'Absolutely unreal' - HUP Fitness and DMG win Donegal International Car Push

The Donegal International Car Push was won by HUP Fitness in Drumkeen, sponsored by DMG Motors and with Donegal GAA player Ryan McHugh in the front seat.

The car push served as the opener for Relay for Life, which will take place in Letterkenny this weekend raising money for Irish Cancer Society. 

A total of eleven gyms from around Donegal took part in the charity event, all competing for the fastest time in the 5km loop around Letterkenny. It was up to the gyms to push the cars along the route, with special guests in the driver’s seat providing steering and braking. Each gym was sponsored by a local garage.

The 5km course consisted of two laps, beginning outside Divers Hyundai on the Canal Road, turning left up the Neil T Blaney road, left again at the Joe Bonner traffic lights, past ATU Letterkenny, left at the Station Roundabout, past the Community Centre and back to Divers. The cars set off at two minute intervals.

DJ Tubbsy was the MC for the evening. Along with six-time winner of the Donegal International Rally Andrew Nesbitt, they kept the crowd entertained outside Divers. A barbeque was provided for the event by The Kitchen.

Relay for Life committee members at the Donegal International Car Push

Louise Hayden and Raymond Sweeney own HUP Fitness.

“It was absolutely unreal,” Louise told DonegalLive afterwards. “As a team member that just ran the 5k with the car, I completely underestimated how hard it would be. We put our all into it, we had our eyes on the prize and we went all in. We left everything out on the road and we keeled over once we got over the line!”

Louise said the HUP team had a “really good foundation” of speed work practice for the car push.

“We got the car that we were pushing yesterday and the gang had a little bit of a go just up and down the road just to get a feel for it," she said. "We just went by the training that we’ve already done, so not too much specific training but we would do a lot of speed work. We’re used to doing that form of training, just all in 100 per cent. We empty the tank every time we do something like this.”

Louise said she felt herself fatiguing after the first loop, but the team spirit kept everyone going to the end. “Everyone was cheering each other on. I think you just have to zone out when you’re doing something like this and at the end of the day, you’ve got to remember what you’re doing it for. 

“Obviously it’s a competition and we came to give it our all, but we’re doing this for Relay for Life.  We enter Relay for Life as a team anyway and we will be there for the 24-hour relay. So this is actually a nice addition for us to add to our efforts for the fundraising. It’s important for us to be doing something like this anyways because for us as a team, it is something we really love to support.”

HUP Fitness won with an impressive time of 22:58. Coming in second place was BMS Warehouse Gym in Bundoran, sponsored by Barry Browne Cars, with a time of 23:50. Their driver was reigning Mary from Dungloe, Clare O’Donnell.

Rounding out the top three was Speer Performance and Kelly’s Toyota with a time of 24:19. Rachel McLaughlin of Donegal Daily/ Donegal Woman took the wheel for the group.

The full list of results are as follows: 1st: HUP Fitness & DMG Motors - 22:58; 2nd: BMS Warehouse Gym & Barry Browne Cars - 23:50; 3rd: Speer Performance & Kelly’s Toyota - 24:19; 4th: Ferry Fit & Highland Motors - 24:25; 5th: Pro-Fitness & iMotors - 25:10; 6th: Rushe Fitness & Diver’s Hyundai - 25:43; 7th: Aoife McGill & Hegart’s Ford - 26:51; 8th: ATU Sports Centre & Connolly’s VW - 27:05; 9th: Errigal Health Centre & Diver’s Hyundai - 27:38; 10th: Aura Leisure Centre & Kelly’s Lexus - 29:19; 11th: M.C. Fitness & McGinley Motors - 30:58.

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Kevin Bradley of Highland Bakery presented the trophy to the winners. 

The car push paves the way for Relay for Life, which takes place at ATU Letterkenny from 4pm on Saturday, May 24, to 4pm on Sunday, May, 25.