IT LOOKED SET to be a painful case of déjà vu for Sean McFadden last weekend.
Last year, the Letterkenny native took part in The Race, an event that was being held for the first time and which has since been called ‘one of the world’s toughest endurance events.’
The grueling challenge, based around northwest Donegal, includes a half marathon, a 175km cycle, a 15km paddle and 800 vertical metres climb, before finishing with a full marathon through the night — all of which must be completed within the 24-hour time limit.
McFadden came agonisingly close to winning The Race in 2014, but ultimately finished with a time of 15 hours 22 minutes and 10 seconds — 14 minutes and 14 seconds behind the winner Bill Wells, an experienced endurance runner from Canada.
With Wells opting out of this year’s challenge, McFadden was widely considered the favourite to prevail this time. Hailing from Donegal, the athlete’s local renown and status as the home favourite only added to the “massive” pressure on his shoulders.
Nevertheless, as The Race neared its climax, McFadden — although he was in the lead — suddenly began to lose hope. He was running on empty. Despite competing in many marathons and triathlons, in addition to representing Ireland at the World Age Group Duathlon Championships, this latest event seemed a challenge too far.
“At one point, I thought: ‘I don’t think I can finish this,’” he tells The42. “This thing is going to get the better of me. I then thought: ‘I’m going to settle for second and start walking,’ and so I started walking.
“But a couple of friends had come to support me. They gave me a few home truths and a few facts, so I thought: ‘right, let’s have another go,’ and I never stopped running from that point.”
It was a phenomenal act of courage and resilience from the 38-year-old father of four, and meant that, despite the extremely difficult conditions on the day encompassing heavy wind and rain, McFadden finished first with a record time of 15:05:30. As The Race’s co-creator, David Burns, told The42 earlier in the week: “You could tell the way he set out on the day, it was all or nothing for him.”
(McFadden, pictured with his family, after winning The Race)
McFadden describes crossing the finishing line as “a great feeling” and credits other athletes, including Irish Olympian Philip Deignan, for inspiring him to such heights.
In addition, unlike rival competitors, McFadden is not a full-time athlete — he has a regular job with Donegal County Council. However, he plays down the significance of this disparity, noting that he trains “like a full-time athlete,” which amounts to roughly “20-25 hours a week”.
McFadden says he intends to “take a break” in the forthcoming weeks, before training for an Ironman in Copenhagen this August, and it’s little wonder he needs to stop now and again, given the intense approach he takes to preparation for such events, coupled with his hectic schedule away from them.
“I have a young girl who is on the Cycling Ireland High Performance Squad. I help her and look after a few other athletes and triathletes. I’m also helping out at a new gym — I do a few classes to help out a friend of mine.
“But I enjoy training full stop. Training at four or five o’clock in the morning makes no difference to me — it’s just a number.
“Some people run marathons and half-marathons and have a bad time. I say: ‘What are you doing?’ And they say: ‘I’m only doing this.’ If you don’t put the training in, you won’t succeed.”
Moreover, while clearly talented at what he does, McFadden was himself a relatively late starter when it came to endurance racing.
“I lived a good life and partied a bit [before I] got into running. I joined the local athletics club and went from there. At times, you wish you were 15 again. You’re doing stupid things. But sports definitely changed my life. I achieved highly and athletes that I train, they keep telling me that they can’t do the same, but they can.
“Some people have a lot of talent,” he adds. “But hard work will always beat talent.”
The Race is a not-for-profit event with all proceeds going towards the work of Gorta – Self Help Africa. For more info on how to donate, click here.
All pics used with permission from David Burns.
Check out the site tomorrow for an interview with Diane Behan — winner of the 2015 Race in the female category.
