It would seem simple to ask Manlius resident Doug Cronin, 30, if he is a golfer who runs or a runner who plays golf. The answer is not so simple. Doug Cronin is a scratch golfer and an Ironman competitor. So, he generally shoots par or better on the golf course, and runs (26.2 miles) swims (2.4miles) and bikes (112 miles) in the Ironman events.
So, this year, when Cronin made his annual commitment to compete in the McMahon-Ryan Child Advocacy golf event he combined his two passions. Twenty-two other golfers committed to play 100 holes of golf at Skaneateles country club, the home course of Don Lemp of Lemp Jewelers – who came up with the concept of 100 holes of golf for MRCAS. Meanwhile, Cronin committed to the 100 holes with the added twist that he would run the course while he played.
Teeing off at 6:44 a.m. Cronin followed his drive down the fairway at a run, with caddy Jim Sisson and this reporter following in a cart. Cronin would grab a club, run to the ball, size up and hit his shot, exchange clubs with Sisson and run to the ball. {Q}His first round took an hour and a half, and he shot six over par.{Q}
He didn’t expect to shoot his normal scores or run his normal pace for obvious reasons, but most golfers and runners would envy his day’s work on the Skaneateles Country Club course. At 4:12 p.m. he tapped in his final putt of the day on hole number 100. He had covered almost 31 miles (a marathon is 26.2) and swung a club around 450 times. He expected to expend about 8000 calories for the day and tried to replace some of them with fruit, energy bars and energy drinks from a bag in his cart.
He played the entire way alone except for his cart driver. Sisson drove for three rounds and other drivers finished the day. Cronin was allowed to play through the twosomes that he overtook on the way, but finished up the 100th with Darren Fuller who still had 14 more to play.
The beneficiary of the efforts of the 23 golfers, the McMahon-Ryan Child Advocacy Site provides direct support for children who are victims of physical or sexual abuse as well as professionals working to address the issue of child abuse. The Site seeks to make a difference by providing a centralized location for coordination of the multiple disciplines within Onondaga County working on behalf of abused children.
Cronin connected with McMahon-Ryan several years ago and believes wholeheartedly in their cause.
“This event is great because 100 percent of the money raised goes directly to provide services. It’s a great cause and this is a way to bring some attention to this event.”
The golfers raise money through pledges, typically from friends and business colleagues. Cronin was able to step a bit farther afield, utilizing his connections with golfers and runners to raise his pledge.
Money raised from the tournament goes directly to services provided by McMahon-Ryan for its prevention and education program efforts. “I see this as an opportunity to raise even more money for McMahon-Ryan by creating visibility for the tournament by running and golfing at the same time,” Cronin said. “People think we are crazy to golf 100 holes and adding a marathon to it has got to draw some needed attention and hopefully money to the important work the site provides for victims of child abuse.”
According to Julie Cecile, executive director of the McMahon-Ryan Child Advocacy Site, “This is an amazing and unique tournament. The dedication of the golfers is inspiring and the money they raise through pledges is critical to the work we do on behalf of victims of child abuse and their families in terms of education and prevention,” Cecile added.
