GLENSWILLY man Joe Gibbons reckons he ran the first 20 miles of last Sunday’s New York Marathon with a smile as wide as the city’s famous Hudson River.
After all, this was a man who had battled his way through almost a year of chemotherapy treatment after being diagnosed with lymphoma cancer.
In the depths of his sickness, he’d told his wife Susanna that if he beat the illness, his plan was to run the New York Marathon.
And shortly after being given the news last December that he was in remission, the runners were back on and Joe (38) began a grueling training programme to get to marathon fitness.
So you can understand why he was so determined to enjoy every step of last Sunday’s famous race. Decked out in a running top dedicated to the memory of his good friend Manus Kelly, Joe said he soaked in the support of the crowds that lined the route.
But after 20 miles, the race began to ask questions of Joe.
“There were a few rolling hills that began to take their toll,” he said.
“You’re always going to hurt at the end of a marathon, but when the hamstrings and the quads began to seize up, I was struggling.”
A talented player with Glenswilly GAA club, Joe was always a natural athlete and his time in the end of 2.52.26 was some going for what was just his third time to run a marathon.
His own personal battle through illness really caught the imagination of the general public when his story was told last month in the Donegal News.
Joe, who works in Currys in Letterkenny, said he’d hoped to raise around €5,000 for charity, but this week the total raised on his GoFundMe page was hitting almost €23,000.
The end total will be divided between Cancer Care West Support Centre Donegal and Pieta House – two charities that for very different reasons, mean so much to Joe.
“The support and generosity of people has been amazing,” he said.
“I couldn’t thank them enough. It definitely pushed me on during Sunday’s race, but in a funny way, it probably put me under a wee bit more pressure. There were so many people out there who knew I was doing the marathon and had donated to the fundraiser. You didn’t want to be letting anyone down.”
Joe was still in New York when he spoke with the Donegal News and he offered a big thanks to everyone back home for all their support and messages of goodwill. He had a special mention for his sons Jack and Oisin who were cheering him on from home.
He was joined in New York by his wife Susanna and their friends Paul and Geraldine Rodgers and Tommy and Louise Duddy.
You can donate to Joe’s charity appeal at www.gofundme.com/f/joes-new-york-marathon
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