Marathon man Shane set himself trans-US challenge
DINGLE man Shane Finn doesn’t do marathons by halves; instead he does them by the dozen. And now he has set himself the challenge of a lifetime with a coast-to-coast run/cycle across the USA to raise funds for Spina Bifida Hydrocephalus Ireland (SBHI).
Inspired by his Celbridgefirst cousin Mary Evans, who suffers from Spina Bifida, Shane ran the Dingle and New York marathons back in 2010, raising €13,000 for SBHI in the process. He was back on the road from Dublin to Dingle in 2014, this time running 12 marathons in 12 days and the fundraising went up a notch as well, hitting €33,000 for SBHI. This July he doubled that effort – and trebled his fundraising – with a mind boggling 24 marathons in 24 days run from Donegal back to base at the WK Fitness gym in Dingle.
Most people would see that as a peak achievement but Shane reckons there’s more in the tank and he plans to push the limits on his coast-to-coast run/cycle in May 2019.
Starting with a toe in the Pacific Ocean, somewhere on the California coast, Shane will run 50km a day for three days, then cycle 250km a day for the following three days. He aims to repeat the run/cycle schedule without a break for 36 days, which will bring him 4,800km across the USA to somewhere on the mouth of the Hudson River and the Atlantic Ocean.
Shane hasn’t yet decided on an exact starting point in California, but the route will take him through the high and dry lands of Nevada and Utah, where searing heat and high altitudes will present a huge challenge. He’ll continue on through the Great Plains to Ilinois, hopefully passing through Chicago where he has lots of relations, and then onward to New York where Coney Island is the likely spot that he’ll dip a toe in the Atlantic.
The run/cycle is in aid of SBHI and, although there’s no specific target, Shane would like to raise a six figure sum which would bring his total fundraising for SBHI up to €250,000.
Shane has no specific training schedule as of yet but he plans to compete in the Lake Placid Ironman contest in upstate New York next July, after which he’ll be focusing his mind on preparing for the coast-tocoast run/cycle.
Far from being daunted by the challenge he has set himself, he reckons the 36 days timeframe is generous. “I think I might be able to do it in about 35 and a half days,” he says.
“At heart I’m an endurance athlete. I want to find how far I can go. I’m pretty confident that I can do it,” said Shane, adding: “I think it’s a good idea to do all this crazy stuff now while I’m young so my future wife won’t have to eat me over doing this kind of thing.”
Shane plans to cross the States with a small support crew, using a camper van as their base and overnight accommodation. Offers of help will be welcome, particularly at the start and finishing points. Shane can be contacted via info@shanefinn.com.