Donegal Oil who sponsored the event & gave up his time to crew the challenge. Rory Kennedy, known in rallying circles for helping organising the navigational routes throughout Ireland. Shaun Doherty for crewing & providing support, Denis Ferry & Leslie O’Donnell who took care of them while crewing for the 2nd half of the challenge & getting them to Errigal Mountain in Co. Donegal safe. Paul Doherty, Paul Dohery Photography who climbed to the top of Errigal Mountain to capture what are just the most amazing images at the finish. John Dillon from Manor Motors who provided them with transport for the Challenge. Their own families & friends who supported them throughout, the media for all the fantastic coverage, Grace Ann McGarvey, for organising all of the Press, TV & Radio coverage & managing all the social media updates, before, during & after the challenge, Antionette Kelly from CMRF who was so helpful in providing materials & travelling to Donegal for the cheque presentation & to absolutely everyone who donated to the charity and met them along the way to support them & to everyone who were there at the finish to congratulate them.

 

Whats next on the agenda for this duo is yet unknown but they are never far from an adventure race, a mountain or an adventure cycle. They are always ready to #haveago.

Brian Dugera lives in the stunning village of Glen, Carrigart and cycling is relatively new to his life. Brian only started cycling in the last 6 months after meeting Arthur McMahon from Team Donegal Oil, when he put a call out on Facebook, asking cycling novices to contact him to see if Team Donegal Oil could put together a team of cycling novices to take part & enter the 555km cycling challenge along the scenic Donegal coast with the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race 2017.

Since then, when he thought that he had a chance of getting on the team, Brian started cycling & has taken part in some road races. Nothing too hectic or challenging, but for Brian it was just getting off the couch, getting out to do some exercise & the sense of achievement that he felt himself when he crossed the finish line encouraged him to keep cycling.

Team Donegal Oil has now provided Brian and the team, with the opportunities to gain new experiences & adventures & not only through the training schedule set out, but being part of such a well organised, encouraging & friendly team, led by Arthur McMahon has spurred him on to no end to continue to #haveago on the bike & just improve his physical & mental health.

Brian is part of a great group of cycling novices, who are all looking forward to the 555km challenge and are all training really hard. They have all said that without this opportunity they would never in a million years have reached a point in their lives to take part in this by themselves. But Arthur McMahon is confident that by 2018, they will all have their own teams and will encourage their own networks, families & friends to try cycling, running, swimming or whatever it is that will get them active & off the couch.

#teamdonegaloil are continually encouraging everyone to #haveago! Team work all the way!

Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra here they come!

Grania MacGinty a Radiologist at Letterkenny General Hospital and a busy mum, didn’t get much time to do exercise outside her working hours and looking after her family, that was until she was introduced to Team Donegal Oil’s #haveago concept by her hubbie Padgraig MacGinty, who took part as a 4 person team for Team Donegal Oil in last years Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra. She was inspired that Padraig was hooked to the cycling and got so much fitter & healthier in a short space of time.

It somehow spurred her on & last October she decided to #haveago at making time to introduce some fitness into her own life. So she started slowly with a Couch to 5k and added in when she could some swimming at the pool. She was overwhelmed and delighted with herself when she managed to run the Letterkenny Rotary’s Winter Warmer 5k at the end of November.

And in her own words, to “her delight” she spotted a post on Facebook where Team Donegal Oil were looking for a team of cycling novices to take part in the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race. She knew that she was ready for another challenge, contacted Arthur McMahon & hey presto, she got on the team.

Not going to lie idle and really wanting to get into the spirit of the challenge, she bought herself a bike and started her training, cycling with a group of ladies, who now call themselves “The Lycra Lasses”. They were spurred by the Team Donegal Oil Concept which was to encourage others to #haveago and get off the couch. The Lycra Lasses set up a What’s App group & started inviting their friends. The concept for these ladies was to mix a bit of exercise with a bit of craic and get them moving & off their couches.

Grania, from the start had her X-Ray eyes focussed on the challenge & wanted to give it 100% for the team, so she recently had a go & completed the Rathmullan Duathalon, followed by the Letterkenny Try a Tri, The Waar Sprint and the Gartan Challenge Adventure Race, all in preparation for the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra with Team Donegal OIl.

Grania is really looking forward to this challenge, as it will be a real team effort and great fun too. To be part of such a fantastic team of people that have never met each other before this and already they have become great friends & know that the challenge for their team will be fantastic!

Grania is already spreading the word to her colleagues at Letterkenny General Hospital & encouraging them to #haveago & get off the couch, make friends, have fun & get fit! She’s so glad she did!

 

Originally from Mexico City, Armando Camacho left his home country in 1999 and headed off to Boston to work. After a couple of years in Boston, he decided to go back to Mexico and open his own business.

 
The seed of a more tranquil life was planted and running his own business didn’t exactly provide what he was looking for in life. After a short while he decided to emigrate again, this time much further away.

 
That’s when Armando came to live and work in County Donegal, Ireland in 2005 and has never looked back. He works for Pramerica in Letterkenny and is happy living in what he calls, one of the most stunning and definitely one of the coolest places on earth.

 
Armando started his cycling journey in his 20’s just as a recreational rider. But he definitely got hooked on the sport after he came to live in Donegal, but not in a  competitive way, more as a social rider.

 
Even though Armando has been living in Donegal for the past 11 years, he is still constantly amazed with its scenery and hospitality. Finding new places to cycle to, keeps him motivated to finding new challenges and new routes to explore.

 
When he saw the call out from Team Donegal Oil to #haveago on this Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race, he knew that he wanted to experience a challenge like this with a team, so he contacted Arthur McMahon.

 
He is so looking forward to helping Team Donegal Oil on the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra later this month. And he would encourage anyone to #haveago with Team Donegal Oil.

 

John McGill, has been working as Donegal Oil’s Commercial Manager for many many years.

Watching Arthur McMahon & what Team Donegal Oil’s challenges have achieved over the past 3 years instilled the thought in his head that just maybe he could do something like this for himself. So he thought he would mention to his boss, Arthur McMahon about taking up cycling himself & how he could go about it!

He knew he wouldn’t get on a bike himself and just do it! He saw how the physical exercise was having a positive affect on his own colleagues, he knew he himself wanted to just get off the couch & get fit. Whatever it took, he would like to #haveago.

So, when John mentioned it to Arthur McMahon, who was delighted to see another member of his own staff taking an interest in Team Donegal Oil. Not only that, he was so happy to see how the whole Team Donegal Oil concept had encouraged & inspired his own team members at Donegal Oil Company to #haveago,

Arthur said to John, don’t buy a bike just yet and I’ll loan you one of mine in meantime to see if you like it first. Needless to say after a short time, John was hooked, took the plunge and liked the new exercise regime and the social experience.

He took it slowly, nothing to serious, mainly Sundays with a few friends and sometimes in the summer months during the week for an hour or so. And thats as far as John has gone to date. So, when Arthur mentioned to him about  joining their Team Donegal Oil Challenge for the 2017 Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra, he didn’t have to think twice and is now part of their 8 person team for the challenge coming up inn a few weeks time.
John is really looking forward to his first Team challenge and hopes everyone goes well
and stays safe on the route.

Team Donegal Oil spirit of #haveago has inspired, so why don’t you too get in touch and you can become part of our upcoming challenges and just simply #haveago!

 

Declan has been running and doing some cycling over the last few years. He has entered & completed in local adventure races in the last year & has enjoyed it.

This will be the first time that Declan has taken on the challenge of an all cycling event & he is looking forward to the 555km around Donegal’s coastline with the Team Donegal Oil crew and team of 8 people.

Declan saw a post on Facebook a few months ago when Team Donegal Oil posted that they were looking for people to join their team for the Donegal Wild Atlantic Way Ultra Race & he jumped at the chance.

He would never have taken on a challenge like this by himself & when he spoke to Arthur McMahon of Team Donegal Oil, he knew that he could do this with the support & encouragement that he got.

The training is going great & they have really jelled as a team and not only is Declan really looking forward to this cycle challenge, he is ready to #haveago!

 

Billy McMahon, a dairy farmer from Ramelton, Co. Donegal is gearing up to join Team Donegal Oil to take part in their 8 person team for the 2017 Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra.

Commenting on why he was delighted & inspired to join Team Donegal Oil’s challenge Billy said, “Having hit my half-century, I joined “Ray Men on the Move” in December 2015 to try to get a bit fitter. After 4 months I was able to run a 5K, and then with a lot of encouragement from one very determined trainer I took part in an adventure race as part of a team, with even more encouragement I completed the next one as a solo.”

“Just this year I started cycling more, but he would never have thought in a million years of taking part in something like the Donegal Atlantic Way Ultra Race!”

“However, Team Donegal Oil’s spirit of #haveago,  has inspired me to be part of this encouraging team. I am thankful for the opportunity and looking forward to the challenge, craic and the finish line with a fantastic team of cycling novices!”

Let’s #haveago!