Malin to Mizen

Malin Head

Mizen Head

Malin to Mizen most commonly refers to a journey from Malin Head (Ireland's most northerly point in County Donegal) to Mizen Head in County Cork (commonly thought to be Ireland's most southerly point, although nearby Brow Head is approximately 30 feet farther south). The journey is most often attempted by cyclists and walkers as a challenge route with the goal of raising money for charities. As the crow flies, the two points are 466 km (290 mi) apart. The shortest road distance from Malin to Mizen is approximately 555 km (345 mi). The distance of the routes commonly taken have been reported as between 644 and 715 km (400 and 444 miles).^{[1] [2]}

Cycling

A record cycling time of 19 hours 3 mins was set in 1993 by Alex Barry.^[3] However, the route is most commonly completed in around 5–6 days by cyclists. ^[4]

The charity Marie Curie Cancer Care uses the route as a fundraising opportunity and provides logistical support for cyclists who are able to raise a minimum sponsorship amount and pay a registration fee.^[5]

CLIC Sargent, the children and young peoples cancer charity, also holds a Malin to Mizen cycle challenge and has one coming up in May 2013. Participants receive an array of benefits and have the fundraising expertise of CLIC Sargent at all times.^[6] Between 3–5 August 2012, Irish Ultra-Distance Cyclist Ricky Geoghegan became the first person to cycle non-stop from Malin Head to Mizen Head and back to Malin Head on a route of 773.2 miles. Setting an Ultra Marathon Cycling Association Record (UMCA) with a time of, 2 days 7 hours and 37 minutes. All record information can be found @ www.umca.com.

Walking

The route was attempted by a resident of Tyrone Robbie Lowe on 1.2-metre (4 foot) stilts in 1997 as a charity fundraising venture.^[7]

In 2002, Vinnie Kelly and Danny Farren from the nearby community of Glengad walked from Mizen to Malin in 12 days. They raised over €45,000 for local charities. Stephen O'Reilly Mariead Rooney and Ciara 'O'Hara walked from Malin head to Mizen over two-week in 2009 to raise money for Marie Curie

Running

Between 5 and 10 July 2011, Welsh International ultra-runner, Jennifer Salter (36), broke the existing End-to-End World Running record set by Ireland's Richard Donovan by over 14 hours by covering the 555km (345-mile) distance in a time of 4 days, 23 hours, 3 minutes and 10 seconds.^[8] From 25 to 29 March 2012, Sharon Gayter (UK) broke the record again with a time of 4 days, 1 hour, 39 minutes and 55 seconds (which was verified as world record by the Book of Alternative Records). From 22 to 25 September 2012, Mimi Anderson (UK) broke the record once again with a time of 3 days 15 hours 36 minutes 23 seconds as verified by Guinness World Records.

Mixed running/cycling

From 3 to 7 July 2011, Malcolm McLoughlin undertook the runningforpearl crossing, running 200 km and cycling 410 km to cover the 610 km from Mizen to Malin, to raise awareness for child autism.^[9]

Longboarding

From 7 to 19 June 2009, four European friends (Alex, Raif, Alfred and Peter) 'ran' their longboards the length of Ireland to raise awareness about the crisis in Zimbabwe and to raise support for the Elias Fund. They longboarded from Mizen Head to Malin Head in twelve days.^[10]

Other uses of the phrase

The phrase is also used to represent the whole geographical extent of Ireland: "a Malin Head to Mizen Head approach".^[11]

See also

• Land's End to John o' Groats
• Du battant des lames au sommet des montagnes

References

External links

• Elias Fund: Run4Zimbabwe
• Run4Zimbabwe
• Dave Barter's account
• Running for Pearl

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