A Co Armagh man – who ran his first-ever marathon in London at the end of April – completed his second just seven days later in Belfast.
However, Robert Bleakney’s double marathon attempt was completely unintentional.
The 27-year-old had been training for the Belfast event on May 4 but stepped in to help a friend who broke a bone in her leg in the build-up to her London challenge on April 27.
The Brackagh man, who has been living and working in London for the past five years, rose to the challenge – and it was something of a baptism of fire.
Robert, speaking to Armagh I, said he told his parents he was “having a bit of a quarter-life crisis”, so he decided he would sign up to do a marathon and “tick it off the list”. Little did he know, he’d be doing two in the space of a week.
Although not a seasoned runner, Robert has always been quite sporty, having played rugby for Portadown and Portadown College in his younger days.
Taking to running – certainly marathon running – has been a whole new experience, but one he has thrived in. So much so, that the two events, seven days apart, saw him improve his 26-mile time by a whopping 40 minutes.
“Ironically, the Belfast Marathon was a lot easier than the London one, even though it was just seven days later,” he said.
“In London, I think it was a good 10 degrees warmer and, because it was the first one, I probably wasn’t as well prepared in terms of eating enough food beforehand. I didn’t have enough energy gels with me, so I think I was a bit more ready for the Belfast one.
“And even though the course was a bit more hilly, I was definitely in a better-prepared position. So actually, I found I was a bit fresher for it, and didn’t really struggle too much until I got to the last three miles.”
Robert was raising money for Great Ormond Street Hospital in London, a cause very close to his heart.
The Co Armagh man has been volunteering at the children’s hospital for the last seven months and has seen “first-hand the impact that the money and donations make in terms of helping the kids there”.
“It’s two weekends every month,” he said of the volunteering. “There’s a thing they call The Weekend Club, where you put on activities and games for the kids in the hospital.
“To be honest, it’s probably more for the siblings because a lot of kids can’t necessarily leave their beds. So that’s sort of what I help run; there are times you would go up to the wards and play some games with the kids, or bring some therapy dogs.
“It’s probably something I always wanted to do in terms of giving a little bit back. I have a wonderful eight-year-old nephew and I feel I’ve always been quite good with kids – I’m probably a big child at heart myself. It was something I was quite passionate about and knew that I could certainly contribute towards.”
Robert says that while things are tough for the children, he has seen more of the positive side.
“You see the sort of joy that you can bring them, and even if that’s just a few hours in their day where you distract them from all the tough stuff that’s going on – that’s something.
“From a selfish point of view, it’s probably been quite nice to be blessed with being able to see that and give a bit of joy and happiness to some of these kids.”
As for Robert and his future running endeavours, there’s probably plenty more in the tank.
“It’s funny – whenever I finished the Belfast Marathon, my initial instinct was ‘right, never again’,” he laughed. “But when the dust settled a few days later, I could probably see myself running another one in the future.
“For now, I’ll probably take a little break and enjoy myself – and definitely have a beer or two in celebration.”
If you wish to make a donation to Robert’s fundraiser, you can do so by clicking this link.
