STIG for CF Ireland is back for 2007. Having raised €1,291 in its 2006 campaign, football fanzine Student Till I Graduate (STIG) is once again entering two athletes in the Dublin City Marathon to raise funds for Cystic Fibrosis Ireland (CF Ireland).

STIG for CF Ireland 2007 will see John Craddock and Emmet Ryan will take part in the 26.2 mile race which takes place on October 29th. The pair are co-founders of the fanzine which covers a wide range of football related topics of both a serious and humourous nature.

“Last year was a great performance for our initial effort and we’re confident we can smash that total and raise even more for CF Ireland,” said Emmet Ryan.

The two participants have completed a combined 7 Dublin Marathons between them.

“Last year was a tough slog but we got the job done and we hope we can put in a better performance this year,” said Craddock.

The 2006 campaign was helped in no small part by a blog which was used to keep supporters up to date with the lads’ efforts.

“The blog was a tremendous success and accounted for over half of all traffic to our website (stigonline.com) while it was active,” said Stigonline.com editor John Healy.

This year the blog is back and the boys are adding to their arsenal of new media tools to generate support including a series of videos which will offer an element of humour to proceedings.

“I’m sure some people will think that our attempts at running are funny enough in their own right but hopefully our deliberate efforts will generate some laughs as well,” said Ryan.

To follow the lads’ efforts in the build up to the big day check out the STIG for CF Ireland 2007 marathon blog which can be found here.

About STIG

STIG is a football fanzine founded in 2001 by a group of UCD fans. Initially starting out as a purely humour driven magazine the publication has in recent times investigated serious issues such as the third Genesis report and the distribution of grants to sporting organisations. STIG has produced more issues than any other in the history of Irish soccer having cleared the 50 issue mark in 2005.

About the athletes

John Craddock (left) and Emmet Ryan

John Craddock is a PhD engineering student in UCD, having graduated with a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 2003. Craddock has previously completed five Dublin City Marathons and has competed in several international orienteering events.

Emmet Ryan is a freelance journalist based in Dublin working with ENN, the Sunday Business Post and the Irish Times amongst others. He graduated from UCD with a Bachelor of Commerce (International) degree in 2003 and from DCU with a Master of Arts degree in Journalism in 2005. Ryan previously completed two Dublin City Marathons and is an offensive lineman with the DCU Saints American Football team.

About STIG

STIG is a football fanzine founded in 2001 by a group of UCD fans. Initially starting out as a purely humour driven magazine the publication has in recent times investigated serious issues such as the third Genesis report and the distribution of grants to sporting organisations. STIG has produced more issues than any other in the history of Irish soccer having cleared the 50 issue mark in 2005.

Contact us

Those wishing to contact STIG for CF Ireland for further information or to enquire about making a donation can do so by email. emmetryan@gmail.com