In 2026, Irish rugby legend Rory Best will captain a team of business leaders on a powerful journey:
To walk 9 marathons in 9 days, covering over 235 miles throughout Ireland. Together, they will walk to ensure that no child faces cancer alone. This is the final chapter in a trilogy of fundraising walks for Cancer Fund for Children.
From Saturday 12th – Sunday 20th September 2026 these participants will put their physical and mental endurance to the test, walking around 50,000 steps daily across Derry/Londonderry, Belfast, Dublin, Kildare, Carlow, Cork, Limerick, Galway before finishing in Cong, Co. Mayo.
Each has also made a commitment to raise a minimum of £/€50,000 to go towards vital services in aid of children and young people impacted by cancer.
Your impact
Each week across the island of Ireland, approximately 10 children and young people (aged 0-24) are diagnosed with cancer and life turns upside for their whole family. Hospital appointments, treatment and the pressures of navigating this experience can leave a family feeling disconnected and exhausted.
At Cancer Fund for Children, we provide emotional, social and therapeutic support so that families feel better equipped to cope with the impact cancer has on their lives. Our Cancer Support Specialists provide this support in the family home, in hospital and at our therapeutic short break centre, Daisy Lodge, in Newcastle, Co. Down.
Due to growing demand, we are currently building a second Daisy Lodge on the shores of Lough Corrib in Cong, Co. Mayo. Once operational, this purpose built facility will allow us to provide restorative breaks to even more families, when they need it most.
The funds raised through this challenge will help us continue our work to ensure no child across the island of Ireland has to face cancer alone.
