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A retired GP with incurable cancer has set out to walk a 120km stage of the Camino on his driveway.
Lisburn’s Martin McMullan in Co, Antrim hopes to complete the walk for five days, before turning 58 on May 4.
You will walk from Logrono to Burgos in a virtual sense, complete with guides, but without leaving your driveway, to raise funds for Trocaire.
He had set a target of £ 500, but when he left at 7 am, he had already reached £ 15,000.
“I am overwhelmed by how generous people have been. You cannot underestimate the power of social media. Donations have come from across the country, the United States and England,” he said.
McMullan was diagnosed with incurable blood cancer (myeloma) in 2012, just after his 50th birthday, which means he is now on the highly vulnerable list during the pandemic and has isolated himself from his family in his garden shed for weeks.
His wife Therese Gorman and three of her five children live in the family home and will be available to offer socially distant support.
Mrs. Gorman is running a virtual ‘Café de Camino’ that provides tasty meals, including café con leche as well as traditional food and wine, and prepares sun loungers and a table outside the front door for her husband.
“Hopefully there will be Spanish bread and cheese, and maybe when the afternoon comes maybe a glass of Rioja and a little ham,” he said.
The idea of doing the hike occurred to Mr. McMcullan with a glass of wine on a Zoom call with his brothers. He said “there isn’t much more” he can do while he is hiding.
He is a member of the St John’s Rambling Retirees Walking Club and is part of a group that walks the French Way, and the next trip will take place next summer.
He decided to complete Logrono to the Burgos stage on his driveway after plans to hike the ‘Irish Road’ around the Boyne Valley this summer were cut short by Covid-19 restrictions.
While distance in itself doesn’t intimidate him, McMullan considers boredom to be his biggest challenge as he completes 120km in such a small space.
He said he is lucky to live in the country in a house with a good driveway, but said it gets boring since he has been “practicing a little bit and it is not the most inspiring hike.”
He plans to do the hike as if he is doing the real thing, only stopping when he has reached a village, averaging around 25 km each day and should take him 6 to 7 hours a day to complete.
Mr. McMullan’s family will also join him for part of the road trip.
“I am protecting myself from everyone, including my family, so we will do it at a suitable distance of 2 meters. My plan will be to get up early and have a good time in the morning. And during the confinement here a lot of them have not got up too much early, so I think he’ll probably get me half, but they could join me for the second half of the hike, “he said.
Mrs. Gorman said, “Hopefully it doesn’t rain, but it will continue anyway. One of the Roads it did, it actually rained for the five days.”
Mr. McMullan’s daughter, Megan, thinks what her father does is “super.”
She said, “It really isn’t a surprise since he’s always doing fundraisers, but this one really has taken flight.”
McMullan will arrive in ‘Burgos’ for his 58th birthday on Monday.
“I think it will depend on the weather, I think there could be a planned barbecue, but we could go with a Spanish theme and have tapas and something from Rioja, I have received a delivery of six bottles of Rioja from the region, so maybe drink some that to celebrate, “he said.
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