Johnny Donnelly has a passion for running.  He has been taking part in marathons since he was a 13 years of age  and has run in many marathons ever since then.

Johnny was the drummer with the   hugely successful Saw Doctors from 1989-2001 He joined the band at the tender age of 16, but left in 2001 to pursue other interests.

During this time Johnny Played and shared the stage with just about everyone from Hootie and the Blow Fish (USA), Waterboys (UK), Mike Peters-The Alarm (UK), Billy Duffy-The Cult (UK) and numerous Irish Bands and Acts.

Johnny is Now Managing Director of Arcana (Formally MacTeo sister company to Macnas). Johnny is also a percussion Director for large scale events around the world such as the      opening Ceremony of the |Special Olympics Dublin 2003 and also The Ryder Cup Opening and closing Ceremonies Ireland 2007.

In 2005, while taking part in the gruelling 35 mile Two Oceans Ultra Marathon in Cape Town, Johnny was amazed to hear shouts of “Thank you for our houses” as he ran past the township of Imizamo Yethu on the race route.  The Galway man was sporting a green Ireland jersey during the race, but was intrigued by his rousing reception at the township.  When he asked about Imizamo Yethu, he discovered that this was the township where the Niall Mellon Township Trust began its house-building work in South Africa.  Johnny decided he had to help this worthy charity, which aims to take people out of shacks and build them proper homes.

In 2006, Johnny undertook the Hot and Cold Challenge to raise money for the NMTT. This extreme    running adventure saw him run three marathons in three weeks in some of the toughest conditions imaginable.  He ran across the Sahara Desert, the North Pole and finally took on the Two Oceans marathon in Cape Town once again.  Johnny raised an incredible 50,000 euros in the Hot and Cold Challenge.  But, the big-hearted Irishman could not stop there. 

In 2008, Johnny will launch Run Johnny Run, which will see him run a marathon a month for the next four years with all funds raised going to Sea Change.