ADVENTURER LINDA EMBARKS ON FORMIDABLE NEW CHALLENGE w2j1d

Linda Blakely, the London-based businesswoman who financed the digital scoreboard at the hospital end of Mourneview Park, has embarked on another major endurance challenge. On Friday 4th April 2025 she began an audacious attempt to complete the famous Marathon de Sables (Marathon of the Sands) in Morocco, North Africa. The course is 250 kilometres in length. Participants, who carry their equipment and provisions in heavy back packs, have seven days to reach the finish line. She has been training hard in preparation for the race. “It will be tough, but it is something I have wanted to do for a long time,” she explained. “I keep myself very fit, but it is difficult to replicate the conditions – running across the Sahara carrying a heavy load – here in the U.K. So, I don’t know exactly how tough it will be.” 55w4c

Linda attended Glenavon’s recent home match against Larne accompanied by sister-in-law Joyce and grandniece Olivia. Back in 2020 the entrepreneur made a generous donation which allowed the club to invest in the scoreboard. “I was born in the Hill Street area, went to London at the age of 19 and have been in business since I was in my mid-twenties,” she explained. “I have always been very proud of my Lurgan roots and wanted to do something to the community I grew up in. Tom Mitchell, who went to school with me, made the approach. I liked the idea of a new scoreboard, and things progressed from there.”

The adventurer owns CARE Ltd., a London-based company which operates three homes offering full time care for young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and respite care for children with learning disabilities. She returns to Lurgan at least three times each year and, when possible, takes in a Glenavon match. “My mum is still in the town, and I have other family here, so I like to come back as often as possible.”

Linda spends her free time participating in Ironman competitions. Occasionally, she stretches herself. In 2018 she summitted Everest and Lhotse, the highest and fourth highest peaks in the world. She is the first female British mountaineer to conquer both within the same 24-hour period. “I acquired my love of exploring mountains as a teenager taking a Duke of Edinburgh course at Lurgan Youth Annex,” she explained. “I started with the Mournes and later tackled bigger fish. I climbed Mont Blanc, Kilimanjaro, Denali, Aconcagua and some other 6,000-metre-high peaks in the Himalayas before finally attempting Everest and Lhotse.”

Albert McNally, who was a cousin of Ronnie Lyske, a League Championship winner with Glenavon in 1951-52 and double winner five years later, and his wife Eunice were leaders in the Youth Annex. “They gave up so much of their free time to teach us important life skills and take us on weekends away,” she said. “I was enthralled by their knowledge, ion and willingness to invest in us. They were great role models. The Youth Annex is where I got my spirit of adventure.”

In 2024 Linda rowed the Atlantic Ocean solo on her boat, “Ulster Warrior.” She set off from Gran Canaria on 20^th January and reached Barbados on 4^th March. The journey took 54 days. The challenge raised £109,000 for Action Medical Research, a charity which investigates the causes of rare diseases impacting children.

When she sets out on a new adventure, she always makes a point of bringing a Glenavon hat and banner and a Northern Ireland flag. “My Glenavon hat has been everywhere with me and the banner has been to Everest base camp,” she added. “I like people to know that I am a Northern Ireland girl. We are a small place, but we have a big footprint.”

Fitness and good health have always been important to her. “Work is usually very busy, but I try to eat well and stay as fit as possible,” she explained. “I am primarily an Ironman athlete but sometimes I like to see how I cope outside my comfort zone. The Marathon de Sables will be a big challenge. I don’t know how it will go. My main aim is to finish the course.”

Glenavon remains grateful to Linda for facilitating the installation of the scoreboard. Everyone at the club wishes her safety and success in Morocco.