Gerry Forde hits 538 Marathons!

I've just updated Jerry Forde's marathon list and it now stands at 538 completed... and some of those are ultras!

The most recent one was the Dublin marathon at the end of October 2025.

If someone said to you that they did 538 road races, it would sound impressive but to complete 538 marathons as a wheelchair athlete is just mind boggling.

Just multiplying 538 x 42.2kms gives a distance of about 22,703 kms, that's more than halfway around the earth.

You can see Jerry Forde's list of marathons HERE

Updated Marathon list for Jerry Forde - Mar 2024

I recently updated Jerry Forde's list of marathons and it currently stands at an amazing 519!

You can see the full updated list on this website HERE

Jerry Forde wheelchair fund reaches target of €4770!

Good news! The GoFundMe page to raise the money for a new racing wheelchair for the main man Jerry Forde has reached the target of €4,770! As outlined in a previous post, Jerry's chair was written off in a recent accident.

When I put up the post on Tuesday, the fund was a €1400 so the donations really poured in over the following 48 hours before it closed on Thursday.

A big shout out as well to Proinnsias O'Keeffe for getting the ball rolling on this. This is more than just a fundraising drive as it needed someone to manage the project.

It's not just a case of raising the funds and picking a model out of a catalogue. The user must be measured and each chair has to be manufactured to the exact specifications.

Now that the funds are there, we will hopefully see Jerry in action soon again.

I'll be one of the first to know when he takes delivery because his Lordship will inform me that he wants to go on a training session! 

Beep, Beep, Beep!

Fundraising campaign for new chair for Jerry Forde

Beep Beep Beep! Jerry Forde was involved in an accident recently and his racing wheelchair was pretty much written off.

While the main man is OK, several thousand Euro has to be raised for the purchase of a new chair.

There is a GOFUNDME page HERE

Cork runner Proinnsias O’Keeffe got the ball rolling on this and the donations are rolling in. If you can help out, it would be great.

His Lordship resting at Blackrock Castle

Online Jigsaw: The main man Jerry Forde on the Marina - April 2021

 

When I was out with Jerry during the week for a training session, we passed a ship across from the Marina in Cork City. I told Jerry to stop so I could take a photo and make it into a jigsaw and here it is!

Jerry does the weekly jigsaw every Friday morning so I'm sure he'll enjoy this one.

You can find the 165-piece jigsaw HERE

The main man Jerry Forde starts his 2021 tour!

 

Drrrring, Drrrring......Drrrring, Drrrring... went my phone. I answered...'Hello?'

"How's my faithful servant?" went the voice on the other end. It was of course none other than Lord Forde of Blarney!

His Lordship continued.... "Now that the 5k restriction has been lifted, I think it's time for a training session". So I got to work and planned out a route for today.

We ended up doing 14.2 miles (22.8 kms) in total from the Marina in Cork City down to Passage West and back....Jerry pushing his chair and me on the bike. As you can see from the photo above, it was a stunning day and we finished it off with a cuppa from Pronto at the Blackrock Plaza.

A few photos below...

As for our next outing, the 2021 tour will continue in May with a possibly outing to Crosshaven. All I've been told for now is to leave my phone on and await instructions! 😃

Friday Fun: Online Jigsaw - Jerry Forde & Pat Walsh

For this weeks online jigsaw, we have a nice one of Jerry Forde and Pat Walsh!

You can complete the 192-piece jigsaw here... https://www.jigidi.com/solve/bwguk759/jerry-forde-pat-walsh/

There is a selection of previous jigsaws on this page HERE

Friday Fun: Jigsaw of Jerry Forde & Claire O'Brien at Glenville

 

Here's a nice one for the Christmas period. Try out this 176-piece online jigsaw of the main man Jerry Forde and Claire O'Brien at the Grenville Run.

Click HERE

There is a selection of previous jigsaws on this page HERE

Jerry Forde back in action - December 2020

 

Now that the COVID Level 5 5k restrictions have been lifted, I've restarted the training sessions with the main man Jerry Forde again. We met up on a cold and chilly Tuesday morning at Shandon Boat Club on the Marina in Cork City and took in a scenic route by the river to Passage West and back.

As you might imagine, it hasn't been easy for Jerry to train on the roads around Blarney with all of the hills, especially as it can be dangerous going down steep hills in wet weather.

The Greenway to Passage by contrast was a nice change with a flat route for most of it... although he did try to convince me he was going uphill at one stage even though it was dead flat! 😄

At the end of a long session, Jerry clocked up 14.2 miles which was a nice outing and one of his longest training sessions for a while.

We finished off the session with a cuppa at the Marina Market on Centre Park Road where just happened to meet Stan Byczek.

Stan reports that he is looking forward to getting back to running and races in 2021 and that by the time of the first COVID lock down last March, he had an impressive 90 marathons completed!

As for our next training session, I'm not sure where we're off to next but Carrigaline to Crosshaven and up the hill to Camden might be on the cards.

I also updated Jerry's website recently as he managed to get in a few small marathons during the Summer months when the restrictions were eased. He is now at 473 marathons!

The full list is here... https://jerryforde.wordpress.com/list-of-marathons/

Training session with Jerry Forde on the Marina...

During the week, I met up with the main man Jerry Forde for a training session in Blackrock in Cork City. Jerry normally trains most days on the same loop around Blarney so this was an opportunity to try somewhere else as well as checking out the newly pedestrianised Marina.

We met up bright and early at Blackrock Castle at 9am and the plan was to do the Mahon walkway / old railway loop and get in about 12 miles. Just after we started, we met the one and only Tony Huff who was a regular on the road race scene for years.

From there, it was Beep, Beep, Beep and up the old railway line to Pairc Ui Chaoimh where we took a detour to have a look at the new car park near Shandon Boat Club.

From here, things went a bit off script when the heavens opened up and we had to take shelter under a tree on the Marina. After 20 minutes of heavy rain, it was looking pretty grim and it looked as if the session would have to be cancelled. But sure enough, the skies brightened, the rain stopped and we were off again.

One impact of the rain is that it effectively cleared the Marina and walkways of all the walkers and cyclists so we pretty much had it to ourselves.

The only bottleneck as such was the road between Blackrock village and the Castle but as the photo above shows, there was a nice view of the river and the city once the sun appeared again.

No training session would be complete without the cuppa however and we took another detour on the second loop to Lee Rowing Club and the small portable café there. His Lordship confined himself to just one Cappuccino on this occasion.

Between the two loops and detours, we ended up with 12.3 miles or 19.8 kms so not a bad days training. It was great to be able to use the Marina without fear of being run down by a car or van using it as a rat run to get into town. The surface of the Marina leaves a lot to be desired but one step at a time.

I'm not sure where the 2020 Main Man Tour is off to next but we might head back to Crosshaven and Camden for the views. Stay tuned! 😉

Main man Jerry Forde on tour in Crosshaven - August 2020

 

Following on from the July outing from Blackrock Castle to Passage West, our outing for August was from Carrigaline to Crosshaven.

After turning up in the meeting point in Carrigaline bright and early at 9am, there was of course no sign of the main man Jerry Forde. As you can see from the photo above, he can't go outside the door unless he has matching clothing and he was frantically searching his house this morning for a bright Yellow-Green hat to go with his top.

He eventually arrived and we got underway at 9:15am on the cycle path/footpath to the Kilnagleary car park and from there on the Greenway to Crosshaven.

Once you take the time to notice, it really is a lovely stretch to walk, run or cycle on especially near Drakes Pool and the approach into Crosshaven. There are some great views out over the Owenabue Estuary and the path is right next to the water all of the time. I know for Jerry that it was a welcome contrast to the busy roads around Blarney.

After Crosshaven, we continued out past the boat yard and up Point Road to the end of the Cul-de-Sac. From there, there were lovely views across to Spike Island in the outer harbour and the town of Cobh beyond. The view at the top of this post shows the view from Point Road across to Currabinny Woods and the estuary by Crosshaven which was full of boats.

For the return trip, the main decision was where to get some coffees so we stopped off at Lulu's at the Kilnagleary car park. After getting the 'I left my wallet at home / Me dog ate me wallet' routine from the main man, it was left to me to get the coffees.

As you can see from the photo, the tour guide had to buy two coffees for Mr. Forde after he gave himself an impromptu 'Americano' shower with the first one after a 'wheelchair malfunction'. The only saving grace was that Lulu's weren't selling creamie cakes or I'd be completely broke. 😂

After our 50 minute '10-minute' break, we headed back to Carrigaline where we were welcomed by no less than Jimmy Murray, another well know face on the Cork running scene.

I think we clocked up just over 11 miles in total although with all the stops, it turned into a 4 hour training session! 😂

All in all, it was a lovely route for training and I'd recommend it to anyone who hasn't tried it before. This morning, we had blue skies and sunshine for most of it and it really does make a huge difference in terms of the scenery. After all the recent rain and gloomy clouds, it was good to feel the heat of the sun again.

Like many of the regulars out there, Jerry is missing the road race scene and is tipping away with training on his own but it's not the same. With the running scene, there is a whole social scene to the road races and that is almost more important than the run itself.

As for our next outing, I'm not sure where we're going yet. All I know for sure is that I'm leaving my wallet at home! 😂😂

Training with the main man Jerry Forde...

Dring Dring.... Dring Dring.... Dring Dring.... Dring Dring.... When my mobile phone starts buzzing after 10pm at night, it usually means only one thing... a phone call from the main man Jerry Forde!

Without the regular road races, I'm sure a lot of you may not have seen Jerry for some time.

Well, he's as busy as ever and training away all the time. He's out most days on the same loop around Blarney and ends up doing roughly a half-marathon in terms of distance.

I suggested to Jerry that he try some other routes as a change, something like the walkway near Blackrock Castle where there are no cars to worry about. No sooner had I said it that I remembered that the chance of the main man getting from A to B without getting lost is pretty much zero 😂. So I had inadvertently volunteered myself for the job as a guide!

Last Thursday, I cycled to Blackrock Castle to meet Jerry and showed him the way to the pontoon in Passage West and back, a total of about 11 miles. If any of you want to try it then it's a lovely route. It's dead flat, there are no cars to worry about and you are looking out over the water for most of it.

No good training session with Jerry is complete without a cuppa so we ended up going to Blackrock Village for a coffee. Going there and back brought the days total for Jerry up to about 12 miles.

Our next outing will be from Carrigaline to Crosshaven during the month of August. So be warned if you're out training on the line early some morning and you hear a 'Beep, Beep, Beep', it'll be the main man on tour.

Wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde hits 465 marathons!

The main man Jerry Forde with Paddy Rodgers who helped out on the bike

A few weeks back, I had a post up about how Jerry Forde was looking for a cyclist to help him out for an MCI marathon in Blackrock in Cork City on Saturday the 4th of January. Big shout out to local runner Paddy Rodgers who answered the call!

When Jerry first told me about needing a cyclist for the marathon, I asked him was that the one at the Blackrock Castle car park. 'Ya ya, that's the one' said Mr Forde and he duly told me the date and start time.

Grand says I, I'll turn up and do the first of five laps with Jerry and then hand over to Paddy for the other four.

So I cycled from home that morning and turned up just before 8:30am at the Blackrock Castle car park. Not only was there no sign of Mr Forde but there was also no sign of any race! I was wondering at this stage if I had got the times and date wrong.

I cycled on the loop on what would be the opposite direction to the runners and eventually spotted Bernice Glavin. After a quick chat, Bernice tells me that she had started early and the start was in St.Michaels GAA grounds in Mahon, a small detail Mr Forde had forgotten to tell me!

Eventually we got going about half an hour late with an official start time. After a chilly first lap, I then handed over to Paddy who did the honours for the remaining four.

Amazingly, this was Jerry's 465th marathon! I spoke to Jerry during the week and I have now updated his marathon list... https://jerryforde.wordpress.com/list-of-marathons/

Fingers crossed, he hopes to hit the 500 mark sometime in the middle of 2021.

Thanks also to Alan who also offered to help. Alan, you never left your email address in the original post so I couldn't contact you.

Jerry Forde heading for his 450th Marathon in Cork!

The main man Jerry Forde is going for his 450th Marathon in Cork on Sunday the 2nd of June 2019!

I updated his list of marathons during the week on his website... https://jerryforde.wordpress.com/list-of-marathons/

Wheelchair athlete Jerry Forde passes the 400 Marathon mark!!

Well done to Jerry Forde who recently passed the 400 marathon mark! Jerry did his first marathon back in 1992 and hit the 100 mark 14 years later in 2006. He passed the 200 mark in 2011, the 300 mark in 2014 and now the 400 mark in 2017.

I updated Jerry's website during the week and you can see the full list there... https://jerryforde.wordpress.com/

Jerry Forde nearly at 400 marathons & a request for help

During the last week, I updated Jerry Forde's list of marathons on his website and he is now very close to the 400 mark!

Jerry's website... https://jerryforde.wordpress.com/

As a wheelchair athlete, Jerry probably has more marathons completed than anyone else in the world. One of the biggest problems at the moment though is just keeping track of what he has completed and what can be verified for record purposes.

For example, his current listing on the 100 Marathon Club in the UK is way out of date. A new list of verified marathons must be submitted but this requires quite a bit of work.

If anyone would be willing to help out Jerry on an ongoing basis, please let me know. Someone would need to familiar with the various marathon websites, the rules of the various marathon clubs and the ability to generate and maintain a proper verified record of all the marathons. The work doesn't have to be done in one block, just something that can be worked on over time.

If you can help, my contact details are on Jerry's website HERE

Visually impaired athlete Sinead Kane from Cork finishes 2nd in Belfast 12 hour Ultra

Last weekend (Fri 17th & Sat 18th July 2015), the Energia 12 and 24 Hour Race was held at the Mary Peter's track in Belfast. Both races started at 6:45pm on Friday evening with the 12 hour contestants finishing at 6:45am on Saturday morning. The 24 hour runners finished at 6:45pm on Saturday evening.

Sinead Kane with her guide runner John O'Regan

In the 12 hour race, Sinead Kane from Youghal, Co.Cork finished in second place with an hugely impressive total of 68.3 miles. That works out as 10m 32s minute mile pace which includes any stops.

To put that into context, it's the same as starting from Patrick Street in Cork City and running to O'Connell Street in Limerick City and then adding on another 8 miles.

Pace wise, it's the same as doing two 4:36 marathons back to back without a rest and then doing an extra 16 miles!

Apart from the physical fitness, it's obvious that to complete such a distance requires a huge amount of determination and mental discipline. You need to be able to run to what feels like the point of exhaustion and then beyond into the unknown.

These are some of the notable dates in Sinead's running career so far...
1) 2012...Starts running and completes first 10k
2) June 2014...Completes the Cork City Half-Marathon in 1h 49m
3) Oct 2014...Completes the Dublin City Marathon in 4h 01m. First visually impaired female runner to complete the Dublin City Marathon.
4) Feb 2015...Completes the Donadea 50k in 4h 52m. First Irish visually impaired runner to complete an Ultra-Marathon.
5) Mar 2015...Completes the Tralee Marathon in 3h 55m.
6) July 2015...2nd woman in the Belfast 12 hour. First visually impaired runner to take part in event.

Sinead's guide for the 12 hour race was John O'Regan who has represented Ireland on several occasions in International 24 hour races.

As locations go, it is a stunning location with the track hemmed in on two sides by a large embankment and surrounded by woodland.

As well as Sinead, there were a number of other runners from Cork in action there as well.

In the 12 hour race, John Hallahan of Leevale AC completed 53.7 miles.

In the 24 hours race, Eoin Keith who is originally from Cork finished in first place with 141.9 miles covered (228.4kms). Eddie Gallen was second with 222.566kms. Both Eoin and Eddie achieved the IAAF B standard of 220kms for a 24 hour race.

Other Cork runners in the results were Grellan McGrath of Eagle AC who completed 103.1 miles, his second time breaking the 100 mile barrier after winning the Connemara 100 mile back in 2013.

And finally but certainly not least, Jerry Forde completed 55.6 miles. He was the first wheelchair athlete to take part in the Belfast 24 hour race.

Photos...
1) NI Running have 2 albums...#1 & #2

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....

Message of thanks from Jerry Forde...

Now that Jerry Forde is at home recovering, he asked me to pass on the following message....

I would like to sincerely thank my running friends for the visits, good wishes and cards that they sent to me in the past couple of weeks. Their thoughts and support really helped to speed up my recovery. I want to particularly thank the following for their generous support Ballycotton Running Promotions, BHAA, Eagle AC, Marathon Club Ireland, Midleton AC, St Finbarr's AC and everyone else who helped me get through this difficult time. I hope to see you all on the road shortly. 

Best Wishes Jerry

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)