A Dublin man who overcame addiction is limbering up to embark on an epic challenge for charity - to run the length of Ireland and back again.
Chris Connolly will run more than 1,000km on his route from Malin Head in Co Donegal to Mizen Head in Co Cork and back again.
He will begin the challenge on 1 June and is raising money for Family Carers Ireland.
Chris has attempted this feat twice already and said he almost gave up on his dream of completing it until he had a realisation that changed his outlook.
"I made the correlation between me trying to get sober and me trying to do the challenges being the same," he told RTÉ News.
"I tried relentlessly to get sober and never could. I failed and failed and relapsed and relapsed. I never thought I could get there, but one day I got there. I'll make mistakes, I’ll fail, but I need to continue to get back up. This is me getting back up for a third time."
Chris said running changed his life and has become "a tool to stay sober" over the last five years.
He is grateful that he got the help he needed and is driven to fundraise for charity because "when you’re in a position where life is going good, that’s when it’s time to give back".
He hopes sharing his story will show others that they can achieve their dreams too.
"All I want to do is to use this challenge to show people in recovery or still in addiction that you can do anything you want in life," he said.
When it came to training for this third attempt, Chris described it as being "much more intense" than before.
Every day, he runs 20-30km in the morning, followed by a 10-15km run in the evening, and he also weight trains.
When the challenge gets under way, he will cover 60-80km per day and he hopes people will turn out to support him by cheering him on or joining him for part of the run.
"The biggest mistake on the last attempt was not including people outside of it," he said.
"I need community, I need connectivity. I've done this challenge on my own and failed twice already, so if nothing changes, nothing will change."
He will be sharing his routes and updates on his 'Get Better With Chris’ social media accounts along the way.
If you have been affected by the issues raised in this story, visit www.rte.ie/helplines
