Former St Mirren First Division and Challenge Cup double winner Mark Reilly has always been a fitness fanatic.
But when his daughter Dionne was diagnosed with rare genetic disorder Rett Syndrome, the ex-Saints midfielder swapped his football boots for running shoes as he embarked on an incredible fundraising journey to raise awareness of the little-known condition.
Dionne was born just a few years after Reilly retired from the beautiful game, having helped the Buddies earn promotion back to the top flight in 2005 as well as beat Hamilton to lift the Challenge Cup in the same season.
When she was less than one year old, the tot started to struggle to crawl and began to suffer horrendous reflux issues.
Having struggled to get a clear diagnosis in the UK, Dionne was eventually tested for Rett Syndrome in Florida with the diagnosis confirmed three weeks later.
From that difficult point onwards, Reilly made it his mission to raise awareness of the rare disorder and much-needed funds for the charity Reverse Rett.
After taking part in marathons, the Three Peaks Challenge and ultramarathons, Reilly took on the ultimate fitness test in the form of the Marathon des Sable.
Often described as the toughest race on Earth, the ultramathon takes place in the baking heat in Morocco as contenders race across 250km in just six days.
Reilly admits there were moments when he didn’t think he’d make it to the finish line, not least when he was hit with a stomach bug that left him weakened just a few days into the challenge.
But thoughts of his beloved daughter Dionne helped him push through towards the finish line.
Reilly explained to Renfrewshire Live Sport: “My daughter was born in 2008 and was diagnosed with Rett Syndrome just before she turned one.
“We knew something was up when she was struggling to move from crawling to walking. She also suffered with horrific reflux on a daily basis.
“It was very difficult to get a diagnosis here and we eventually got it confirmed while in Florida. We’d never heard of it at that point, like a lot of people.
“It was about 2012 when I started running to start raising awareness of Rett. I did marathons, the Three Peaks Challenge and an Iron Man.
“I knew about the Marathon des Sable and I wanted to try and push myself to the limit to complete it.
“I did a 100 mile run a few months prior to try and prepare for it, but nothing could prepare me for the race itself.
“It was a record-breaking hot summer in Morocco. Some days it was reaching almost 60 degrees.
“Normally around 10 percent of starters don’t make the finish line, but in that year almost 50 percent didn’t make it to the end.
“One guy actually sadly died on the second day, while another suffered a cardiac arrest and was dead for two minutes. Thankfully he was rescued.
“Day four was the toughest for me. It was just under 56 miles running through the night and I’d had a stomach bug that had left me vomiting and suffering diarrhoea.
“I was so weak at that point but I kept thinking of Dionne and that helped me through it. I was so relieved to cross that finish line.”
Reilly continues to run to raise awareness of Rett Syndrome, which receives no UK Government funding because of its rarity.
He just completed the Manchester marathon, and has put his life story into a book ‘The Lives of Reilly’ that is released today.
Ghost-written by David McCarthy and published by Dickson Telfer, Reilly touches on every element of his life to date, including his two-year spell at St Mirren where he ended his eventful playing career.
Reilly said: “Whatever the book raises will be fantastic and will go to Reverse Rett. Getting the message out about the disorder to me is the most important thing.
“The book covers my entire career, including my last few years which I spent at St Mirren.
“I had a brilliant time there and they were such a great club to play for. It was a brilliant way to end my career, capping it off with success with the First Division title and the Challenge Cup.
“It was the perfect swansong and we had a brilliant team then. A good balance of experienced boys and a lot of promising young guys that went on to have great careers, like Kirk Broadfoot and Charlie Adam, who ended up at Liverpool.
“Staying another year would have been nice but I had to be honest with myself. I was 37 and the Prem was maybe going to be a step too far.
“I knew I wouldn’t be playing many games, so it was nice to retire on my terms and with a bit of success today. I’ll always be grateful to St Mirren for that.”
- Mark Reilly’s book ‘The Lives of Reilly’ can be ordered from namelesstownbooks.com at a cost of £10, with all proceeds going to Reverse Rett.
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