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Irish ultra runner says beer is secret to running seven marathons in five days

Ran 295km in four days to break his own record

By
ANTOINETTE KELLY,
IrishCentral Staff Writer
Published Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 8:40 AM
Updated Tuesday, February 7, 2012, 9:46 AM

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World renowned ultra-runner Richard Donovan
World renowned ultra-runner Richard Donovan
Photo by Google Images


An Irish man who has become the only person to run seven marathons on seven continents in less than five days has revealed that a bottle of beer was the secret to his success.

Richard Donovan managed to break his own record when he completed his final run in Syndey on Sunday, after running 295km in four days, 22 hours, and three minutes.

The 45-year-old Galway man admitted that sleep deprivation and running through different time zones took a toll on his body.

"I was absolutely wrecked. I wasn't even able to keep down water," he told the Press Association.

"We came to desperate measures in Sydney and I chanced a beer.

"I had one bottle of Heineken during the race for some carbs and one at the end of it.
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"It was the first time something stayed down in days."

The father of one began his challenge last Wednesday in Antarctica when he ran the first 42km-leg in -20C at the Russian Novo science base.

He touched down in several locations such as Cape Town, South Africa; Sao Paulo, Brazil; Orlando, USA; London, UK; Hong Kong, and finally Sydney, for his round the world challenge. His previous record stood at five days, 10 hours and eight minutes.

"I never contemplated I was not going to finish," Donovan said.

He completed the challenge to help raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Horn of Africa. All money raised through www.worldmarathonchallenge.com will go to the Irish aid agency GOAL.

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See more: Irish sports news , Irish drinks , Offbeat
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3 Comments

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IrelandNorth | Feb 08, 2012, 06:49 AM EST
Is his career sponsored by any prominent distillery of the Intoxication Industry (II). I've heard of a pub-crawl, but not a marathon.

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Murph46 | Feb 07, 2012, 01:57 PM EST
I have a beer ,then another,then another................. and I never seem to get anything done!

Report abuse

CitizenWhy | Feb 07, 2012, 09:23 AM EST
Whenever I have to do heavy physical labor I work for about a half hour, get exhausted, then have a beer, and I work right through with a steady energy.

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