Louth podcaster Kieran Pickering walks 59,917 steps in twelve hours for charity

Kieran, who recently launched his solo podcast the Picko Show, set himself the challenge of walking twelve hours to raise funds for two charities, Rally Round for Ruby and Feileacain, The Stillbirth and Neonatal Death Association of Ireland which supports bereaved parents.

“I’m still in pain to say the least,” he said five days after completing the walk which took him all around Dundalk, out to Blackrock and as far as the Ballymascanlon.

Kieran admits that this was more exercise that he’s used to taking as he’s not involved in any walking or running groups.

"I’m not a man who’s built for this kind of activity – I’m a bigger bloke.”

He wasn't however, going to be deterred by the fact that he hasn’t the body of an athlete and set off from his home in Ashbrook, off the Avenue Road at 8am on Saturday May 13.

"My wife Avril and daughter Emma saw me off and my friend Declan Murphy came along with me for the first couple of hours.”

Kieran's route took him along the Avenue Road, the Red Barns Road, down the Navy Bank, through town, out to Blackrock, through Greengates and the Dublin Rod, back into town where he did a couple of loops of Ice House Hill, where he was joined by six-year old Emma, out to Dowdallshill and Ballymacanlon and back into town.

He was blessed with good weather and is now sporting a tan.

"I enjoyed it to a point and there was good craic as I was live-streaming and doing updates every hour. I had people waving and beeping their horns which kept be going.”

As he was walking back home through town, he got a phone call from Avril asking him if he would nip into Tesco to get milk, so it was 8.05pm before he finally got home to put his feet up.

With his new podcast Kieran is hoping to focus on the work of local charities and felt this was a good way to start.

"It's going to be more interview based and I’ve already done interviews with John Brennan, who had a heart transplant and plays on the Irish transplant football team, and with a spokesperson from Feileacain.”

Donations can be made via GoFundMe.