{"id":117829,"date":"2025-10-12T18:24:15","date_gmt":"2025-10-12T18:24:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/117829\/"},"modified":"2025-10-12T18:24:15","modified_gmt":"2025-10-12T18:24:15","slug":"thousands-turn-waterford-orange-for-the-2025-solas-run-and-walk-for-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/117829\/","title":{"rendered":"Thousands turn Waterford orange for the 2025 Solas Run and Walk for Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Waterford City was awash with colour and community spirit on Sunday morning as thousands took part in the 2025 Solas Run and Walk for Life, raising vital funds for the Solas Cancer Support Centre.<\/p>\n

Following Saturday\u2019s well-supported Dungarvan event, the streets of Waterford turned into a sea of orange \u2014 and this year, a hint of blue \u2014 as runners and walkers completed the course, cheered on by friends, family, and volunteers. With more than 3,000 people taking part, the event once again proved to be one of the region\u2019s biggest and most beloved fundraisers.<\/p>\n

\"solas\"<\/p>\n

The first three men home receive their prizes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s just such a feel-good vibe,\u201d said Gwen Daniels, General Manager at UPMC Whitfield Hospital, a long-standing supporter of the event. \u201cWhen people start to cheer you over the line, the feeling is unbelievable. The stewards and volunteers do an incredible job keeping everyone going and keeping spirits high.\u201d<\/p>\n

Daniels also praised the event\u2019s growing inclusivity, noting the addition of blue vests this year to represent the 27% of men who currently access services at the Solas Cancer Support Centre. \u201cIt\u2019s wonderful to see the blue jerseys out there,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s a reminder that men need to participate not only in the event but in the support services available to them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"solas\"<\/p>\n

John Keane and Gary Russell.<\/p>\n

For Tracy McDaid, Manager of the Solas Cancer Support Centre, the day is both humbling and inspiring. \u201cIt is such a special day \u2014 the highlight of our year,\u201d she said, beaming as she watched the crowds flow through the park. \u201cThe atmosphere, the stories, what it all means to people \u2014 it\u2019s phenomenal.\u201d<\/p>\n

McDaid acknowledged the immense behind-the-scenes effort that makes the event possible each year. \u201cWhen something looks easy, it\u2019s because all the planning has gone on in the background. There are about 200 stewards and volunteers involved, and we were in the park from half six this morning making sure everything ran smoothly.\u201d<\/p>\n

She also highlighted the vital role the event plays in keeping Solas\u2019s services free and accessible. \u201cIt costs \u20ac1.1 million to run the Solas Cancer Support Centre each year,\u201d McDaid explained. \u201cThis event is our flagship fundraiser, and we hope to raise around \u20ac200,000. But beyond the fundraising, it\u2019s about raising awareness \u2014 encouraging people to reach out and engage with the services we offer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"solas\"<\/p>\n

Bernard, Anita, Kya and Zara-Lily.<\/p>\n

This year\u2019s blue T-shirts \u2014 making up 27% of participants\u2019 tops \u2014 symbolised the Centre\u2019s call for more men to access support. \u201cCancer diagnoses are 50-50 between men and women, but only 27% of our clients are men,\u201d McDaid said. \u201cIn fact, this week last year, four of our new clients were men. This week, that number doubled to eight \u2014 a really encouraging sign.\u201d<\/p>\n

From the early morning volunteers to the cheering crowds, musicians, Garda\u00ed, Civil Defence, and sponsors including UPMC Whitfield, EirGen, and the many local supporters, the sense of community pride was palpable.<\/p>\n

As the final walkers crossed the finish line, attention was already turning to next year. \u201cWe\u2019ll start planning next week for 2026,\u201d McDaid laughed. \u201cDays like today remind us why we do what we do \u2014 it\u2019s about hope, connection, and community.\u201d<\/p>\n

And with that, the message from Waterford was clear: Bring on the Solas Run and Walk for Life 2026.<\/p>\n

For the latest Waterford\u00a0News<\/a><\/b>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/b>Sport<\/a>,<\/a><\/b>\u00a0tune into WLR News on the hour and download the WLR App for news on demand.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Waterford City was awash with colour and community spirit on Sunday morning as thousands took part in the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":117830,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[73],"tags":[79,18,19,17,72148],"class_list":{"0":"post-117829","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-business","8":"tag-business","9":"tag-eire","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-solas"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117829","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117829"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117829\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/117830"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117829"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117829"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117829"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}