Former Principal of Coláiste Ailigh, Micheál Ó Giobúin should be living a life of rest and relaxation following his recent retirement.
Instead, he has been putting himself through the paces by running the Dublin Marathon last Sunday.
The seed was planted three years ago following a conversation with his daughter Niamh, although he applied, Covid-19 got in the way of him participating in his first marathon.
Two years later, Micheál began his training with all guns blazing.
“I began my training in March this year. When I started off I was running 1K, at the end of March I was able to run 5K and then 10K.
“In August I took part in the Danny McDaid 15K. Training was hard work and it was very time consuming. Although it was a huge commitment I am happy I made the sacrifices.
“My wife would drop me to the back roads of Termon, I would put on my playlist and train by myself,” he said
However retiring wasn’t the only thing that spurred Micheál on, the motivation that drove him to the finish line was that he was doing it in aid of the Creeslough tragedy.
“I retired on the 7th of October. We were celebrating while the tragedy was unfolding, we had no idea until the next day the scale of what happened.
“I just thought it was something anyone could have been caught up in. I’ve been in that shop. It was a devastating thing to happen on our doorstep.
“I set up a gofundme page and so far it has raised €1,500,” he said.
One week before the marathon Micheál began to doubt his ability but he kept pushing.
He said before the marathon began he was told by a steward that it would be a day he’d never forget and it was.
“It was an absolutely unbelievable occasion. I did better than I thought. I ran the whole thing purely on adrenalin. The weather was fantastic as well.
“The support from the Dublin public and everyone involved was great but what really got me through it was the support I had with me. My wife Mary, daughters Emer and Niamh , grandson Oscar, my son-in-law Lochlainn who ran the marathon with me. Mary, Siadbh, Jim and Amy Harte were all there cheering us on and it helped a lot. Even my children Aine and Connor who are living abroad were able to track my progress online,” he said.
Micheál crossed the finish line with a time of 4 hours 42 minutes and 37 seconds.
Speaking to the Donegal News, Micheál said he would like to thank everyone who supported him.
“In particular I would like to thank those who contributed to the Creeslough fund.
“I’m happy I can give something back to the people of Creeslough to let them know we are thinking of them,” he said.
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