Robinstown runner retires on a high after 200km marathon
A ROBINSTOWN man who took on an ultra marathon for charity says it was his goal to complete the gruelling 200km race before he retired from the sport.
Gerard Tully (54), who started competing in endurance events after his 40th birthday has taken part in an a host of races but nothing could have prepared him for The Kerry Way Ultra Marathon.
"I have been doing endurance events for the last 14 years but this is the toughest and longest event that Ireland has to offer and it is the best when you add in the scenery and people that run this event.
"The KWU started 10 years ago and has been run by Eileen who looks after each runner as if we were her kids. It took me 34 hours and 55 minutes which was up on 2017 when it took over 36 hours to complete.
"This was my third attempt at this as I did it in 2017 with success, 2021 but stopped after 23 hours and 128k, but this year I have gone the full distance.
"We have raised over €1,000 for Barretstown Camp who is our main charity that we support for the company that I work for, Bridgestone Tyres."
Gerard says it was a low point in his endurance sporting career when he failed to complete the track last year and was more determined than ever to keep going this time around.
"It was the first event I had done in fourteen years that I hadn't finished and I had a month of depression after it. I was probably the first person to sign up for Kerry this year. A lot of times when you are running you have a little man in your head saying you need to stop and you are kind of battling with him all of the time but he never came into my head. If I lost a leg I knew I wasn't going to stop.
"The Kerry Way is probably Ireland's oldest road trail event. It's just under 200km long. We start in Killarney and then go through the national park and follow almost the Ring of Kerry all though we are off road. You are going through the Black Valley and around the edge of Carrauntoohil. There is a lot of elevation in it. It's walking, running and hiking."
Taking part in such a challenging event is a huge commitment and requires many hours of training per week months in advance according to Gerard.
"It's a matter of getting distance in the legs. You'd probably be doing 80 or 90km a week running, you'd do two or three sessions during the week and then a long run on a Saturday and probably half that distance on the Sunday."
It's others around you that keep you going when the chips are down as the accomplished athlete explains:
"There are highs and lows. If you start running with three of four people, one of them is probably low and the other three or four people will keep them moving. If you are there on your own it can be a very lonely place. It's a lovely supportive community.
"Of course I couldn't have done it without my wife Annamaria and two daughters Aoibh and Tara who supported me all the way."