#RNLI - Dun Laoghaire RNLI volunteer crewmember Damien Payne has vowed to complete the popular Reindeer Run charity event on the 5km course in his full RNLI crew kit.
Payne hopes to both fundraise for the lifesaving charity and to show people the kit that the money they raise can buy.
Originally from Cork but now works in Dublin with a healthcare company, Payne has been a volunteer at the busy Dun Laoghaire RNLI lifeboat station for two years.
The lifeboat kit he will be running in consists of the distinctive yellow oil skin jacket and dungarees with the red RNLI lifejacket that all crew must wear when they go to sea.
The only concession he's making is to leave the steel-capped yellow wellies at the starting line and to don a pair of trainers instead. An RNLI lifejacket costs €420 and the special yellow wellies cost €50.
Payne explained his reasons for taking part in the run wearing his lifeboat kit: “I want to wear the RNLI lifeboat crew kit to show people where the funds they raise are going and how vital our equipment is in the work we do.
"One of the first callouts I took part in was late one Friday afternoon to four children who were cut off on a sandbank by the incoming tide in Sandymount. They had no lifejackets and they couldn’t swim.
"When we recovered the children onto our lifeboat we learned it was the first time they had been on a boat and they had no knowledge of water safety."
Payne added: "The equipment and training we use in the RNLI is essential to the work we do and without we would not have been able to bring those children to safety."
As previously reported on Afloat.ie, year's Reindeer Runs are being held on Sunday 1 December at Marlay Park in Dublin and on Sunday 24 November at Fota House and Gardens in Carrigtwohill, Co Cork with a 5km and 10km walk or run, and a 1km Santa Saunter for younger participants.
Registration is now open and costs €10 for the saunter, €21 for the 5km and €23 for the 10km run or walk. There are also family and group rates available. All participants receive a limited edition RNLI Reindeer Run t-shirt and a pair of antlers.
Further information and registration details are available at rnli.org/reindeer or by emailing [email protected] for Dublin or [email protected] for Cork.
