More than 30 runners joined Jordan to cover full marathon distance
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Jordan and Cian Adams in Mullingar Town Park on Wednesday afternoon after the Westmeath marathon.Image 2 of 3
Sinead Hussey of RTÉ and her daughter Aoibhín did the last 5k back into Mullingar with the FTD Brothers.Image 3 of 3
Jordan Adams and Rihanna Maloney, a third year student at Mullingar Community College, had a good chat about dementia at the end of the marathon on Wednesday. Rihanna told the Examiner that the condition runs in her family, and she wouldn’t wish it on anyone. She shared thoughts with Jordan on it and was delighted to have the chance to chat him.More than 30 runners joined Jordan Adams for the full 42km around Mullingar on Wednesday, including two who did the classic distance for the first time, he announced at the finish.
There were another 40 or 50 who did various distances, most of them at the start of the loop, and a number who joined Jordan and company for the final kilometres. They were welcomed back to the town park by students and well-wishers, and the beat of a Shamanic drum by Michelle Raleigh of ‘Grow and Bloom with Michelle’.
The FTD Brothers have captured the imagination of the nation in their quest to run 32 marathons in 32 counties in 32 days, and at the Mullingar finish on Wednesday, Jordan said they were “overwhelmed” by the local response.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, he said that as he looked out of his bedroom window in the Annebrook House Hotel that morning, he was delighted to see “tons of school children walking out in their rain jackets as it was piddling down”.
“It’s overwhelming to see the amount of support that was down here at the start line, the amount of people who have run with us today, some doing their first ever marathon distance, inspired by us,” Jordan said.
One man who was inspired by the Adams brothers was the last runner to finish: “I spoke to this lad and his dad’s actually going through chemotherapy at the moment – he saw my post yesterday about what we’re doing, and he felt inspired to come along today and run his first ever marathon. It’s just incredible to see people inspired like that.”
He spoke of the many young people who approached him looking for “autographs on their hands, their jerseys, all sorts of things”.
“It’s just absolutely crazy. We can never thank the people of Westmeath enough for the turnout and level of support that they’ve shown us. We’re beyond thankful to them for coming out,” Jordan said.
He admitted that physically he is feeling a lot of “aches and pains” but his brother Cian, who is his physio, is “keeping me in check – we’re monitoring my body each day and new aches and pains and things, but it is a mental game as much as it is a physical one,” he remarked.
Jordan has been averaging around four hours 30 minutes for the marathons, and said it gets tough at times, but he gets to a point, particularly around the last 10k, when he is just wants to “wrap this up as quick as we can”.
“I’m well aware that by the time Dublin (marathon) comes around, I might even be walk-running, you know, if the body can’t deal with it,” Jordan said, but for now he is not thinking that far ahead, just taking one run at a time and prioritising rest and food.