BLACKROCK HAVE WON more Cork senior hurling championship titles than any other club but another, more unique, record was added to their roll of honour yesterday.
Damien Coleman, a member and former player with the club — which is based on the southside of the city — completed the Cork City Marathon in a time of four hours and 28 minutes.
It was the 33-year-old’s eighth full marathon, but on this occasion he did so while soloing with a hurley and sliotar for the duration of the 26.2 mile course.
In humid conditions on Leeside, Coleman achieved a world record, beating the previous record time of six hours for running a marathon while balancing a ball on a hurley, as per the Guinness Book of Records.
In the process, he has already raised over €1,000 for his club and the Cork Simon Community. Coleman set an initial fundraising target of €1,250 and donations can still be made online by clicking here.
Coleman was allowed to drop the sliotar along the way — which occurred more often as fatigue set in — on the condition that he resumed running from the point where the ball hit the ground.
“I only dropped it twice in the first half when I was taking on gels but that went up to about 20 or 25 times in the second half when the wrist was getting tired and I started to lose a bit of flexibility,” Coleman told The42.
“It was actually easier than I thought it was going to be. I was expecting a lot of cramping in the arm but the only trouble I had really was from my from upper back. But overall it was handier than I thought it would be,” added Coleman, whose personal best for a marathon is two hours and 59 minutes, which he achieved in both Dublin and Tralee.
“The support I got was incredible, from club members and people all over Cork, as well as the Mater Private, who all helped to raise funds for a good cause. I’m delighted with how it went and very grateful to everyone who got behind it.”
Coleman is now considering a new challenge for next year’s Cork City Marathon — soloing a football: “I was thinking this morning I might give it a lash; four steps before a solo and four steps before a hop. Or I might try the Ulster rules and throw in eight or nine steps instead.”
