Screening of Unbreakable : The Mark Pollock story...Nov 2014...Cork, Limerick, Dingle, Ennis

No doubt many of you may be aware of Mark Pollock and the Run in the Dark events which are held throughout Ireland every November. Earlier in October, there were a number of screenings of the documentary Unbroken : The Mark Pollock Story. These are the screenings for November which includes a week in the Gate cinema in Douglas.

4 November 2014 – ENNIS – Glór with Q&A
4 November 2014 – LIMERICK – Omniplex with Q&A
11 November 2014 – DINGLE – Phoenix Cinema
17 November 2014 – DUBLIN – Lighthouse Cinema Smithfield FINAL SCREENING with Q&A 
14th - 26th November 2014 – CORK – Gate Cinema, Douglas, Cork. 6:30pm

Info here: www.markpollockfilm.com/screenings
Unbreakable: The Mark Pollock Story...The film follows the almost unbelievable tragedies that life has thrown at Mark and his resolve to move beyond them. Unbroken by blindness at 22, Mark was a Commonwealth Games medal winner and competed in ultra endurance races across deserts, mountains, and the polar ice caps and ten years after losing his sight he became the first blind person to race to the South Pole, a race that allowed him to finally put the demons of blindness behind him. But then, just four weeks from the day of his planned wedding to fiancée Simone, a fall 25 feet from a second story window left Mark near death and paralysed from the waist down.

Directed by Ross Whitaker (When Ali Came to Ireland; Saviours), this moving, fascinating film brings the audience to Mark’s bedside in the acute ward of a spinal hospital; blind, now paralysed and broken. The close friendship between Mark and the filmmaker has produced a delicate, deeply personal, intimate film. Six years in the making it tells the story of Mark’s eventual rehabilitation and his mission to find and connect people worldwide to fast track a cure for paralysis, a mission which gives the audience a glimpse of the frontiers of robotics and medical science.

Unbreakable: The Mark Pollock Story was produced with the participation of the Irish Film Board / Bord Scannán na hÉireann, RTÉ and Rehab.

 

Notice...Run in the Dark 5k/10k...Wed 12th Nov 2014

Following the success of last years Run in the Dark charity events, they will be repeated again this year in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Belfast, London and Manchester.

The Cork event last year attracted around 1,900 people and it looks likely that a similar number will want to take part in this unique event around the streets of the city at night this year as well.

You can enter this race on the event website... http://www.runinthedark.org/

The only big change this year is that the runners will be avoiding Paul Street and will be using a section of the quays instead.

More details in later posts..

Screening of Unbreakable : The Mark Pollock story

No doubt many of you may be aware of Mark Pollock and the Run in the Dark events which are held throughout Ireland every November.


A new documentary film is now being screened throughout the country and the one in Cork will be in the Gate cinema on Monday 6th Oct 2014.

You can book a ticket online HERE...

6 October 2014 – CORK – Gate Cinema with Q&A 
7 October 2014 – WATERFORD – Garter Lane Arts Centre with Q&A
8 October 2014 – THURLES – Source Arts Centre with Q&A
9 October 2014 – BIRR – Offline Film Festival with Q&A
13 October 2014 – GALWAY – Town Hall Theatre with Q&A
17 October 2014 – DUBLIN – UCD Cinema 

Unbreakable: The Mark Pollock Story...The film follows the almost unbelievable tragedies that life has thrown at Mark and his resolve to move beyond them. Unbroken by blindness at 22, Mark was a Commonwealth Games medal winner and competed in ultra endurance races across deserts, mountains, and the polar ice caps and ten years after losing his sight he became the first blind person to race to the South Pole, a race that allowed him to finally put the demons of blindness behind him. But then, just four weeks from the day of his planned wedding to fiancée Simone, a fall 25 feet from a second story window left Mark near death and paralysed from the waist down.

Directed by Ross Whitaker (When Ali Came to Ireland; Saviours), this moving, fascinating film brings the audience to Mark’s bedside in the acute ward of a spinal hospital; blind, now paralysed and broken. The close friendship between Mark and the filmmaker has produced a delicate, deeply personal, intimate film. Six years in the making it tells the story of Mark’s eventual rehabilitation and his mission to find and connect people worldwide to fast track a cure for paralysis, a mission which gives the audience a glimpse of the frontiers of robotics and medical science.

Unbreakable: The Mark Pollock Story was produced with the participation of the Irish Film Board / Bord Scannán na hÉireann, RTÉ and Rehab.

 

Irish Examiner article on Mark Pollock...

The 5k and 10k Run in the Dark is coming up on Wednesday, the 13th of November as outlined in this earlier post.

The Irish Examiner had an article today on Mark Pollock and his life to date...http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/the-three-lives-of-mark-pollock-246516.html

Event Notice...Run in the Dark 5k/10k...Wed 13th Nov 2013

Following the success of last years Run in the Dark charity events, they will be repeated again this year in the cities of Dublin, Cork, Belfast, London and Manchester.

The Cork event last year attracted over 1,000 people and it looks likely that a similar number will want to take part in this unique event around the streets of the city at night.

You can enter this race on the event website... http://www.runinthedark.org/

More details in later posts..

Event Notice...Run in the Dark 5k/10k...Wed 14th Nov 2012

This unique event is coming up in various cities on Wednesday, the 14th of November 2012.  Last year, it was a huge success with well over 400 people taking part in the Cork event alone. This year, they are changing the location of the race as it will now be in the city centre rather than on the Monaghan Road/Centre Park Road circuit.

This is from the organisers.........

Run in the Dark aims to be the biggest multi-location, mass participation running event in the world. And you can be part of it. Join us on Wednesday the 14th of November 2012!

Mark Pollock is a truly inspiring individual. Having lost his sight at the age of 22 Mark has never let that hold him back. He took hold of his life and never looked back competing in the world’s harshest environments across desert,mountain, ocean and polar regions including 6 marathons in 7 days in the Gobi Desert, a race to the South Pole, and the Round Ireland yacht race; all this despite being completely blind. He made his living as a motivational speaker around the globe and inspired many people to think about how to face challenges and make decisions.
Having overcome his blindness tragedy struck again on the 2nd July 2010 when Mark fell from a second story window and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury which has left Mark paralysed from the waist down.

The Mark Pollock Trust was set up by Mark's friends and supporters in order to raise funds for this rehabilitation programme, which will involve a daily aggressive physical therapy programme of up to 3 hours per session, input from physical trainers and physiotherapists and repeat visits to a spinal injuries recovery facility in America called, Project Walk.
Mark Pollock's supporters created Run in the Dark to fuel his ambition to walk again. A spinal cord injured pioneer, he is exploring the frontiers of recovery.

For his strength and determination in overcoming significant physical adversity, his continued inspiration of others in sharing his story and in constantly pushing out new boundaries, in his personal life and as an explorer and adventure racer, Mark Pollock was awarded a People of the Year Award.

Run in the Dark is a running event held simultaneously in 5 official locations - Dublin, Cork, Belfast, London and New York. You can race, run, or walk either 5 km or 10 km in all locations.

If you can’t make it to one of the official locations why not put on your running shoes and register your own pop up event wherever you are. Last year, saw run in the Dark pop-up events in over 20 locations around the world including Paris, Brussels, San Francisco, Neuchatel, Toronto, Dallas, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Amsterdam, Singapore, Sydney.

For more information please log on and sign up at www.runinthedark.org

This is the route of the course in Cork City.....2 laps for the runners and walkers doing the 5 k option, 4 laps for the runners doing the 10k.

More info closer to the event. Please note that entries close on Wednesday, the 7th of November.

Update on Mark Pollock...

Back in mid-November of 2011, there were a series of races held throughout Ireland in aid of Mark Pollock. Named 'Run for Mark in the Dark'. These events raised funds for Mark's ongoing care.

Preview of the race in Cork HERE with the results HERE

For anyone who took part, you might be interested in the video below showing Mark trying out some new robotic legs...

Results of the Run for Mark in the Dark race - Wed 16th Nov 2011

There was a large turnout of 442 runners for this charity run in Cork City yesterday evening. There were 168 in the 5k race while 274 took part in the 10k. For a damp dark November evening, that's an impressive number.

The full results with lap splits can be seen HERE

Just out of interest....for those that ran, what did you think of the race or event overall? Was the course bright enough for a road race? Click on the comment link below...

Preview of the 'Run for Mark in the Dark' charity run - Wed 16th Nov 2011

The ‘Run for Mark in the Dark’ is coming up on Wednesday, November 16th at 7.30pm. It is being run simultaneously in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Belfast. The proceeds of this event will go to the Mark Pollock trust to help Mark with his rehabilitation.

The Cork event takes place on the Monahan Road/Centre Park Road circuit and there are entries on the night too. Option of 5k or 10k distance.

This link is a video about Mark - Please vote for it on the site, the winning charity gets €10K…… http://www.bettertogether.ie/content/mark-pollock

Some information on Mark:
Mark Pollock is a truly inspiring individual. Having lost his sight at the age of 22 Mark has never let that hold him back. He took hold of his life and never looked back competing in the world’s harshest environments across desert,mountain, ocean and polar regions including 6 marathons in 7 days in the Gobi Desert, a race to the South Pole, and the Round Ireland yacht race; all this despite being completely blind. He made his living as a motivational speaker around the globe and inspired many people to think about how to face challenges and make decisions.

Having overcome his blindness tragedy struck again on the 2nd July 2010 when Mark fell from a second story window and suffered a catastrophic spinal injury which has left Mark paralysed from the waist down. The following clip is of an interview with Mark conducted by the BBC six months after Mark's accident. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-12314687

The past year has been incredibly difficult for Mark and while he has dealt with every emotion he is determined not to rest on his laurels. You can check out Mark's blog at www.markpollock.com/blog/blog.asp

He has done a lot of research to find out what he could do and was in hospital for 15 months. He has just been released and is now following a programme of aggressive physical therapy in an attempt to regain any feeling or movement that he can.

The Mark Pollock Trust was set up by Mark's friends and supporters in order to raise funds for this rehabilitation programme, which will involve a daily aggressive physical therapy programme of up to 3 hours per session, input from physical trainers and physiotherapists and repeat visits to a spinal injuries recovery facility in America called, Project Walk. ‘Run for Mark in the Dark’ is the Trust's first official event, although many friends, old and new, have been hosting running and cycling races, events in their homes and donating directly to the Trust, allowing Mark start to rebuild his life and to start training.

The four fundraising runs will take place in Belfast, Cork, Dublin and Galway simultaneously and range between 4 km and 10km (distances vary depending on the location). Each location has a walking option, so everyone can participate. The cost of the event is €25 per person for this very wothwhile cause. Log onto www.run4mark.com to enter.

On the night....You can also enter on the night at the Clarion hotel. There is plenty of on street parking along Victoria Road. If you are not sure of where the Clarion hotel is then see the map above. It is 530 metres from the hotel to the start line.

Course.......The route used is the Monahan Road / Centre Park Road circuit. The race starts and finishes next to Kennedy Park. The loop is 2.5 kms and you have a choice of doing 2 loops.....5 kms......or 4 loops........10 kms. The course is dead flat and very fast.

In general, the course is well lit with plenty of street lights. The photo below shows the first corner which at the south-east  of the loop. Lots of light here, no issues...

On the north-east corner...shown below....there are plenty of trees. While the leaves are mostly gone at this time of year, it will most likely be the darkest part of the course so watch your footing here...

At the western end of the loop, you are back onto a well lit junction at the roundabout and garage...

Please note that the course will be plenty of race stewards and hi-vis vest are not required on the night.
Post Race.......Runners can use the health club facilities in the Clarion hotel for a shower etc.
A goody bag can be collected be at the Clarion afterwards and they will be selling tee shirts before and after.

Draw for prizes (Top Draw Prize valued at €500 - 2 nights bed and breakfast, one evening meal with a bottle of wine in Kudos bar and approx €50 of pre/post dinner drinks for two people in the Clarion Hotel Cork) in the Clarion after the race also.

Notice for the 'Run for Mark in the Dark' charity run - Wed 16th Nov 2011

This charity race is coming up on Wednesday evening the 16th of November at 7:30pm with similar races in Dublin, Belfast and Galway starting at the same time. The Cork race will be held on the Centre Park Rd / Road circuit with a choice of 2 laps (5 kms) or 4 laps (10 kms).
The purpose of the race is to raise funds for the rehabilitation of Mark Pollock who was injured in an accident in 2010.

This is Mark's story.....
For over a decade Mark Pollock was known as an inspiration, an adventure athlete competing in the world’s harshest environments despite being completely blind.
In mid-2010, Mark’s business was thriving with a full calendar of motivational speaking events ahead. He was in the process of writing his second book and he was due to be married.

On the night of the 2nd of July 2010 everything changed. He fell from a second story window fracturing his skull, some ribs and breaking his back in a number of places. Mark was taken to intensive care where injuries such as bleeds on his brain and a suspected torn aorta one by one healed becoming less and less significant beside the fact that Mark could not feel or move anything below his belly button. An MRI confirmed damage to his spinal cord where two of his vertebrae had burst in the fall. Mark was transferred to the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville in England, where spinal surgeons stabilized the bones in his spine with metal rods.

Mark spent 7 months suffering an onslaught of kidney and heart infections, which brought weeks of temperatures and pain and a 3 stone weight loss. Mark’s bones eventually healed but medicine can do nothing to repair a damaged spinal cord and Mark was discharged to The National Rehabilitation Hospital in Ireland in February 2011.

To pre-enter and for more information, you should visit this website....http://www.run4mark.com/

Registration will take place in The Clarion Hotel, Lapps Quay from 5pm -7pm on the night. More details in the pre-race preview.