From 2nd July to 2nd August 2010 Gerry Duffy and Ken Whitelaw completed a full marathon of 26.2 miles every single day. During the 32 days they ran a marathon in every county in Ireland. Along the way over 1,100 runners joined them for a half or a full marathon and over €500,000 was raised for Irish Autism Action and The Irish Cancer Society.
Check out the video of the event on this website.
Challenge 2011 ... A DECA Enduroman! 24 miles of SWIMMING , 1120 miles of CYCLING , 262 miles of RUNNING
Loads of comments, updates and a few photos from each day's Enduroman are up on our Facebook page! Check it out here.
Gerry Duffy: A Deca-Enduroman Journey A look back at Gerry's remarkable achievement
Video Interview, Day 6
A further insight into Gerry's challenge as we catch up with him throughout day 6.
Video Interview, Day 5
An indepth interview with Gerry as he completes day 5.
Deca-Enduroman, Day 2
Day 2 – Saturday 4th June - 10pm
Ken here! Understandably, Gerry is too tired to sit at a laptop for half an hour – sleep is more important. So he has just phoned me to tell me about today’s leg. Forgive me if the details are a little light but I am flying over to him tomorrow so the blogs etc. from Sunday should have a little more detail!
All of the competitors got up a little later this morning. The excitement and adrenaline of yesterday already replaced with sheer tiredness. The swim for Gerry went without incident as he treated it as a warm up to the rest of the day and a chance to loosen out his tight legs. Completing the course in a little over 1 hour 18 mins meant he was a little slower than yesterday but of course that is to be expected.
Looking at the Enduromanlive.com website throughout the day I could see the only 16 of yesterdays 19 starters made it back for day 2. I’m not sure of their reasons yet but it does give you some idea of the harshness of the event as these 3 people have been training for months for this event.
As if this challenge isn’t tough enough, the wind today on the bike made the 116 miles all the tougher (the bike course seems to be 4 miles longer than the standard Enduroman distance of 112 miles). Each competitor looks forward to the two (downward sloping!) hills on each lap but the headwind faced on each decent meant the pedals had to be pushed going downhill too! Given the wind and the tiredness the bike took Gerry an hour longer today than yesterday – he finished the bike after 8 hours and 10 minutes but was still one of the first to dismount. One competitor was to take 11 hours to complete the cycle!
The sharp steep hills on the marathon route means everyone finds the run hard on the legs – a flat course would be much more manageable . Gerry was one of the few to run the entire marathon with many choosing , or indeed having no choice but, to walk some or even all of the 26.2 miles. Crossing the finish line for the second time after 5 hours 10 mins of running gave him a total time for the day of 15 hours 22 mins and a placing of second for the day. The first guy home finished 10 minutes ahead of Gerry. The last person came off the course after 21 hours and 19 minutes!!!
Deca-Enduroman, Day 1
Hi folks. Well, day one is done! I’m writing these few lines as I sip from my recovery drink which Jacinta has made for me. Thankfully she has lost none of the smoothie making skills from our 32 marathon challenge last summer!
As expected, I was wide awake before my alarm went off this morning. A mixture of nerves, excitement and a desire to get started had me at the breakfast table before 4:30am. After a hearty feed of two bowls of porridge with mixed ground nuts and seeds with honey I was set to take on the challenge that lay ahead.
Although Brendan (Doyle, a great friend and 32 marathon crew man) and I had done a recon’ of the course yesterday I was still nervous about getting out there for the first time. Not wanting to waste much energy I spent the next hour and a half chatting to fellow competitors (they were all nervous), rechecking my bike (it was still in the same condition as my previous check last night), double checking that my Garmin was picking up a satellite signal (it was), making sure I had my hat, goggles and wetsuit ready (I did) and nibbling away at bananas and other bits of good grub.
It was a strange start – very different to the mass chaos that is a typical Enduroman start that sees c. 2,500 people flaying about in a hysteric splash and dash. Today was much more subdued with a calmness descending around us before the off as if we were all silently preparing to take on the unknown challenges that lay ahead of us.
It was nice to have the sun on our backs as we swam however it was a little worrisome too as I had not trained in warm weather. Settling into a nice comfortable pace I found the time flew by as we completed a number of laps of the lake. Within 75 mins my first 3.8km swim was over and I was ready for the bike.
The bike course is tough enough with a few rolling hills. There are a few gradual climbs with two nice descents but the wind today was a challenge from the first few km’s. I was conscious to keep my pace in check, ever mindful of what lay ahead and was happy to tick off the laps one at a time. Brendan and Jacinta were super at keeping me motivated, hydrated and fed for the 7 hours. I did have a bit of a niggle in one foot after a few hours but that could be due to me getting used to the new bike.
I was lucky on the bike to have two near misses; once almost hitting the back of a car that braked suddenly and another time narrowly avoiding a nasty pothole – one to look out for over the next 9 days!
The run is also tough. It’s through a forest trail which I would love running on at any other time but running ten consecutive marathons on a course that has short sharp hills proved to be very tough on the legs. Despite that I was glad to finish the marathon in a little over five hours; slower than I expected but given the course I’m happy.
Back to the lake after to cool the legs. Enjoying a smoothie. More food to be had before bed soon.
Until tomorrow,
Gerry.
Video Blog, June 1st
Let the Madness Begin!
No matter how much training you do, you still have doubts. Did I do enough? Why didn’t I work harder?
Swimming was perhaps the most challenging mentally. 90 minute sessions in a 20 metre pool isn’t fun. Twice on one occasion; morning and afternoon. But then nobody forced me to sign up for this DECA Enduroman Event. Therefore I am not typing to encourage sympathy. This rocks my boat, plain and simple. Different horses for different courses and all that.
Bike rides were hugely challenging but that is one box I feel I have ticked. Lots of six hour sessions and quite a few over. One April day it was over 9 hours. Yikes! To a convicted criminal ‘non bike lover’ such a sentence would guarantee rehabilitation. 150 miles on the clock that day and just marginally less the week before.
Running thankfully was never hard and carried out at 6am on most sessions. Again it rocks my vessel. Not for everyone. With a peak of 24 miles, a niggling doubt reminds me that I only did that once and it was over two sessions in a day.
So now its Tuesday and Friday will see the madness begin. 10 Enduromans in 10 days. 24 miles of swimming, 1,120 miles of cycling and 262 miles on foot (the equivalent of running from Belfast to just North of County Kerry.) Each day will see 2.4 miles in the bath, 112 miles on the tarmac and 26.2 miles of a run in Robin Hoods playground.
The ‘New Forest’ just outside Avon Tyrell in the South West of England is hopefully where the pilot will steer the mechanical bird tomorrow, Wednesday. With me at various times will be 7 brilliant crew, all veterans of the 32 Marathon challenge. It is a 10 day event after all. They are namely; Saint Jacinta O Neill, Brendan Doyle, Doug Bates, Jarlath Mahon, Dorothy Duffy, Enda Munnelly and Ken Whitelaw (remember him!!)
.....oh and a lot of food and socks!
Until Friday at 6am...
Gerry Duffy
31 May 2011
Training for a DECA!
Tuesday, March 2nd, 2011.
8 weeks of training in the legs, arms, core and mind. So far so good.
So how do you train for a DECA Enduroman event? The reality is I guess I will draw heavily on the lessons I have learned over the past number of years. A gradual 10% increase per week in my training volume and time commitment is a fair summary in its simplest form. Not unlike the same principle for a regular marathon, Enduroman or any other goal that might be relevant to any of us.
I do believe the ‘bike training’ is the key for me. 2010 saw almost no cycling for me. A certain “Running” challenge put paid to that. Different goals require different priorities too be addressed. As a consequence I have decided to work off a 60/20/20 principle for the first 10 weeks of training. This means 60% cycling and 20% for each of the other 2 disciplines. This will be revised in mid to late March.
I did keep up a high level of fitness over the Winter months so in January thankfully I was already starting off a very high base. Within 6 weeks I am already comfortably doing a weekly bike ride of 6 hours. In previous years I would not be there until April. Even saying ‘6 hours on a bike’ sounds challenging and the physical reality is even more so!
I already have several 2 and 3 hours, 1 x 4 hours, 1 x 5 hours and 1 x 6 hours in the legs. Tomorrow (March 3rd) will see another 6 hours completed all going well. It’s amazing how the mind can mentally adapt to such training. I do recall early in the New Year a contemplation of such a duration seemed hard to comprehend. Now though I am focussed and it is not quite as hard as I envisaged. Sometimes a consideration of something can be harder than the reality.
On average I do 8 training sessions per week. Two swims, two runs and 4 bike sessions ranging from hard one hour turbo sessions to those ‘quarter of a day’ cycles!
Time is so precious too, I have to use every opportunity to train to the best I can for that session. I have been lucky with a lack of injuries most of the my life. When I see other friends who are sidelined for such reasons, it reminds me to have an ‘attitude of gratitude’ every day for my health.
I have planned to increase my weekly training sessions by 10 %. This has worked well over the first 7 weeks and with the exception of next week I will continue to ramp it up. Next week will see a drop of 20 per cent to allow for some well earned recovery.
I expect to peak at around 22 hours of weekly training, perhaps more.
Gerry Duffy
Off and Running!
It’s Wednesday 9th February 2011. Today, I know I am back, focused on a challenging goal once more. I have been officially training for the past 4 weeks but today I really knew I was in the zone once more. I had to give an early morning cycling class to a group of very determined individuals. The class started at 6:40am. It lasted one hour. It was very intense and we all felt it. I had got out of bed at 5:30am and ran the five miles to the fitness studio. That’s why I knew I was back in the zone.
The fitness studio is at the rear of my sister Dorothy’s new Multi Sports Specialist Store, 'TRI and RUN' on the outskirts of Mullingar. Having left the car at home, I would run five miles back home as well. Ten miles and a hard 60 min bike session all before 8:30am on a Wednesday morning. How lucky am I to be able to do this. It rocks my boat. It’s not for everyone and that’s fine. Different things for different people.
So what am I training for? What am I planning? What is CHALLENGE 2011?
A DECA-ENDUROMAN !!
You may never have heard of it. I hadn’t until 2 years ago. When I read the distances involved, I thought it was a misprint.
So what is a DECA-ENDUROMAN?
24 MILES of swimming,
1,120 MILES of cycling,
262 MILES of running.
Yes, such a crazy event does actually exist. In fact 17 people including myself have signed up to do it. It will be held from June 3rd to the 12th in the UK. For this challenge I am alone. Ken has other things to keep him very busy this year but he promises he will return in the future.
My life has changed dramatically since Ken and I completed the last of our 32 Marathons in 32 days in August 2010. Two new businesses to pay the bills have emerged. A new fitness studio where we offer PILATES, CIRCUITS and INDOOR CYCLING classes (TURBO ) has taken off very well since the end of 2010. This was something I had planned. The other new income source was something I have stumbled upon. Many people have been interested to hear how we put the whole 32 Marathon Challenge together and how we developed the mindset to believe we could actually do it. A week after we finished, Ken and I were asked to speak to an audience of 250 Leaving Certificate Students and their parents. It was very well received. Private businesses, sports teams and clubs as well as a number of secondary schools have by now heard our story in detail. Many more engagements thankfully are in the diary over the coming months.
I have also just finished writing a book. I started it two years ago and now finally it is finished.
WHO DARES, RUNS! will be launched in April 2011. I hope it will interest you to buy it. If you do, I will be honoured.
10 ENDUROMANS / 10 DAYS ... A DECA ENDUROMAN! YIKES!
A regular blog will be posted on www.32marathons.com and on Facebook. I would love to have you share the journey with me.
