Marathon fireman hitting Westmeath

Cork firefighter, Alex O’Shea, who has been dubbed ‘The Running Fireman’, is more than halfway through his mammoth adventure of running 32 marathons in just 16 days and he will get closer to his ultimate goal when he completes Marathon No 22 in Westmeath, tomorrow Tuesday.

Joined by Tralee native, Garda Ollie O’Sullivan, Alex is undertaking the endurance test to raise funds for the Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind and before hitting the roads of Westmeath, he will have completed his 21st marathon in neighbouring Longford.

The Westmeath leg of the challenge will be played out from the Lilliput Adventure Centre and Alex was delighted that Franky Wright was willing to help him meet his goal.

“A big thanks to everyone in Westmeath for supporting us with Marathon No 22, particularly Frank Wright,” he said. 

“We are looking forward to taking out amazing challenge to Lilliput Adventure Centre,” Alex added on Monday afternoon.

He expressed the hope that plenty of people will take the time to drop out on Tuesday to give him great encouragement and maybe even run with him and Ollie for a part of the distance.

Apart from crewing for Alex, Ollie is taking on his own personal challenge to run 50km of the 84km a day every day of the challenge.

The pair will not be resting on their laurels however, as Alex and Ollie will immediately depart to Kildare, where they will overnight. On Wednesday Marathon Nos 23 and 24 the following day in Donadea Forest Park and Mount Lucas in Offaly.

Patrick Burke, chairman of Irish Guide Dogs for the Blind, said: “We have huge admiration for the courage Alex is showing to take on this momentous challenge. Everyone here wishes him and Ollie the very best of luck. 

“Support like this makes a real difference to our work changing lives of those who are vision impaired and families of children with autism,” he said.