Maurice to do Park Run 5km loop 12 times for SVP

A local athlete is running 60km this Saturday, December 19, to raise funds for St Vincent de Paul.

Well known fitness coach and ultra runner Maurice Looby from Killucan is going to run 12 laps of the Mullingar Park Run 5km loop along the Royal Canal and Old Rail Trail Greenway starting at 9am on Saturday.

Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Maurice says that Covid-19 leading to the cancellation of virtually every race in the country since March, he came up with the idea to give himself something to aim over the autumn and winter.

For a runner of his standard – he finished third in this year’s National 50km Championships in February with a time of 3.16.54 and has a marathon PB of 2.37 – Maurice has set himself the “modest” goal of finishing Saturday’s run within five hours.

He is hoping that as many of his fellow Mullingar Harriers and other members of Westmeath’s thriving running community will come to join him for a lap or three.

“I have put it out to everybody to come along. I am starting at 9am. It’s 25 minutes a lap. I’m hoping that every 25 minutes somebody will be able to join me for a 5km or more and I am encouraging them to make a voluntary contribution to St Vincent de Paul in Killucan,” he explained.

“I want any money raised to go to a local charity and Seamus Goonery suggest St Vincent de Paul. I know like every other charity they are under severe pressure because of Covid.

“I know it has been a difficult time for people so even if you run there is no obligation to make a donation. For a lot of my runners [Maurice runs a number of running classes in Mullingar and Killucan], 5km in 25 minutes or 10km in 50 minutes would be a good target. I’m hoping to get people to come out on the day and set themselves a target.”

One of the leading ultra runners in the country, Maurice’s medal winning performance in Donadea in February should earn him a place on the Irish squad selected for the Anglo Celtic Plate, a four nations 100km ultra marathon also featuring teams from England, Scotland and Wales, which will hopefully take place in Dublin in March or April.

While Saturday’s 60km will keep him ticking over from a training perspective, Maurice says that after training on his own for much of the year, he is also looking forward to running with people, while adhering to social distancing guidelines.

“It’s informal. It is not a race as such. People can join me for 5km, 10km or the whole damn thing if they want. Although I have not had any takers for that!”

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