Superhuman Alan to finish 35th marathon in 35 days

By Nick Bramhill - Saturday, June 30, 2012

He’s the superhuman who is set to make history today when he completes his 35th marathon in as many days.

But marathon man Alan Corcoran said he won’t hang up his running shoes when he becomes the first man to complete a gruelling 917-mile lap of Ireland.

Instead the ambitious Waterford student is already eyeing up his next epic feat, which he vows will be "even more crazy".

The 21-year-old, who undertook the challenge to raise funds for the Irish Heart Foundation, said: "It’s been extremely difficult, but I love challenges like this. I’ve got to give myself two to three weeks to recover from this, but I don’t want to stop after this. I’ll think of something else and it will be even more crazy than this."

Super-fit Alan, speaking before his penultimate run from Ardmore to Stradbally in Co Waterford yesterday, admitted his body has been pushed to the limit over the past month. He said he had been spurred on all the way by the motivation of raising money for stroke victims, after his father and former FAI chief Milo Corcoran suffered a stroke last year which left him wheelchair-bound and facing months of rehabilitation.

However, he said he was given a huge boost shortly before setting off from Waterford at the start of the challenge when his father made "as good a recovery as could be expected".

Alan can expect a hero’s welcome when he takes part in his final run, the Viking Marathon sponsored by the Irish Examiner in his native Waterford, today.

And yesterday he called on the public to rally round his fundraising campaign: "We’ve raised about €7,000 in total so far, which is great. But I’d love to reach €10,000." * www.35marathonman.ie