'I want to win medals': The Cork native with bold marathon ambitions

In the early hours of Saturday, Irish time, Fearghal Curtin aims to break Lynch’s record when he runs the Gyeongju Marathon in South Korea.

Fearghal Curtin of Ireland competes in the senior men's 9000m during the SPAR European Cross Country Championships at Laeken Park in Brussels, Belgium. Picture: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Fearghal Curtin talks about running 42 kilometres as if he’s just joined a club which meets outside a coffee shop. “I'm still just trying to find my way, just build confidence,” says the Cork native.

In April, on his marathon debut, the 27-year-old clocked 2:11.35 in Düsseldorf. It was good enough to make him the 10th fastest Irishman ever. In the same race, Peter Lynch smashed the Irish record with 2:09.36.

It was a top 10 single for Curtin but he knows there are bigger hits on the album. In the early hours of Saturday, Irish time, he aims to break Lynch’s record when he runs the Gyeongju Marathon in South Korea.

“This week, it's realistic for me in Korea. It's a slightly hillier course, but I think it's possible on a good day,” says Curtin, who speaks with a sense of modesty but also assurance.

“It's definitely the best shape I've ever been in, but my goal within the next three years is to get down to 2:05, 2:06, because that's Olympic standard.” 

Curtin was a star underage athlete, winning two national schools cross country titles. The support that talent requires was close to home. His parents Geraldine and Noel Curtin are coaches with Youghal AC.

At Midleton CBS, the dream of an athletics scholarship in America got him through the day. Three coaches in three years at Arizona State taught him not just about running but also survival. It was chaotic but it made him adaptable.

After Arizona and stints at Charleston Southern and Florida State, Curtin landed in Cardiff under James Thie. By then, he’d made up his mind: the marathon was his future.

Fearghal Curtin who won the men's 10K race as part of the Cork City Marathon. Picture: David Creedon

“I was getting out-kicked, I just didn't have the speed in the shorter races,” he admits. “It was clear to me if I wanted to make Olympics or worlds, it was going to be on the road.

“I accepted that it might be up and down at the start, and it was: It's taken three years to get to the level I'm at now. I'm definitely better suited to the road.” 

A consultation at Santry Sports Clinic helped clear up a tendonitis issue which had been holding him back. His right quad wasn’t strong enough. Ensuring there are no other weaknesses has become an obsession.

At the Copenhagen half-marathon in September – part of the SuperHalfs series – Curtin broke the Irish record, running 1:00:22 to finish eighth and take 29 seconds off Efrem Gidey’s time. Training at altitude in Flagstaff left him confident, but even he was surprised by the margin — especially after running solo. He believes a stronger field could help him dip under 60 minutes.

“This is probably the first time in a long time I've had a full year without injury, so I'm getting a huge benefit from being consistent and spending a lot of time in altitude the last few months,” he says.

“I've never trained as much before. I linked up with a coach called Jon Green and trained with some Olympians, some Canadians and American professional runners. That's been the first time in my road career I've trained with guys that are also running at elite level.

“If you're not ready to push yourself in a session, you get dropped; you treat every workout like it's a race, and it forces you to eat well, sleep well.”

Through all this, Curtin — who is now based in Portugal — has been working part-time with a company in east Cork. For the moment, it gives him enough income to support himself and his ambitions. Getting sponsored, making running his full-time job, is the aim.

“I want to make it as sustainable as I can,” he says, “because I want to do this for two more Olympic cycles at least.” 

After South Korea, Curtin plans to run the Singapore Marathon in early December. It’s all about building for the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.

Those Games will be 44 years on from the last ones in the city when John Treacy won silver for Ireland and Jerry Kiernan finished ninth. Curtin is already above the latter in the all-time Irish list, though he doesn’t put much thought into it, knowing new shoe technology has brought marathon times tumbling. Who knows what Kiernan would have run in the Puma Fast R Nitro Elite 3s — the ones Curtin will wear on Saturday.

“Running at elite levels is pointless unless you're going to be as ambitious as possible,” he says. “I want to win medals, compete at global championships because that's going to motivate me more than just focusing on running my own PB. It's just more fun if I'm ambitious.” 

He wants to arrive in LA not just ready to compete, but ready to belong among the world’s best.

“That's probably part of why I've chosen South Korea and Singapore, they are two tough courses,” he explains. “LA will probably be extremely hilly and warm.

“It's not too early to be preparing for that, just get used to running on tough courses where it's not a time trial. Getting as much experience as I can just in these races will help me because I want to go there feeling fully prepared and that I could be top 10.”