Fire-fighting marathon man turns up the heat

A record-breaking fireman is turning up the heat for his latest challenge — last year he broke a Guinness World Record running the Cork City Marathon in full firefighting gear and now he wants to break another one, by running the entire length of Ireland in less than four days.

Alex O’Shea, from Ballineen, a member of Cork City Fire Brigade’s Blue Watch, will attempt the extraordinary feat in September, running the equivalent of four marathons a day.

“I’m going to drive to Malin Head for 6am and run the duration of a marathon. Then I’ll have a 45- or 50-minute break where I’ll get into the camper van that will be accompanying me, put the feet in a bucket of ice, have someone rubbing the legs and try and get little bits of food,” he said. “Then I’ll do another marathon. I’ll do the whole cycle about four times a day. Then if I’m lucky I’ll get four hours sleep. That will be the routine then for three to four days.”