Swatragh athlete Niall McGuigan came first in the recent ultra.
Less than 24 hours after celebrating his 53rd birthday, Swatragh man Niall McGuigan took part in his 14th Ultramarathon to date, eventually going on to win the event.
Niall’s success in the ‘Famine Way 105 miles Ultra’ on July 26 means that he retains the Irish 12 hour over 50s road record, one which he has held since 2022.
A seasoned runner and former footballer and hurler with Michael Davitt GAC in Swatragh, Niall admits that the iconic event, a total of 105 miles from Strokestown Park House to the Epic Museum in Dublin, was ‘tough going at times’.
“This ultra, the ‘Famine Way Run’ has a very sad story behind it,” he explained.
“The route follows in the footsteps of the Strokestown tenants - 1,490 men, women and children who were marched from their homes to Dublin in 1847 after they couldn't keep up the payments of their rent. They had to make that 105 mile journey to Dublin without anything on their feet and very little, if any, food. In Dublin they were put on ships to Liverpool before journeying on to North America onboard some of the worst coffin ships of the time. Very few made it alive and they became known as the 'missing 1,490'."
The event was put on by ‘We Run Wild NI’ and saw 30 brave runners lace up to take on the challenge.
“The course was 11 miles on road followed by 80 miles on gravel paths alongside the canal and then eight miles on grass and the last six miles on the footpath through Dublin to the finish line,” said Niall, who was delighted to be placed first with a fantastic time of 18 hours 17mins 45 seconds.
The first female finisher was Mary Keenan, who also set an incredible time of 21 hours 42 mins 48 seconds.
“I felt proud to finish it for my wife Joanne and my great friend Paul Bradley, who have been my crew from day one and without them I would be lost. I think I had the easy part, I just had to run it but they had the hard part of putting up with me and getting to every fuel stop along the course plus keeping me updated on all that was happening,” said Niall.
The recent ultra was the south Derry athlete’s 14th and with nine wins, two second places and a third place now under his belt, Niall credits his success to his dedication to training.
“I start each ultra just to finish them, there's a lot of hours and hard miles going into training for each ultra and a lot can go wrong when running these long distances, however I trust my training and hope luck is on my side,” he laughed.
“It's also very important to have a good crew and I have that with my wife Joanne and friend Paul Bradley.”
Niall says he enjoys competing in long distance races and hopes to continue adding to his vast collection of medals.
“Running for Ireland in the European Championship in Italy in 2022 and winning the Irish 24 hour Championship in 2023 are my biggest highlights but each ultra is special to me. I have been very lucky so far,” he added.
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