This article is from page 30 of the 2008-01-15 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 30 JPG
TWO young Shannon men will defy medical advice in undertaking a nov- el challenge which will see them run no less than 12 marathons this year, in aid of charity.
Darren O’Connell (32) and Alan Mullin (30) from Tullyglass ran their first ever marathon a year-and-a-half ago and were so enthused by it that they decide to take up marathon run- ning on a large scale.
The two are now hoping to under-
take the multi-marathon challenge and stand to enter the record books, if successful.
The two friends ran the Dublin marathon in 2006, in memory of their friend Earl Duff (21), who died from Cystic Fibrosis 10 years earlier.
They then decided to set them- selves a challenge and run one mara- thon every month this year, in aid of Cystic Fibrosis.
They rang in 2008, running their first marathon of the challenge in Zurich on New Year’s Eve, with a time of four hours, 19 minutes. They are now in training for the next run in Valencia, Spain on February 17. They will also run marathons in Rome, Switzerland, Berlin and New York, along with five runs in Ireland. The challenge will wind up with the final run in Milan on December 2.
The two have been keen sports enthusiasts over the years, but mar- athon running is quite a new phe- nomenon. They are looking forward to the tough challenge that will lie ahead this year.
“We said we would do something to generate money. We have always been into sport,’ said Darren, who is a secondary teacher.
“The medical advice is we shouldn’t do more than two or three marathons a year. We have carried out research, which shows that it has been done before, in the UK and the States. We are not allowed to break any records. If we stay injury free, it shouldn’t be a problem,” said Darren, who has played hurling for Wolfe Tones for many years.
“It is not about the times. It is about getting through them. The trick is not to burn yourself out and do just light training in between the mara- thons,’ he added.
Both Darren and Alan – who works in Dublin – had just three marathons under their belts prior to taking up this challenge, but are confident they will get through it.
The two are hoping to raise €20,000 from the challenge and are due to set up their own website www.l2marathons.com within the next few weeks, on which they will invite sponsorship.