Full steam ahead for Derryman Danny’s Deca-man challenge in memory of late father

The Deca-man challenge is the name given to an event whereby ten triathlons, each comprising a 2.4-mile swim, a 112-mile bike run and then finishing with a 26.2-mile marathon, are completed over 10 days.

Back in March, Danny announced his intention to undertake the challenge on the weekend of his father Colm’s tenth anniversary. Colm Quigley was an accomplished athlete. He died by suicide and Danny is aiming to support two local organisations and raise awareness of suicide through the Deca-man.

In preparation for the gruelling challenge, the fitness instructor from Derry has recently increased his current training regime to acclimatise his body to the pain and effort that will be required to complete the task.

Under the tutelage of his coach James Walton, Danny put himself through the increased effort of a mini training camp last week. For the Derryman, this meant rising each day in the wee hours and getting himself into the waters of Enagh Lough for his daily swim.

Danny told the ‘Journal’ that the recent good weather made all the difference, in terms of water temperature. “Enagh was magic every morning with the high temperature we got all week keeping the water fresh and nice to swim in,” he said.

After his morning swims, Danny would embark on bike trips and runs as well, to increase his mileage. The experience also gave him the opportunity to tinker with his fuelling. After arduous training sessions, he would ensure he was taking on more carbohydrates, food and water. “I made sure to learn from my earlier experiences in the week in terms of lack of fuelling, I felt a noticeable difference in effort once I started to take on extra fuel,” he said.

Some of Danny’s bike rides last week saw him clock up five or six hours in the saddle, with long distances taking him as far away as Downhill, on the North Coast, or Rossnowlagh in Donegal. Having the assistance of friends who worked as training partners also got Danny through his mini-camp last week. Stephen Mulberry, Aoife Wilson, Gareth Strain and Kerrie McIlmoyle all checked in during the week to help Danny along with his training. “Wednesday was great as I had Fintan Stewart for company during my bike ride. He brought my average speed up to 20mph over the whole five-hour plus ride,” he added. Overall, Danny said he learned a lot from his mini-training camp and is looking forward to holding another one in four weeks’ time. In total during his mini training camp, he swam 15 km, biked 500 miles and ran 35 miles. His Deca-man challenge which aims to raise awareness for suicide prevention will see all fundraising monies go to the Bogside & Brandywell Health Forum and Pieta House.

So far, he has managed to raise over £6,500 of his £10,000 total. To donate to the challenge visit uk.gofundme.com/f/DannyQuigley10*To keep up to date with Danny’s progress he can be found on Instagram at danny_quigley123

*Anyone in distress can contact Lifeline 08088088000, Samaritans 116123 or the Derry-based CCIS 02871262300.