Foot.ie users to do marathon for charity

**Aberdonian Stu** · 17/10/2006, 11:18 AM

STIG for CF Ireland

Football fanzine Student Till I Graduate (STIG) is entering two athletes in the 2006 Dublin City Marathon to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CF Ireland).

Going under the title of STIG for CF Ireland, John Craddock and Emmet Ryan will take part in the 26.2 mile race which takes place on October 30th. The pair are co-founders of the fanzine which covers a wide range of football related topics of both a serious and nature.

"It won't be easy but we're ready. We've been here before so we know what's in store. We're committed to raising as much as we can for CF Ireland," said Craddock. The two participants have completed a combined 4 Dublin Marathons between them.

"We won't be challenging the elite competitors but our experience over this distance will help," said Craddock. "We know how hard to push ourselves and how tough it can be."

"We've had our setbacks. I missed four months training with a hernia and that messed around with preparations for both of us," said Ryan.

"This is very much a team effort so not having a training partner hindered John's preparations, but we've come back and we're ready to go," he said.

"Remember we're doing this for a great cause. CF Ireland do marvellous work and it didn't take much thought for us to choose them," said Ryan. "I think the importance of what they do gave us the impetus to overcome the setbacks and get back in gear."

A blog charting the progress of the pair in the run up to the big day and covering their performance in the race itself is available at www.stigonline.com/mblog.htm

About STIG
STIG is a football fanzine founded in 2001 by a group of UCD fans. Initially starting out as a purely humour driven magazine, the publication has in recent times investigated serious issues such as the third Genesis report and the distribution of grants to sporting organisations. STIG has produced more issues than any other in the history of Irish soccer having cleared the 50 issue mark in 2005.

About the participants
John Craddock is a PhD engineering student in UCD, having graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 2003. Craddock has previously completed three Dublin City Marathons and recently finished 5th in his class at an international orienteering meet in Belgium.

Emmet Ryan is a freelance journalist based in Dublin. He graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce (International) degree in 2003 and from DCU with a Master of Arts degree in Journalism in 2005. Ryan previously completed the 2000 Dublin City Marathon and is an offensive lineman with the DCU Saints American Football team.

Further Contact
Those wishing to contact STIG for CF Ireland for further information or to enquire about making a donation can do so by email.

Email: ucdafc@yahoo.ie
Web: www.stigonline.com

**dahamsta** · 17/10/2006, 12:52 PM

Welll done Aberdonian Stu. How can I make a donation, and what's a reasonable amount?

**Aberdonian Stu** · 17/10/2006, 1:05 PM

A reasonable amount is whatever you can afford.

Personally I would consider anyone employed giving less than a fiver to be a tad tight fisted but that said we won't say no to a smaller donation because every little helps. For students and unemployed it's very much a case of whatever you can even if it's a cent.

We've received two donations so far totalling €30 (we've only started advertising it this morning) so that might help with regards to estimating what you may.

As for payment please email the address given and we'll send out details. It's cash, cheque, draft or bank transfer. Obviously the latter three will suit most people but anyone who is likely to see us in person (so that's Shels and UCD fans this Friday) may find cash easier.

**Block G Raptor** · 17/10/2006, 4:00 PM

good stuff lads

**Aberdonian Stu** · 21/10/2006, 12:40 AM

Hi guys just an update on how things are moving along.

The last 24 hours have been superb with over €200 in donations pouring in during the period.

Training could be better but could be a lot worse.

**Aberdonian Stu** · 24/10/2006, 10:24 PM

I'm going to break one of my own personal rules and reply to my own post here but it's just to provide an update.

There's now a photo of the participants in STIG for CF Ireland available.

Go to
http://www.stigonline.com/cfi.htm

About two thirds of the way down the page is a pic of us.

Remember it's not too late to donate (yes I am that shameless when it comes to plugging this).

**Aberdonian Stu** · 31/10/2006, 10:32 AM

Man that was tough. Busted both my calves 12 miles from the end (there was serious veinage on display). Basically couldn't bend either leg after that and then my left thigh started giving me serious problems so my right thigh was responsible for most of my propulsion after that.

Finished it in 7 hours 45 minutes, almost an hour slower than my previous outing when I only bandjaxed myself with 3 miles left.

Full details will be in the next blog entry.

And now a shameless plug...
If you want to donate you can do so by emailing ucdafc@yahoo.ie

**Bald Student** · 31/10/2006, 10:50 AM

On the positive side, the fact that Aberdinian Stu got into difficulties makes my time of 5:54 look less crap by comparison.

**Schumi** · 31/10/2006, 12:13 PM

Originally Posted by Bald Student

On the positive side, the fact that Aberdinian Stu got into difficulties makes my time of 5:54 look less crap by comparison.

You were disappointingly sprightly when I met you.

**Aberdonian Stu** · 04/11/2006, 11:55 AM

New blog entry now up here

**Aberdonian Stu** · 10/02/2007, 12:39 AM

STIG for CF Ireland up for awards
STIG for CF Ireland has been long listed for two awards at the Irish Blog Awards.

The project raised €1,216 for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland and we hope to use these nominations to raise awareness for our efforts next year.

Please help us make the final shortlists by voting for Stigonline in the Best Blog and Best Blog Post categories at www.awards.ie/vote