MARATHON RUNNER AND new mother Joanne Fearon today ran the first in a dozen marathons she plans to complete in the days before Christmas.
The Cork woman — who gave birth just four months ago — plans to finish ‘The 12 marathons of Christmas’ with the final leg on Christmas Eve, in a bid to raise fund for the neonatal ward of the CUH.
“My husband has the Guinness world record for the fastest marathon in a fireman suit and we’re, to put it mildly, a little bit competitive,” the Cobh native told the TheScore.ie after her first 26-mile run this afternoon in Maher’s sports shop in Cork city centre.
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“So I thought I’d come up with an idea and I’ve just had a baby myself so the marathon distance suits me because it fits between feeds. And then I thought it was a good play on the 12 pubs of Christmas and it was a a good opportunity to raise a few quid for a good cause.
“We had the baby four months ago,” the Cobh native continues. “I left hospital on the Friday, took Saturday and Sunday off and was back in the gym on the Monday. I have 60 marathons done — I did Clonakilty last weekend — and then I’ve done a lot of ultra marathons, Ironman triathlons and various other events.”
Despite her running experience however, Fearon insists the task ahead is daunting.
“It’s a challenge. The first couple of days should be fine but then you start moving into unknown territory. It’s never going to be straight-forward but it could be anything from a little bit complicated to very, very painful,” she says.
Though tonight the runner admits she’ll have a better idea of a fundraising target when the donation buckets are emptied out and tallied up, Fearon says she won’t have much time for recovery sessions.
“My husband says he has to take the children for the four hours and half hours while I’m running so it’s back to normality the minute I step off the treadmill.
Cork mother to complete '12 marathons of Christmas' in sports-shop window
MARATHON RUNNER AND new mother Joanne Fearon today ran the first in a dozen marathons she plans to complete in the days before Christmas.
The Cork woman — who gave birth just four months ago — plans to finish ‘The 12 marathons of Christmas’ with the final leg on Christmas Eve, in a bid to raise fund for the neonatal ward of the CUH.
“My husband has the Guinness world record for the fastest marathon in a fireman suit and we’re, to put it mildly, a little bit competitive,” the Cobh native told the TheScore.ie after her first 26-mile run this afternoon in Maher’s sports shop in Cork city centre.
“So I thought I’d come up with an idea and I’ve just had a baby myself so the marathon distance suits me because it fits between feeds. And then I thought it was a good play on the 12 pubs of Christmas and it was a a good opportunity to raise a few quid for a good cause.
“We had the baby four months ago,” the Cobh native continues. “I left hospital on the Friday, took Saturday and Sunday off and was back in the gym on the Monday. I have 60 marathons done — I did Clonakilty last weekend — and then I’ve done a lot of ultra marathons, Ironman triathlons and various other events.”
Despite her running experience however, Fearon insists the task ahead is daunting.
“It’s a challenge. The first couple of days should be fine but then you start moving into unknown territory. It’s never going to be straight-forward but it could be anything from a little bit complicated to very, very painful,” she says.
Though tonight the runner admits she’ll have a better idea of a fundraising target when the donation buckets are emptied out and tallied up, Fearon says she won’t have much time for recovery sessions.
“My husband says he has to take the children for the four hours and half hours while I’m running so it’s back to normality the minute I step off the treadmill.
“I’ll have earned my turkey this year, won’t I?”
You can find Joanne Fearon’s donations page here
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Cork University Hospital CUH Fitness Joanne Fearon Oliver Plunkett Street Running