Sibling rivalry drives marathon challenge
Sibling rivalry is being taken to a new level by Catherine Lundon from Kilpatrick, Bunbrosna, and her brother, Dara.
Catherine, a commandant in the Irish Defence Forces, recently ran two marathons in seven days, one in New York, the other in Athens, and completed both in under four hours.
"It started as a challenge with my brother in 2021, to see who could run the most miles each month, and ultimately, the loser had to buy the winner a season pass to Six Flags Theme Parks in the USA," Catherine said in an interview with the Westmeath Examiner.
"Then the challenge evolved into the World Marathon Majors and we said we would do them together. First stop, the Berlin Marathon in September 2021. I entered the lottery system to the Chicago Marathon in 2022 and I got in, but my brother didn’t," she said.
Catherine befriended small group of Irish in Chicago in 2022. "We said we would keep in touch. As a group, we decided to all sign up for the Athens Marathon in 2023, as an excuse for a reunion."
She also entered the lottery system for the NYC Marathon in 2023 and got in. It happened that both the NYC and Athens marathons fell within a week of each other, and Catherine finished both in sub four hours. In preparation for New York, she ran a three-quarter marathon (19.6 miles) in Tarmonbarry on October 8, placing third in a time of 2.38. In April, she completed the London Marathon.
Catherine has put her efforts to good use. In 2017, she organised Darkness into Light in Lebanon. "On returning from leave to Lebanon, I brought the T-shirts from Pieta House in my luggage, with help from colleagues. This was the first time Darkness into Light was taken overseas in a military capacity and it has been successfully run every year since on Irish missions abroad," she said.
She went on to complete the Moylagh JFK 50 Mile Challenge in 2019 in aid of The Irish Cancer Society, LARCC and Palliative Care.
"I have a role in the organisation of the Derravaragh 5 Mile Road Race held on the Donore shore of Lough Derravaragh every June. It’s to raise funds for the local community services, an organisation that looks after the needs of the elderly in the community," she said.
For her latest endeavour, Catherine began a 16-week training course last August and set a high goal for herself – "to complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series of six of the largest and most renowned marathons in the world – Tokyo, Boston, TCS London Marathon, BMW Berlin Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and TCS New York City Marathon". She has done four of them – Berlin, Chicago, London and, most recently, New York.
The first New York City Marathon was in 1970. The race is run through the five boroughs of the city and is the largest marathon in the world. The Athens Marathon and course are inspired by the Ancient Greek legend of Pheidippides, a messenger said to have run from Marathon to Athens (where he had just fought) carrying news of the Greek victory over the Persians at the Battle of Marathon, 490 BC. He said ‘We were victorious’ before collapsing and dying from exhaustion.
Today, athletes in the Athens Marathon follow the original historical course, they also run in the birthplace of democracy, Catherine pointed out.