Harriers duo break three hour target time

TWO members of Omagh Harriers broke the three hour barrier for the marathon on Sunday of last week.

 

Four runners from the club – Gareth Shortt, Ryan Pritchard, Sean O’Gara and Ricky Duffy – took part in the challenge to run 26.2 miles in under three hours on Sunday morning and three quarters of them achieved the feat.

 

The quartet undertook the tough task of running the Omagh Half Marathon circuit twice in order to raise funds for mental health charity, Aware (NI) Defeat Depression and donations can be made via gofundme.com, searching for 4 under 3.

 

Pritchard and Duffy both came home just under the fabled mark to join an elite group of runners capable of doing so – only one per cent of all marathon runners complete the distance in less time than three hours!

 

“The day was electric from the support we got and the money raised for an amazing cause. It was a dream come true and a tick off the bucket list!,” beamed Pritchard, who completed the run in the quickest time of the four, in two hours 58 minutes and 15 seconds.

 

He continued: “The 13 week plan for the lead up to the run had great structure thanks to Seanie Meyler and I felt that I was getting stronger week by week.

 

“My motto is ‘believe to achieve’ and never did I doubt myself – you get out what you put in. I never gave up throughout, yes there were tough days with tired legs but I kept thinking of the end goal.

 

“The race itself was like a dream. I felt confident, determined and In the zone throughout and as a team we had great support for each other and had each others backs.”