Cork ultra runner to feature on Ultimate Hell Week from tonight

Thu, 21 Apr, 2022 - 20:42

Martha Brennan

A CORK adventure company owner will feature on the new season of Ultimate Hell Week on RTÉ from tonight.

Conor O’Keeffe, from Glanmire, was chosen as one of 28 civilian recruits for the latest season of the popular show, which tests the physical and mental endurance of some of the country’s fittest people.

To date, three groups of civilians have attempted to pass the grueling Special Forces course featured on the show, with a failure rate of over 90%.

Conor is an ultra runner and motivational speaker who planned to run 32 marathons in 32 days at the start of 2020.

Following the onset of the pandemic, he completed a series of tasks in his 2km radius to raise money for Pieta House, including a 66km run and a 24-hour long run in his back garden.

In 2019, he was the only person to finish the Enduroman Arch 2 Arc Challenge, a 322km triathlon between London and Paris that entails a swim across the English Channel.

His other achievements include completing the Connemara 100-mile road race, climbing Kilimanjaro, and winning Europen gold in taekwondo as a teenager.

“Right now I’m in the right place to see if it could happen - if I actually have what it takes,” Conor says in a clip for Ultimate Hell Week, where he will be known as number 11.

The show’s recruits are required to pass a number of rigorous tests over seven days in order to complete the course.

“Surviving on two to three hours of sleep a night they will have to overcome cold-water events, height tests, and claustrophobic challenges as well as various trials of strength, stamina, and determination,” the show’s synopsis reads.

“This is the mother of all challenges; it is raw, real, and relentless; with no certainty that anyone will make it to the end.”