Drumquin’s Mark is aiming to complete ‘Major’ six in Boston

DRUMQUIN’S Mark Colhoun is hoping to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors next month when he runs 26.2 miles through the streets of Boston.

Having already completed the marathons in London, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Tokyo, the father of three is looking forward to completing the prestigious big six on April 21st.

However, in order to achieve that ‘bucket list’ aim, he needs to raise a whopping £7000 for Gillian Reny’s Stepping Strong Center.

Mark was unable to gain a place in the Boston Marathon via the ballot route, unlike his wife Laura, who will run with him on the day, so he decided to take an alternate path like he did in London and Berlin, and raise money for a charity in order to gain a race number.

But he’s not just supporting a charity for the sake of getting into the Boston Marathon, he’s doing it in order to ‘make a difference to people’s lives ‘.

As a trauma specialist himself, he understands the importance a centre like Stepping Strong can make, which is why he’s so keen to support it.

“I’m a trauma specialist doing CBT and EMDR with children and adults and I have my own company here called CBT Omagh, so it had to be something relevant and it had to be something that would make a difference to people’s lives and this trauma centre is pioneering, they’re always coming up with new, innovative ways to treat not only the physical trauma but also the mental trauma as well,” he explained.

Mark and his wife Laura entered the world of running fairly late on in life, having got bitten by the bug in 2008 after completing a couch to 5K programme, which led them to 10K’s, half marathons and now marathons.

“I did a bit of cross-country at school but then didn’t really start up again until 2008, in my late 30s, and I did a couch to 5K and my first race was on the new bypass [on the Westlink] in Belfast.

“So myself and my wife Laura did that,” he said.

“I found it really tough and I was out of breath but then we did a 10K and built up to a half marathon and then we took the notion to do the first marathon in Barcelona in 2010 with couple of family members.

“I kind of got the bug after that and I read about these Abbott Majors, so I said that’s my bucket list, I want to do the six majors before I die.”

Mark’s first marathon came in 2018 when he did Berlin for Prostate Cancer but he then had to wait until 2021 thanks to Covid-19 before he could attempt the second of the majors in London when he supported Foyle Hospice.

He then tackled Chicago and New York in double quick time before running in Tokyo, which leaves him with just Boston remaining.

“We did Chicago in 2022 and New York in 2022 as well, probably a month between the two,” he added. “That was tough, the legs were really tired for the second one. Chicago was my fastest one so far and then New York was actually warmer than it had been for a long time. It was really warm, I think it was in the 20s,m which is really warm for the time of year, in November. And they had a lack of water, which meant we had to slow the whole thing down.

“And then, Tokyo, which I did for Plan International, was in 2023 which, like New York, we brought the family as well and we went to the equivalent to Disney Land which was some craic.

“And that leaves me with the last one now, which is Boston in April.”

With both Mark and Laura being marathon runners, they have to manage their training schedules around work, but also around their three children, Ultan, Aibihilin and Donnacha but once he’s completed his six majors, Mark has already lined up another challenge, which may be even tougher.

“We try to balance things with family because there is a lot of training,” explained Mark, who is a member of Omagh Harriers, Omagh Triathlon Club and Strabane Triathlon Club.

He continued: “We can’t train at the same time, so with my work, I can do the morning thing and with the treadmill and bike in the house, we can do sessions like that when the kids go to bed and the swim sessions, Laura goes with Omagh Triathlon on a Monday and I go with Strabane on a Friday.

“And we have a good granny there too to look after the kids as well.

“After Boston, a sprint distance and an Olympic distance 70.3 [triathlon] is one of the next big challenges. It’s going to be tough but I’m loving it.

“I hadn’t been swimming in the pool since I had a bad experience when I was 10 or 11 and I hadn’t put my head under the water in a pool in about 35 years. Just recently, in the last year and a half I got back in and put my head in the water and started up with a float between my legs in order to do more than that.”

l To help Mark gain his place on the Boston Marathon start line, you can donate at justgiving.com/crowdfunding/mark-colhoun?utm_term=wM8rVQX2