Mary runs 105 miles to victory

GREENCASTLE’S Mary Keenan put her best foot forward more often than she’d care to remember when she became the first lady home in the inaugural Famine Way Ultra marathon.

The gruelling race took competitors over the 105 mile route the Strokestown tenants were marched from Roscommon to Dublin in 1847 after failing to pay their rent. They then boarded ships to Liverpool and then on to North America on some of the worst coffin ships – fortunately Mary avoided such treatment after her 21 hours and 42 minutes ordeal, receiving a medal instead as first lady home and fifth overall.

Having picked up a painful calf injury earlier in the year, Mary went into the event with some doubts but she was relieved to make it all the way to the finish in Dublin at 6.40am on Sunday after departing the National Famine Museum in Strokestown at 9am the previous day.

“This is the first year of it and because I’d never done a point-to-point 100 miler before it was always on my bucket list,” she said.

“I was supposed to actually do the We Run Wild NI Northern Ireland 100 in May but I tore my calf muscle just over a mile into that route!

“So, I was just itching to get back at something and this was coming up but it was touch and go if my calf was going to be ready for it. But I thought I’d give it a go and it held up all right for me, which was the biggest relief.”

Having gone into the race after recovering from injury, Mary didn’t have any specific goals other than finishing but she admits, once she realised she was the leading lady, that soon changed.

“I had a fair idea all along that I was the first female and my fella Paul [Carron] was crewing for me so he was able to keep me updated so I knew I was pulling further and further away from the next one,” she added,

“That took the pressure off me a bit. I wasn’t going out to win it but once I knew I was ahead I wanted to stay ahead!”

After completing the 105 mile course, Mary admitted that some parts of it were tougher than others, particularly the stretch alongside the Royal Canal.

“The first 12 miles was on the road and the rest was along the canal path which was good in one way, there was no traffic, but it was a wee bit monotonous with it all being along the canal!,” she said.

“So I was glad to see Dublin, but even coming into Dublin, I thought I was never going to get to the finish line, It just kept going on and on!”

Next up for Mary is the Chicago Marathon in October before she turns her attentions to an even more epic adventure next May when she tackles the Northern Ireland 100 from Ballintoy to Gortin run over mixed terrain and which covers 108 miles.

“I like the idea of it, it’s a multi-terrain one that starts in Ballintoy over the Causeway to Gortin on the Ulster Way. It’s tough but looks beautiful,” she concluded.