Shamrock Rovers' Bradley faces helicopter dash ahead of title clash
Soccer Football - UEFA Conference League - Sparta Prague v Shamrock Rovers - epet ARENA, Prague, Czech Republic - October 2, 2025 Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley applauds fans after the match REUTERS/Eva Korinkova
High-flying Shamrock Rovers manager Stephen Bradley will do a warm-up with a difference by running the Dublin Marathon for charity on Sunday before being whisked by helicopter to a potential title decider away to second-placed Derry City.
The 40-year-old former player, who has previously coached his league leaders to four League of Ireland Premier Division titles, is hoping to make it around the course quickly together with his assistant Glenn Cronin before flying north to try to seal a fifth crown.
"It’s true, we're running the marathon on Sunday, hoping to do four hours or less, and then we get a helicopter up to Derry for the game," Bradley told Reuters via text message on Thursday.
Bradley and Cronin are hoping to raise 100,000 euros ($116,620) for cancer charity Oscar's Kids. Bradley's son Josh, who helped the Rovers players raise the trophy when they won the league in 2022, finished a course of treatment for leukaemia in August.
"Start the marathon at 8:45, hopefully finished at 12:45, helicopter leaves airport at 1:30, journey takes 50 minutes so should be there in time for kick-off at 3:00," Bradley said.
Shamrock Rovers lead the league on 63 points, six ahead of Derry with a game in hand, and a point on Sunday would see them seal the title.
($1 = 0.8575 euros)
