The 2018 edition of the DeCare Dental Sport a Smile 5KM fun run/walk and corporate challenge recently took place in Claremorris. This year represented the 17th anniversary of the event and experienced one of the highest competitor turnouts of the past decade. Participants enjoyed pristine conditions on the evening which contributed to an exhilarating race. All proceeds of Sport a Smile went to the employee selected DeCare Dental charity of the year – ISPCC Childline, a most worthy cause.This year’s Sport a Smile consisted of two races, the individual contest and the new corporate challenge. The inaugural corporate challenge proved to be a resounding success with 12 company teams competing for the DeCare Dental Cup. Corporate competitors in the west of Ireland were certainly awake demonstrating team spirit in aid of charity. The individual race was open to all entries and was also part of the Mayo Athletic Club Vodafone League.
The large turn-out encountered warm weather conditions with a steady breeze in the faces of participants for the duration of the run. In a hotly contested Men’s individual race, Tom Prendergast (Claremorris) emerged the eventual winner, followed home by Brendan Harrison (Mayo Athletic Club) in second place, while Tony O’Malley (Mayo Athletic Club) finished third. The strongly ran Women’s individual race saw local athlete Kathy Gleeson (Claremorris) first across the line, with Mary Gleeson (Claremorris, DeCare) following in second and Sylvia Malone (Waterford) finishing third.
The winners of the DeCare Dental Sport a Smile Corporate Challenge were team HSE. John Kelly, Mari Johnson, Padraic McVann and Lynda Hession proudly lifted the DeCare Dental Cup for their company. While CBE were second and Kavanagh Group were third. Other noteworthy winners on the evening were Stephen Skillington (Mayo Athletic Club) – Men’s over-50, Eileen O’Brien (Mayo Athletic Club) – Women’s over-50, Jimmy Feeney (Mayo Athletic Club) – Men’s over-60, Patricia Brennan (Claremorris) – Women’s over-60 and Shauna Charles (Claremorris) – under-19.
As an organisation, DeCare Dental Insurance Ireland encourage all employees and members of their community in becoming aware of and making choices towards living a healthy and fulfilling life. By hosting Sport a Smile annually, DeCare Dental believes it’s playing its role in promoting such a lifestyle and in turn raising well-needed funds for local charities like ISPCC ChildLine.
After the race, Maureen Walsh (CEO) DeCare Dental Ireland praised the event and thanked everyone that was involved. “It was so nice to be a part of the event. It was especially great to see all of the families and friends and companies take part together, cross the line together and enjoy what was an awesome atmosphere at a top class Claremorris sporting facility, Claremorris Athletic Track. All in aid of an important charity.”
