Dublin man to run 2 and a half marathons in 24 hours in aid of injured athlete

Clondalkin native Mark Conlon is set to sprint 105km across the capital for the #FightWithEoghan campaign on October 30.

He’s taking on the colossal challenge in aid of 24-year-old Eoghan Gorman, who fractured his spine on a biking trail last year and was placed in an induced coma.

Eoghan was later placed on life support and underwent emergency spinal surgery and is now receiving treatment at the National Rehabilitation Hospital in Dun Laoghaire.

The champion Taekwondo fighter and kickboxer will need 24-hour care when he comes home from hospital and his ongoing medical needs will cost his family thousands of euros.

His house will also need to be completely “renovated with access ramps put in”.

Eoghan’s mum Tanya, dad Dean, sisters Abbie and Grace, and girlfriend Saoirse hope to raise €150,000 to get him the care he needs, and Mark is hoping to help bring them over their target when he completes his marathons next month.

Speaking to the Sunday World, Mark explained what inspired him to take on the fundraiser.

“When I read his story, he just won me over. He’s 24 years of age and he had so much going for him. For this to happen to him was absolutely horrible but he’s battling away,” he said.

“I wanted to do something as extreme as possible to catch people’s attention. I want to raise as much funds as I can for him and the family and as much awareness as possible.

“It will be a total of 105km, starting off at 8.45am for the Dublin City Marathon... I’ll be running straight through the whole thing; there won’t be any stops.

“Then I’ll be running from the city back to Clondalkin, around Clondalkin, Tallaght, and Walkinstown. That’ll be another marathon.”

Mark, who proudly has “250 marathons under my belt”, said that October 30 will be a mentally draining day, but he looks forward to the challenge.

“As you can imagine, when you finish the Dublin City Marathon all you want to do is sit down and rest, relax, maybe get something to eat.

“When I cross that line and everyone else is relaxing and going for food, I’ll be going through the barriers and actually running home to Clondalkin and running another 42km and I probably won’t finish until 11 o’clock that night or beyond.

“It’s very tough mentally to get that into my head... But knowing what I’m doing for Eoghan and his family will get me through it.

“I know for a fact that the awareness alone will be a big help. Hopefully people then get behind the fundraiser when I actually complete [the marathons] and see what I’m doing.”

Donations to the #FightWithEoghan fundraiser can be made here.