53-year-old Nick North ran all the way from Mozambique to South Africa, took from June 20th until yesterday to complete the gruelling bid to raise cash.
Although he wanted to raise €45k, he only managed to get a quarter of that because, he believes, the recession is hitting donations hard.
He managed to avoid wild animals, malaria and a host of other obstacles – including the last 20km running in sand – to finish his ordeal.
He thanked entrepreneur Denis O’Brien for a generous donation towards his efforts.
“Other than the Denis O’Brien Foundation, which made a very generous donation, we have struggled to get the corporate world to back us. I couldn’t even get my running shoes sponsored. Most companies I approached said they really could not afford to help due to the current economic climate,” he said.
“What we have raised has come mostly from family, friends and other people around Donegal, who are always great when it comes to this sort of thing,” he added.