INSPIRATION
Deep in the woods during the Transylvania 100K ultra in 2015
Ironically running was the one sport I was never into as a child, even though I loved being active and did gymnastics since the age of six,” says Brenda O’Keeffe, 38, a chef who ran 106 marathons in 2015, an Irish and English record for the most marathons in a year. “My first race was the Dublin Women’s Mini Marathon in June 2010, a 10K road race that 40,000 women participate in for charity. I ran with my sister Andrea and will never forget the immense pride I felt as I crossed the finish line. It was a feeling I wanted more of, so much so that I ended up running the Dublin Marathon soon afterwards. Five years later, my sister ran her first marathon with me – while I completed my 145th!
“Before moving to the UK in January 2016 to be with my partner Sean, I lived in Dublin, where I trained with my running club twice a week and then ran marathons every weekend – each one was just training for the next one. In 2014 alone I ran 74 marathons. I did my first marathon in October 2010 and my 100th in Sixmilebridge in Ireland just four years later. I didn’t tell anybody beforehand that I was running my 100th because I didn’t want a fuss, I just wanted to run. In December 2014, I received both my Irish and UK 100 Marathon Club medal and vest (both countries have their own version of the club).
RECORD ATTEMPT