Posted by Colin Regan profiles 67 year-old Liam Fenelon, who just can’t get enough of the classic distance.
Longford's marathon man Liam Fenelon
“Anyone who wants to run a marathon can do it, even without too much training. Yes 26 miles can be a daunting task but it is an achievable goal for those so set their minds to it. People take marathons too seriously, with talk about a minimum of six months training and the likes. All you need is the right attitude, and the right preparation. I know a 60-year-old who is running the Longford marathon and it’s his first marathon, and you know what – he’ll finish it.”
The above quote is exactly the sort of inspirational speech any first-time marathon runner wants to hear, but would immediately dismiss as unrealistic or the talk of a barstool runner. But when you consider it comes from a septuagenarian who is about to run his 200th marathon, suddenly you sit up and take notice.
Longford’s Liam Fenelon is an undisputed marathon man. At 67 he is about to reach a remarkable milestone: the Longford Marathon on Sunday, August 28th, will be his 200th. It will also be the second of three marathons he will run in the space of six weeks.
“Longford will be a special occasion, and it’s nice to mark the 200th in my home town,” Liam told Run Direct earlier this month, about a week before he set out for the Isle of Man for his 199th.
The now well-established Longford Marathon wouldn’t be on the circuit were it not for Liam. Together with his friend Fr. Ciaran McGovern, the two men decided to organise the first such event back in 2002 so Liam could mark his 100th marathon on his home turf. A simple mathematical exercise reveals this man has run on average 14 marathons a year for the past seven years, starting at the age of 60. Incredibly he ran his first at the age of 42, having had no previous running experience.
“I did it to keep my brother-in-law (Vincent Casey) company. He was running the Galway Marathon that year and we decided to do it together. That was 1984 and I did it in 3h 56m. I got the bug and haven’t stopped since,” Liam recalls.
Times kept coming down (London, 1986, in 3h 18m; Dublin, 1994, in 3.09 at the age of 52) while his passion for the event kept going up.
Natural ability
“I discovered I had a natural ability, but I just didn’t realise that until I started running at the age of 42. Unfortunately that’s a bit too late to do anything serious in terms of competing, but I’ve still gotten more out of it than any of the businesses I’ve run throughout my life. It’s been an incredible journey, and the people I’ve met have been the highlight,” he notes.
That journey has seen him fill countless unforgiving minutes with much more than 60 seconds run, in such places as San Francisco, Chicago, London, New York, Dublin, Belfast, and across Europe. Do any stand out, stick in the mind?
“The Marine Corps Marathon in Washington is a great race and so well organised. But the Tromso Midnight Run in Norway was something special. You start out around 10pm and run over midnight in broad daylight. It was really memorable.”
The Longford Marathon, naturally, holds a special place in his heart. The 280 participants that took to the road for the inaugural event in 2002 (including two of Liam’s daughters Fiona and Michelle) grew to 1,500 participants last year, with ever more expected at the end of the month (although the half marathon numbers may be slightly down).
The event is one of the best on the local marathon circuit, and attention to detail and putting the runner first has been the cornerstones of its success. Over 100 volunteers augment the work of a small but dedicated Longford Marathon committee, made up of: Fr Ciaran McGovern, chair; Pat Hourican, treasurer; John Farrell, Tom Maguire, Fiona Fenelon, Mary Fenelon, Michelle Fenelon, Brendan Doyle, Margaret Connellan, David Drake and Padraig Farrell.
Longford arrangements
St. Mel’s College generously provide their facilities, while volunteer caterers also take over the college kitchen with free food provided to participants on both Saturday and Sunday. The Marathon weekend kicks off on Saturday at St. Christopher’s at Battery Road, Longford, with a three mile breakfast run around Longford Town open to all entrants in the marathon, with breakfast served after the run back at St. Christopher’s.
All runners can collect their numbers on Saturday from 1pm to 8pm at St. Mel’s College in Longford, where all are invited to enjoy a ‘pasta party’ at 6pm.
Number collection for the marathon and half-marathon opens on Sunday at 8am at St. Mel’s College. The marathon will start and finish on Ballymahon Street, near the market square on Sunday morning. Changing facilities will be available St. Mel’s, about 3-5 minute walk, from the starting point.
First off will be the walkers in the full marathon who will set off at 9.00am. The wheelchair participants will start at 10.45am from the same location. The runners in the full marathon and the walkers and runners in the half-marathon will start at 11.00am on Sunday morning.
The course will be marked well and each mile will be posted. Regular water stations, every three miles, will be available along the way.
“We have some very ambitious predicted times from some of our entrants, and if these hold true, then we should see our leading marathon runners coming back into town shortly after 1pm. We would hope that everybody will be home and finished by approximately 4pm on Sunday afternoon,” explains Liam.
Changing facilities after the marathon will again be available at St. Mel’s. Presentations and prize-giving will take place at approximately 3.00 pm on Sunday afternoon, near the finish point of the marathon.
Learning process
It’s been a learning process to bring the Longford Marathon to this standard of organisation. Liam has experienced a similar learning curve in terms of his own preparations for marathons.
“I used to run between 60-70 miles every week, but I was doing too many long runs and too many miles – basically I was running marathons while training, but not getting any medals for it! And I was only running two official marathons a year. Now I’m running 6-8 marathons a year with much less training and doing better times.”
But the running is only part of the enjoyment, and Liam says the people he has met is what he remembers best. One such man is Noel Henry, former bank manager in Lanesborough, and the ‘best runner in Ireland’ according to Liam.
“He ran from Dublin to Lanesborough in 12h 11m and had some other great results. He’s feeling a bit feeble at the moment, and he’d like to know we’re all thinking of him.”
You’d think that Liam would be looking forward to putting his feet up for a while after Longford (just to remind you once more – his 200th marathon!), but it’s always the next challenge that keeps him excited. While most normal marathon men and women will be trying to get the last of the Longford lactic acid out of their muscles, Liam will be on the road again.
Next up is the Flanders Fields Marathon in Belgium, on September 13, 2009. Unlucky for some, but lucky for those participating to have a marathon man like Liam in their ranks.
For further details on the Longford Marathon check out www.longfordmarathon.com or call 043-3349682.
