Dad’s stroke sparked run of Marathons
Brave Alan’s 35 races in 35 days
MEET the man who ran 35 consecutive marathons after his father had a stroke and has now written an inspirational new book about his experience.
Alan Corcoran, from Waterford City, embarked on the mammoth task when he was 21 after his father Milo, who was 60 at the time, had a stroke which left him having to learn to walk and talk again.
Now the 31-year-old has put pen to paper for his new book Marathon Man which centres around what spurred him to take on the challenge of running 35 marathons in 35 days.
Speaking to the Irish Sunday Mirror, Alan said he hopes the book inspires others to take on challenges they once deemed impossible.
Alan said one of the reasons for doing the marathons was to raise much needed funds for the charities and organisations which helped his father with his recovery.
He said: “I was 20 and a college student and my dad had a stroke and that was the main catalyst for it. It came completely out of the blue as he had no previous health scares.
“He wasn’t able to walk or talk and wasn’t able to get out of his bed. With the great help of the rehabilitation hospital in Dun Laoghaire, he was able to get back to himself eventually.
“I was a teenage sprinter and had just quit the sport and was enjoying student life in Scotland when my dad had the stroke. It hit me like a tonne of bricks.
“It put my world in a spin and I needed something to focus on and work towards. It took just under a year to plan and accomplish. I wanted to turn a bad situation into a good one.”
Alan added: “I wasn’t able to directly help my dad but I was able to do something for the cause. I hoped it would give him something to look forward to as well.”
OBSTACLES
He said the 35 marathons threw many obstacles at him but he persisted and kept going. “I was deteriorating when I hit my low point on the 17th marathon but then I got into my rhythm and figured out what speed to go. It was a matter of getting into a pace which wasn’t too slow where you had no time to recover and not too fast that you would be putting strain on your body and injuring yourself.” Alan concluded: “It’s not a self help kind of book, but I hope that it motivates or inspires people to strive towards some of their ambitions – anything that inspires them.” news@irishmirror.ie
I hope the book motivates or inspires people to strive towards their ambitions