Alastair Donaldson is ready to hit the home straight
You never know who you might bump into in Cathedral Square, Belfast. After Archdeacon David McClay met marathon running ordinand, Alastair Donaldson, on a road in Donegal (see ‘Archdeacon does a pastoral visit in the run’) it was the turn of our Communications Officer, Annette McGrath.
The Church of Ireland ordinand has been ‘Running4Christ’ around Ireland since 1 July and today, running day 47, on week 8, he jogged up to St Anne’s Cathedral for a quick photocall.
“I’m feeling quite refreshed today,” said Alastair. “I’m really looking forward to having the company of four other runners (and a van driver) to break up those country roads.”
Alastair was heading to Portavogie in Down Diocese this morning and on Saturday the team will catch the ferry from Portaferry to Strangford. From there it’s off to Downpatrick to rest for the weekend.
Despite a couple of niggling leg injuries along the way, Alastair is on course to complete his equivalent of 52 marathons in 8 weeks and 3 days, whilst taking every opportunity to share the Gospel.
Has he had some ‘divine appointments’ along the way?
“There’s no doubt about that”, said Alastair. “We were just talking about how we got on Indian TV through meeting a man in Wicklow Town! Or the fruit seller in Wexford who talked for over an hour. He had so many questions but never had anyone he could ask.
“You meet so many people and those people are in so many different places with God that we might never know the fruit of much of what has happened over the summer, but that’s okay.”
Alastair’s final week of running will take him into Dromore Diocese – Annalong on Monday (where he spent 2 years serving in the parish), Newry on Tuesday, Armagh on Wednesday and finally, back home to Crossmaglen on Thursday.
We wish him well on this final leg of his journey.