The trip to Tipp for marathon men

At the time of going to press Gerry Duffy and Ken Whitelaw were in Tipperary, undertaking the 12th of the 32 marathons they are running in 32 counties in 32 days.Their epic quest will continue this week in Laois, Kildare, Offaly before heading up to Connaught and Galway, Mayo, Rosccommon and Sligo.Jockey Charlie Swan and rugby hero Shane O'Donoghue joined the pair in Clonmel in a loop which began at the Presentation Convent.Marathon 9 in Kerry was a difficult one for Ken after Cork proved to be "a tough slog", completed by him in 7 and a half hours."My spirit was tested to a whole new level on day 9. Over the last few days my lower left quad has been in a bit of pain, knees are both fine thankfully.I now realise that subconsciously I tried to take a bit of the pressure/weight off the area by changing my stride ever so slightly."What happened is that this changemeant that I have over-worked other parts of the legs - first the calves, which then became tight and then, because of this tightness, the muscles in my lower shinsstarted to get progressively sorer," Ken explained.Ken was in the Killarney National park for this marathon and was running alongside his cousin Simon from Cavan.By mile 13 their chartered physio was called out to the course to give Ken treatment."While this was happening, Gerry crossed the line beside me to finish in 4:21. He was looking strong and feeling good, " described Ken."Those last 10 miles were the toughest I've ever done. At one stage I got such a dart of pain that I thought that, despite my head, my body couldn't go on," he said.But go on he did to complete that marathon supported by his running mate for the epic challenge Gerry who returned to the course to support and encourage Ken in his last miles. Marathon 10 was completed by Ken after further physio and acupuncture. On his way to the course in Limerick when he met Paul O'Connell. Upon hearing about the 32 marathons challenge the Irish Lion told Ken: "You're some animal"Ken and Gerry are completing a blog of their efforts at www.32marathons.com. They are also looking for fans on their facebook page, so catch up with their exploits every day as they traverse the country.