Cork man's 32 marathon fundraiser raises €55k

MORE than €55,000 has been raised by Corkman Conor O’Keeffe, a 30-year-old ultra-marathon runner from Cork, who is in the final stretch of his Project 32 challenge with just a few marathons left to go.

Project 32 will see Conor run 32 marathons in 32 counties in 32 days in aid of Pieta House.

The last five days of the challenge are taking place in Carlow, Wicklow, Wexford, and Waterford, before finishing in his native Cork on Sunday.

In addition, Conor began the challenge wearing 32 pounds in a weighted vest and is removing one pound a day for each run.

The idea behind the losing of the weight is to symbolise losing the weight of negative thoughts.

The Corkman has been quite open about his mental health difficulties and struggled for much of his twenties with thoughts of suicide and feelings of being purposeless.

In 2019, he ran the Enduroman 200-mile ultra marathon, winning the race while being the only finisher and only the second person in the history of the race to finish.

Conor has also appeared on The Late Late Show to discuss the importance of mental health and was one of this year’s winners of RTÉ’s hit series — Ultimate Hell Week.

Speaking at the finish line of one of this week’s marathons, Conor said: “The more tired I become on this journey, the more people want to help me. 

"I’ve had some of the most wonderful human interactions on this adventure. It’s the reason I’m still out on the road doing a marathon each day.

“It’s rare in one’s life that every person you come across is offering help or willing you forward in what you’re trying to do. It’s a wonderful feeling. It’s like an armour of love and community. It’ll bring me home to Cork.”

Conor is running these marathons to raise €100,000 for Pieta House, a link to his fundraising page can be found at: https://www.idonate.ie/fundraiser/11381935_tfs-32-32-32.html