A Cork nurse living in Australia ran the equivalent of a marathon a day during the last month to raise $50,000 for a cancer research institute.
Ms Paula Murphy (35), of Ballincollig, Co Cork, dropped to the ground and completed 20 push ups last Saturday after completing a 25-day 2,000-km run from Cairns to the Gold Coast to raise funds for the Queensland Institute of Medical Research.
The fitness fanatic who has lived in Australia for 13 years said she decided to run the marathon after she became frustrated at the lack of awareness of cancer research.
"I ran to increase the profile for cancer and to have the institute recognised worldwide for what it does. The run was tiring on a mental level rather than a physical. They call me the 'Queen of the Gym' so the run itself wasn't that bad. I drank a dozen pints of Guinness when I finished which was fantastic."
Ms Murphy ran 170 km a week to prepare for the charity run. She also spent four to seven hours a day in the gym to build up her stamina.
The registered clinical nurse working at the Gold Coast Hospital decided to make the run from Cairns to Harbour town in the Gold Coast without even knowing where her starting point was located on the map.
"It looked like a little run on the map but turned out to be about 70 km a day. But I enjoyed every minute of it. It was very emotional when I got to the finish line in Harbour town. A girl gave me a medal with the word 'winner' on it. I was in tears." A spokesman for the Queensland Institute of Medical Research, Mr Chris Ryan, said the nurse's run has been invaluable in terms of increasing the profile of cancer research throughout the world.
Ms Murphy's website received 65,000 hits from all over the world during the last month, with cash pouring in from Australia, Ireland, the US and New Zealand.