Tag Archives: Tom Foley

News

Tom To Run 20 Marathons In 10 Days In Searing Heat For Charity

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Tom Foley will attempt to run 20 marathon's in 10 days. Photo by Gavin O'Connor.
Tom Foley will attempt to run 20 marathons in 10 days next month. Photo by Gavin O’Connor.

TO COMPLETE a marathon just once in a lifetime is an achievement, but to finish 20 of them in 10 days is otherworldly.

And that’s exactly what Fairway Heights resident, Tom Foley, will attempt to do when he heads for the north of Italy in August.

It’s difficult to get your head around it but over the course of ten days Tom, originally from the Mitchels area, will run 526 miles – in conditions of over 30 degrees –  in aid of the ‘Jacket Off My Back’ homeless charity.

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“Some people might service their car after that!” chuckled a hardly overawed Tom, who had a gentle warm-up at the weekend, when he cycled the Ring of Kerry event and then decided to run home from Killarney afterwards…as you do.

The unbelievable task will get underway on Saturday August 6. From then, Tom will run two marathons a day over the next ten days. Starting each day with a marathon at 8am, followed by another at 2pm.

It is a world’s first official 2o marathons in 10 days event. Taking up the challenge alongside Tom so far are 15 other trailblazers, including some of the top marathon athletes Italy has to offer.

“I like to do something different and I keep looking for something bigger and bigger,” he said.

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In 2014 he cycled from Tralee to Rome as part of ‘Home to Rome’ cycle in aid of the Donal Walsh Livelife Foundation. Last year he ran 103 miles over 24 hours in the Energia 24 Hour Irish Championships.

Tom, is a father to Aaron who’s 14 and nine-year-old Jazz, is a member of the Born to Run club here in town.

At the time this was published, Tom, has finished 25 marathons and is hoping to complete two more before this weekend is out. The 37-year-old completed his first marathon just three years ago. “Age is no barrier, it’s just how you look after yourself,” he said.

With the mammoth task now just under a month away, it’s a case of minding the and increasing strength and conditioning to help him get through the rigour of marathon after marathon in such a short space of time.

One aspect that is slight worry is the 30 or even 40 degree heat he may experience in Italy. “It would be great if I could go off and acclimatise and all that craic, but I reckon this is more of mental challenge than a physical one, I’ll just have to keep going,” said Tom.

He will be running in Italy on behalf of the Jacket Off My Back homeless charity. You can lend your support to Tom and the charity by donating to the cause HERE and checking out his 20 Marathons in 10 Days page HERE.

News, Sport

Tralee Man Completes Ultimate Test Of Endurance in 24 Hour Race

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Tom Foley can stand tall after his exploits in the Energia 24 Hour Race in Belfast this past weekend. Photo from Facebook

A TRALEE man pushed himself to the limits at the weekend as he competed in the ‘Energia 24 Hour Race’ in Belfast on both Friday, July 17 and Saturday, July 18.

Tom Foley, a native of the Mitchel’s area, and an active member of the ‘Born To Run’ marathon club here in town, covered a staggering distance of 102 miles over the 24 hour period.

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The race involved running as many laps as possible around a 400m track over the day long period, with Tom managing to cover a fantastic 411 laps.

He took to his Facebook page after the race and while he was understandably tired, he took the time to thank the huge amount of support and congratulations he had been receiving from friends, family and fellow athletes.

“I just want to say thanks for all the well wishes, I went up there to do a job and got it done. I’m shattered tired, it’s a massive achievement and I’m fair proud going to sleep tonight,” he posted on his Facebook page.

This is not the first time that he has taken a step beyond however, with last year seeing him complete the ‘Home To Rome’ challenge from Tralee to Rome  for charity (see previous story here).

It’s definitely not the last we’ll see of Tom in the sporting endurance world, that’s for sure!

News, Sport

A Tralee Man Will Be Competing In 24 Hour Endurance Race Next Month

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Tom Foley
Tom Foley will compete in the Energia 24 Hour Race.

ONE Tralee man will certainly need all the  energy that he can muster when competing in the ‘Energia 24 Hour Race’ in Belfast on July 17/18.

Mitchels area native, Tom Foley, will put his endurance to the test when he takes to the 400m long Mary Peters’ Track where he will attempt to run as many laps as possible in the 24 hour long period.

The race, which is a national championship, is often used as a scouting ground for international election with  35-year old Tom putting himself out there for an Irish call-up.

There should be no trepidation about his fitness levels though, with the last year seeing him compete in 11 marathons, three 36 mile ultra runs, one 52-mile run, a 62-miler and then complete a 2,300km cycle from Tralee to The Vatican (the Home To Rome cycle).

In all, 18 Irish and Northern Irish counties will be represented through Antrim, Armagh, Cavan, Cork, Down, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Limerick, Louth, Offaly, Mayo, Meath, Westmeath, Wexford and Wicklow.

A wide range of international runners will also be competing over the 24 hours, with runners from England, Spain, Scotland, Italy, the Philippines, Poland, the Falkland Islands and Hungary entered into this year’s race.

We’re sure that Tom is in the midst of heavy training, but we’d like to wish a hearty good luck.