Marathon man, 71, clocks up €24,000

A FUNDRAISING dynamo in his 70s who completed three marathons last year has raised more than €24,000 for cancer research.

And Pat Cadogan said he couldn’t have done it without the spirit of his late wife Gemma, who died of cancer.

Pat, from Bishopstown in Cork, had run 17 marathons until last year, raising hundreds of thousands of euro for various causes.

By last year, he had completed four marathons in Cork, four in Dublin, four in London, three in New York and one each in Boston and Beijing.

Following his 2006 New York city marathon, Pat, who was then 68, decided to hang up his running shoes because he wanted to support Gemma through her illness.

She died on May 25, 2007, five months short of their 38th wedding anniversary. But spurred on by her memory, Pat decided to do one more marathon and raise money for cancer research.

At the age of 70, he ran the Boston City Marathon last April and with the help of his children Therese, David, Oliver and Sean, they raised over €10,000 for the Cork Cancer Research Centre, based in UCC and the Mercy Hospital.

Pat said he believes Gemma was with him in spirit, every step of the way.

Just six weeks later, he decided to run the Cork City marathon, setting a new target of €20,000.

Sponsorship flooded in from friends, family and supporters. A major fundraising drive in Boston, organised with help from former Cork footballer Gene McCarthy and the Boston-based Cork GAA club, helped boost the coffers.

Jason Murphy from Ovens and Sinead O’Sullivan from Waterford, both based in London, also raised funds and Jason ran his first marathon with Pat in Cork.

Sinead, and her brothers-in-law Barry O’Dwyer and Brendan O’Riordan, as well as Jason’s sister Colette, completed Cork’s relay marathon.

And as if that wasn’t enough, Pat went for a three-in-a-row and completed the Dublin marathon last October.

Pat and his family presented a cheque for €24,000 to Cork Cancer Research Centre’s Professor Gerry O’Sullivan just before Christmas.