Wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde hits 300 marathons!

Our very own Jerry Forde has finally reached the magic 300 marathon mark! At the Waterfront Marathon in Clonakilty last Saturday the 6th of December 2014, Jerry crossed the line in an emotional finish to record another major milestone.

It has taken Jerry just 3 years to rack up the last 100 having hit the 200 mark back in Oct 2011 at the Dublin City Marathon.

As a wheelchair athlete, the Blarney man has certainly completed more marathons than anyone else in the UK and Ireland. It's quite possible he has more than anyone in Europe and quite possibly the world. If there is anyone else out there then they're keeping a very low profile!

When I asked Jerry about his next target, it was 400 of course.....although he does have his eye on a few interesting 'projects' along the way ;o)

A list of Jerry Forde's marathon can be seen on his website... http://jerryforde.wordpress.com/

Beep...beep...beep...beep...beep....

Wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde passes the 250 Marathon mark...

A few weeks back, I had a story on the blog about how Jerry Forde from Blarney was about to do 10 Marathons in 10 days in Sixmilebridge, Co.Clare. Just getting there for the start of the first one was a story in itself as outlined by Mick Dooley in this post.

After that, a number of people asked about how did Jerry get on? Needless to say, he completed all 10 Marathon as can be seen in the results HERE.

Recently I caught up with Jerry for a quick chat about where he was at in terms of the number of Marathons completed. Those ones in Co.Clare actually took him past the 250 mark and at the start of August 2013, he had 256 Marathons completed.

These can be broken down as follows........
Marathons (26.2 miles) : 244
Ultra-Marathons (26.2 miles +) : 12
30 Miles x 1
36 Miles x 1
39.3 Miles x 7
100 kms x 2
100 Miles x 1

That is of course a huge number of Marathons and it has taken quite a while to rack up that many.

Jerry first started taking part in the local road races back in 1992 and his first race was the Cork BHAA race in Pfizers in April of that year. Later on in October, Jerry completed his first Marathon in Dublin.

Back in the 90's, there were relatively few Marathons and #24 came at the end of that decade. In more recent times, there have been many more opportunities to take part in Marathons and Jerry's list has grown as a result. In April of 2006, he completed his 100th Marathon with his 200th coming in October of 2011. He is now well on his way to #300 possibly some time in 2014/15?

Looking around various sites on the Internet, there is obviously no shortage of people around the world who have completed 100+ Marathons but the same cannot be said of wheelchair athletes. If they are out there then they seem to be relatively unknown as there is very little information available.

It's fair to say what Jerry Forde is doing is pretty unique. He has almost certainly completed more Marathons as a wheelchair athlete than anyone in Ireland or the UK. Quite possibly, he may well be No.1 in Europe if not the world.

With that in mind, I think it's only right that Jerry's achievement should be made public and be available to view from anywhere in the world. I have recently put together a website for Jerry so that  is now possible. The address is.... http://jerryforde.wordpress.com/

(Photos courtesy of Doug Minihane)

10 Marathons in 10 Days gets underway in Sixmilebridge, Co.Clare...

In a first of it's kind in the country, the 10 Marathons in 10 Days is being held in Sixmilebridge, Co.Clare from Thursday the 4th to Saturday the 13th of July. A total of 23 entrants are endeavoring to do all 10 Marathons in 10 days while others will undertake fewer or just even one! On day one, a total of 35 took part.

For one of the 23, it was nearly a case of a 'no-show' on day one for Cork's own Gerry Forde. After a mishap with his car on Wednesday evening, the rush was on to get to the start line with his wheelchair in Sixmilebridge for 5pm on Thursday.

Sixmilebridge 10 Marathons in 10 Day...one down...nine to go...Pic. Doug Minihane

Mick Dooley tells the story.......Its a long way from here to Clare. They were the words of Gerry Forde as he sat in the bar of Eire Og  Gaa awaiting the tow truck to take away his 131 Toyota Auris. Gerry had just completed the EMC 5k on the eve of his first marathon of ten in Six Mile Bridge in Co Clare. However Gerry discovered that instead of filling himself with jet fuel he fill his car with forbidden fuel and there was no take  off. Gerry patiently waited and with his car towed away made it home for midnight for a good nights sleep.

Next morning, I picked up Gerry and headed for Cogans of Carrigaline. We met up with Ken O Neill and Head mechanic Colm and within minutes, all hands were on the job but unfortunately  time was running out and Gerry got rather emotional on the thoughts of missing out on this unique opportunity ...missing the event was not an option. I quickly made a few calls and within the hour, there was a van and driver on the way.  Doug Minihane was quick to respond and just finishing off a photo shoot and a quick shower, we linked up and Gerry was on his way . Gerry got to the start line for 5pm and duly completed the 26.2 milecourse. He will now do a marathon each day for the next 9 days and to add to that, he wishes to sleep in the comfort of his own bed each night which means a lot of driving also. We wish Gerry all the best for the days and weeks ahead and indeed all the marathon men and women in their endeavours . I am sure their will be plenty of updates as the days roll on.

I am delighted we have Gerry on the starting line for this one. Thanks to Don Keohane , Ned Ramsell for their initial response and in particular to a heroic Doug Minihane who has taken care of Gerry for the first event.

Photos...
1) Doug Minihane has a small gallery of photos HERE

Gerry Forde currently has over 240 Marathons completed. He has done more Marathons than any other wheelchair athlete in Ireland or the UK if not Europe itself.

Update...There is also a nice article about Gerry Forde in the Cork News this week.

Gerry Forde gets a new assistant...

The news story that crept under the radar this week was of course the fact that wheelchair athlete Gerry Forde had a new assistant at the Clonakilty Marathon last Saturday! Due to the severe gradient of the first hill around 400m after the start, Gerry needed someone on hand to stop him rolling backwards in between pushes of the wheels.

Gerry with his new helper

Mind you, even though he took off ages ahead of the rest of the Marathon field, I think it still took him around 30 minutes to get up this first hill......and it's only 100m long! When I passed him, there were beads of sweat dripping off his helmet.....and that's when he was stopped ;o)

Rumour has it that he has already block booked entry to the Clonakilty Marathon for the next 10 years. Next time you see Gerry, be sure and ask him where is his next hilly Marathon ;o)

Wheelchair athlete Gerry Forde completes 100 mile Ultra-Marathon

Last weekend, Gerry Forde from Blarney in Co.Cork completed the Connemara 100 mile Ultra-Marathon in a time of 24 hours and 40 minutes. Not only is this a remarkable achievement in itself but it is also a new record for the longest distance ever completed by any wheelchair athlete in Ireland.

The Connemara 100 Ultra-Marathon starts and finishes in the town of Clifden in the heart of Connemara. The 100 mile route threads it's way through the mountains in what is one of the most scenic parts of Ireland. For 2012, there were 25 starters and 20 finished the race.

Gerry's support crew for the event was Michael Haydon from Cork (pictured above) and Finn O'Mara from Mayo. Michael and Gerry are the only two people from Cork who have completed over 100 Marathons each. While Michael has well over 100 Marathons completed at this stage, this was Gerry's 216th Marathon having completed his 200th in Dublin last October!

Starting at 6am on Saturday morning, the weather for the event was mild with a few light showers and some sunshine. From early on, Gerry's strategy for getting through the 100m miles was to take short breaks every hour for food and drinks. After a diet of water, tea, energy drinks, bananas, sandwiches and energy cakes, Gerry finally crossed the finish line in Clifden at 6:40am on Sunday morning.

After this mammoth task, you might think Gerry would take a break but no chance! He is currently planning to do a few more Marathons in Donegal and Kerry in the next few weeks.

(Photos courtesy of Iain Shaw of Athenry AC)

Gerry Forde completes 100km Ultra-Marathon in Portumna...

Last Saturday the 16th of June, wheelchair athlete Gerry Forde from Cork completed the 100km Ultra-Marathon in Portumna Forest, Co.Galway. To the best of my knowledge, this was the longest race ever completed by a wheelchair athlete in Ireland.

This Ultra-Marathon was Gerry's 212th Marathon and as a wheelchair athlete, he has completed more than anyone else in the UK or Ireland. It may well be possible that he has completed more than anyone else in the Europe or even the USA?

Gerry's time for the 100k was 13:02:11. In essence, that means he started the race at 6am on Saturday morning and didn't finish until just after 7pm that evening. In terms of physical effort and endurance, it's just huge. I myself took part in the 50k race with a small group of club members from Eagle AC who traveled up from Cork for the event. By the time we started the 50k race at 8am, Gerry was already two hours into the 100k. We had finished our 50k race and were back home in Cork at 4pm while Gerry was still out on the course with another 3 hours to go!

Just to put the distance into perspective, 100 kms is roughly the equivalent of starting a race on Patrick's Street in Cork City and finishing on O'Connell Street in Limerick City! When put in those terms, it's amazing that anyone could go that far.

Gerry's race wasn't without it's drama though as it looked as if just 10 kms short of the finish line, he would have to pull out due to a slow puncture. However, the organisers managed to find a bicycle pump somewhere and kept Gerry going for the last 2 laps.

Needless to say, you might have thought that Gerry would have tapered especially for this race? Not a bit of it! While a group of us were having a pre-race meal in Portumna at 8pm last Friday, Gerry was taking part in the 4 mile race in Inniscarra in Cork! The mind boggles as to how he could do a race on Friday evening and somehow appear at the start line in Portumna (2.5 hour drive) at 6am the following morning for the 100k!

What's his next adventure? We'll have to wait and see ;o)

Photo Credit...Iain Shaw of Athenry AC

Cork News interview with Wheelchair athlete Gerry Forde...

This weeks edition of the Cork News has an in depth interview with Gerry Forde from Blarney. Well known for attending road races all over the country, Gerry has also completed in excess of 200 Marathons. As a wheelchair athlete, he has completed more Marathons than anyone else in the UK and Ireland. As for Europe or the USA???

The interview can be read HERE

Gerry Forde to hit the 200 mark in the 2011 Dublin City Marathon...

Gerry Forde, a regular on the road race circuit in Cork has recently completed his 199th Marathon and is going to hit the 200 mark in the Dublin Marathon at the end of October.

Gerry started off his long career as a wheelchair athlete way back in 1992 and completed his first Marathon in Dublin of that year in a time of 3:17. His first Marathon outside of Ireland was in London. At that time, there were very few Marathons in Ireland so the numbers were climbing slowly. Gerry's fastest time for a Marathon came in Belfast in 1999 with a time of 2:54...and his 24th Marathon. At that time, he was training 6 days and 100 miles per week.

Number 27 came in Beijing in China while the halfway mark of 50 was reached in Taunton in Somerset in the south-west of England in 2002. While it took 10 years to notch up the first 50 Marathons, the 2nd 50 were notched up in just 4 years with the magic number 100 coming in the Connemara Ultra-Marathon in 2006...a mere 39.3 miles!

A lot of people would have been content to stop at this stage but not Gerry, he just kept going....and now 5 years later in 2011, he is on 199 Marathons and about break through the 200 barrier.
His list of completed Marathons have seen him travel the globe to 5 continents. Beside Marathons in Ireland and the UK, he has been to Finland, Egypt, Slovak Republic, Isle of Man, Poland, Spain, Turkey, Belgium, France, Sweden, Italy, Austria, Germany, Norway, Denmark, Canada, Australia, Malta, Hungary, Czech Republic, China, Portugal as well as several in the United States (New York, Boston, Nashville, Memphis, Arizona, Chicago and San Diego).

As well as competing in Marathons around the world, Gerry has also travelled all over Ireland and has taken part in road races in each one of the 32 counties. Needless to say, all of that training and the numerous races over the 19 or so years have taken their toll on the wheelchairs used. While most runners might fork out €100 for a new pair of shoes, replacing a racing wheelchair is an expensive affair. They are especially imported from the USA and with the special light weight materials used, each one can cost in the region of €3,000.

In terms of completed Marathons, I asked Gerry if there were any other wheelchair athletes with a similar number. As far as he knows, he has completed more Marathons than any other wheelchair athlete in the UK or Ireland. It would be interesting to know if anyone in mainland Europe has more?

So I asked Gerry one final question.......'After the Dublin City Marathon in October and your 200th Marathon, what's next?'

'300!!' declared Gerry.

It was a silly question


Postscript......Nov 2011......Just to confirm that Gerry did indeed complete his 200th Marathon in Dublin at the end of October and is now well on his way to 300 ;o)