<p>The Art O’Neill challenge has long-been on Irish mountain-dwellers calendar.&nbsp;</p><p>Hikers and ultra-runners gather in the depths of winter, at night to complete a grueling 60km course&nbsp;</p><p>I say course, but there is actually no official route.&nbsp;</p><p>Not only are participants facing into the darkness,&nbsp;</p><p>but they also have to self-navigate over open mountains with almost no actual trails to use.&nbsp;</p><p>Some might say those that run the route are lunatics for running in those conditions.&nbsp;</p><p>The runners might be looking back at the walkers with awe as they continue in the bleak winter night.&nbsp;</p><br><p>So why are they doing this? Why Am I doing this??&nbsp;</p><p>Last year, I myself took part in the challenge as a runner. Unfortunately, I dropped out early…</p><br><p>This year, I’m going again with the sole purpose of completing it!&nbsp;</p><br><p>The more time I have spent with this challenge in my head, the more fascinated I became with the history of it.&nbsp;</p><p>Who was Art O’Neill?&nbsp;</p><p>Why is it named after him?&nbsp;</p><p>Normally when a race is named after a person, it usually means that person is not around anymore!&nbsp;</p><p>Turns out Art hasn’t been around for a couple centuries.&nbsp;</p><br><p>I’ve wanted to do a podcast about the Art O’Neill challenge for a while, but it wasn’t until I came across my guest, that I felt we could do a good job of it.&nbsp;</p><p>Jane Casey is a fellow hiker and content creator from Wicklow.&nbsp;</p><p>Over the past few months, she has been documenting her curiosity around Ireland on social media.&nbsp;</p><p>She offers bite-sized history lessons about things that we all walk by unknowingly everyday.&nbsp;</p><p>And in a country like Ireland that is steeped in History and folklore, she has plenty of subject matter to get through.&nbsp;</p><br><p>When I introduced Jane to the subject of Art O’Neill and the challenge, she was excited to be involved. While Jane is not a historian, she does her research well and came to the show prepared!&nbsp;</p><br><p>So if you’re taking part in this years challenge or you’re just a curious Casey like Jane, this is an episode you won’t want to miss.</p><br><p>Follow Jane Casey&nbsp;</p><p>IG: https://www.instagram.com/janecasey.ie</p><p>TT: https://www.tiktok.com/@janecasey.ie</p><br><p>Find all the maps you need for the Art O'Neill challenge</p><p>https://hiiker.app/purchases&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><br><p><br></p><br /><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>