Marathon Man tells your inspirational story running 35 marathons in 35 days to create something positive from a negative and raise money for charity. Why was this an important story for you to write?

My 1,500-km lap of Ireland charity run and 500-km length of Ireland charity swim were both inspired by the actions of others. If Eddie Izzard didn’t make ‘Eddie Iz Running’ for TV and if Sean Conway didn’t write ‘Hell and High Water’, it’s very likely that I would have conjured up or completed my charity challenges. It’s unlikely I would have raised €45,000 for charity without hearing their stories. They showed me what was possible. With that in mind, it was vital for me to try to pass on the baton of inspiration.

I appreciated the candid nature with which you told your story. What was the hardest thing for you to write about?

It’s hard writing openly about life’s struggles. I cover teenage acne, sporting failures, friends’ premature death, and my dad’s stroke. These personal experiences profoundly impacted my life. Whilst difficult to share publicly, it was essential to me to be as authentic and honest as possible in telling my story. These were the challenging moments that nudged me towards my 35-marathon charity project. It’s a warts and all account, but I made sure to balance the shade with light. Thankfully, I seem to have struck the right balance with book critics and reviewers appreciating my light-hearted Irish humour.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from your story?

I hope readers find my story entertaining and uplifting, seeing that hard times can be used to fuel positive change.

What is one piece of advice that you would give to someone who is struggling to find the motivation to change their life?

Break the end goal down into manageable pieces. There’s always take a tiny step today. Training to run 35 marathons in 35 days wasn’t about doing one 500-mile training run. That would be an impossible starting point doomed to fail. I trained 5 miles one day, 3 miles the next, 10 miles the next, and lifted some weights the next day and so on. Within months, I was a comfortable marathon runner. Then I became an ultramarathon runner. The exact process applies to writing a book, starting a business or anything. Consistent small steps will get you to the mountain’s peak.

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