Hi
Im a 25 year old "mature" student in UCC, Last year i visited a refugee camp in the Sahara desert in Algeria...there i met an Italian man who , for the last 4 years, has organized a marathon. Not only does this raise the profile of the refugees but also raises funds for projects such as sports facilities for the children. The Saharawi refugees have been there since 1976. I volunteered to drum up some runners and be the liaison for Ireland so im posting here to see if anyone is interested.
the basics...
flying from Madrid in early feb arriving in Tindouf in Algeria, transport to the refugee camp, runners will stay with the refugees in the tents and will share meals. There is also a pasta party :) the whole trip will be about a week and from experience i can say the saharawi will make it unforgettable. The total cost of the trip (excluding flight TO madrid) including entry to race, food ,water and bed will be €850. You can read more at saharamarathon.org , my contact is on there anyway but if anyone has any suggestions on how i can contact more people i would greatly appreciate it :)
There is also a 10km and 20km race for those who dont want to run a full marathon.
Thanks all

karen