Need inspiration? Look no further than Darren Cawley

MOTIVATION Training?for the Achill Half Marathon has acted as a springboard to get Westport’s Darren Cawley back to full fitness after his successful second kidney transplant on February 9 last.?Pic: Michael McLaughlin

Running to raise awareness


Denise Horan

IF inspiration is a requirement to run a half-marathon, Darren Cawley’s participation should guarantee a full field in Achill on July 2.
The Aughagower man, who underwent his second kidney transplant just four months ago, is currently in training for the 13-mile event – and is encouraging anyone who’s still weighing up their options to take the plunge and register.
“I was given a huge gift, and I feel I should give something back,” he says by way of explanation for his participation and advocacy on behalf of the marathon.
For over ten years, Darren, now 32, was unable to participate in most of the sports he had enjoyed and excelled at in his teens. While in college in Bedfordshire, at the age of 20, he was suddenly diagnosed with renal failure and the next decade of his life was a series of hospital trips, tests, set-backs and waiting.
In January 2000, he underwent his first transplant, and all appeared to have gone well, but two years later he suffered the heartache of having it removed when he developed a serious virus. Nine years of dialysis every second day followed, restricting his life in many ways, not least in terms of his ability to travel.
Through it all, however, he remained positive and he remained active. Though contact sports were not an option – and still aren’t – he turned to athletics and won three medals at the European Transplant and Dialysis Games in Dublin last year.
“I was the fastest sick person in Europe,” he jokes.
Now though, following a successful second transplant on February 9 last, his world has opened up again. Training for the marathon will serve as a ‘springboard’, he says, to get him back to fitness – and having his fianceé Aoife Mitchell by his side on the course will make it even more special.
For over ten years, Darren Cawley was determined not to let health limitations keep him from enjoying life. Now he’s determined to inspire others with his story – which he regularly does by giving motivational talks and encouraging a positive attitude to life. He’s also a strong advocate for organ donation and when he takes on the hills and byroads of Achill on Saturday week it will be to support the worthy beneficiaries of the event – Croí and St Colman’s Care Centre – and to encourage people to consider being organ donors.
“This is the one big thing I can do – create awareness,” he says. And he’s doing it with gusto.