Tiger roars to marathon glory

MOYVANE‘S TIGER O’FLAHERTY TALKS ABOUT COMBATING ALCOHOLISM AND RUNNING A RECORD 100 MARATHONS

MOYVANE man, Tiger O’Flaherty became the first Kerryman to rack up a century of marathons recently when he ran two 26 mile races on successive days in county Offaly earlier this month.

Remarkably, O’Flaherty only embarked on his running career on the day of his 48th birthday. At that point most others would be thinking of hanging up their running shoes.

Less than two years ago, Tiger reached the 70 marathons mark and from that point on his sights were set on reaching the milestone of 100. At that point he signed up with Marathon Club Ireland and began running a marathon every fortnight for the most part.

Running has brought Tiger much joy but it was a much more heart-rending incident that served as the catalyst for his running career. Tiger’s son Paul was left in a wheelchair following a car crash and difficult times ensued – Thus, Tiger decided to run a marathon to raise funds for the Wheelchair Association of Ireland.

“My son Paul was involved in a car accident in 2002 that left him in a wheelchair. The Wheelchair Association were very good to him so I decided to run a marathon in aid of them”.

Having completed his first marathon, Tiger had little intention of making running part of his daily routine – that was before a period of depression and deep rooted alcoholism led him to re-evaluate his life. Running would soon become a linchpin in his life.

“After the marathon I thought, sure I needn’t run any more but found myself back in the psychiatric ward two weeks later,” he said.

“Brendan Lynch, the former Kerry footballer was my doctor in Tralee at that time and said to me: ‘Tiger the running was suiting you, keep jogging away and see if it does anything for you.’ It was the best thing he ever said. I was on tablets at the time and as soon as I got back running again, they went out the back door.”

After that he said, he grew to love the running and the routine that came with it.

“I’d go for a jog every day, even if I’m not training for a marathon. It’s medicinal for me. I haven’t had a drink now in 16 years but if I wasn’t running I would have drank”.

Tiger has gone from the isolation associated with alcoholism to being part of the family unit that is, Marathon Club Ireland (MCI).

“The amount of friends I’ve made is unreal, they’re all there to be with you, there’s no competitiveness”. He has received much support too from the local community and says he owes a huge debt of gratitude to fellow Moyvane man, Paddy Mulvihill, who has been of huge assistance to him since he first began running the roads.

“Paddy has been A class, I couldn’t have asked for a better friend. I would never have seen Europe or done as many marathons were it not for his support. Paddy really wanted me to get to 100 and I can remember every one of them (marathons). I’ve been to places I had only seen on TV.

“It has been one hell of a ride” Tiger concluded

ABOVE: Tiger O’Flaherty (above) shows signs of elation as he finishes his 100th marathon

LEFT: Tiger receives his 100th marathon medal in the company of his son Paul - his inspiration for getting involved in marathon running - and friend Ken Beggs.