Cork pair set to take on seven ultramarathons in seven cities in seven days

Two Cork men will be undertaking the challenge of completing seven consecutive 50km ultramarathons in seven global cities, across the space of seven days, for the Irish Cancer Society.

Liam Dinneen and Alan Minihane, who are currently living in the Spanish city of Barcelona, will be covering a distance of 350km in total, declaring that the challenge is their way of fighting back and funding breakthroughs that save lives.

Starting off on September 15 in New York, the Cork pair will then head to complete ultramarathons in Boston, London, Paris, Barcelona, and Dublin, before finishing on the final day in Cork at the Marina Market.

Each day and each city the lads have dedicated themselves to a different cancer type and the people impacted by it.

For example, the London leg of the fundraiser is dedicated to cervical cancer, and in particular for young women and future generations.

Mammoth challenge

Mr Dinneen explained to The Echo the reasoning behind taking on such a mammoth challenge for such a worthy cause.

“We were both very interested in doing something for charity and for the Irish Cancer Society,” he said.

“It is something that is very close to both of our hearts. We have had family members affected by cancer.

“The seven cities that we chose were chosen for very specific reasons. When we looked into this, we looked into cities that have had notable breakthroughs in cancer research in the past. New York has had a very positive impact on prostate cancer.

Mr Dinneen added: “We are very lucky to have people coming out to run with us in most of the cities. But we are really hoping to have a big turnout in Cork.

“We are really looking forward to kicking things off. We are a bit nervous, but excited and hopeful that the last six months of training will put us in good stead.”

Massive commitments

In terms of how they prepared to do seven ultramarathons in seven days, Mr Dinneen outlined the massive commitments that were required.

“To do 50kms a day is pretty tough going,” he said. “In terms of preparation, we would have ran for the vast majority of days over the last six months. We started training for this in March of this year.

“Some days we train together, some days we train alone. But really it is about consistency, getting the body used to having to be on its feet running every single day, really.

“We done some simulation days, where we would have mimicked the distance of 50kms, back-to-back here in Spain during the heatwave.

“So that really toughened us up a bit and educated us about nutrition and hydration.”

Motto

Mr Dinneen added that the motto they have for undertaking the challenge is “one foot in front of the other”.

“We are not looking at it as 350kms, but one kilometre at a time and worry about the next kilometre when you get to it.

“For us, it is as much about worrying about the logistics of catching flights and trying to sleep on flights, as it is about running.

“We are hoping that we have planned every last critical detail that we can and that we have done a good enough job. Hopefully the stars align and we get it done.”

For further information, and for anybody who is interested in making a donation towards the fundraiser, they can do so online at: https://www.runforresearch.ie.