Athy physio runs marathon fundraiser raising €3,250

IMAGINE running your 17th marathon for charity and thinking of those 26 miles and 385 yards as “nah, that’s not hard enough”.

So, you set your sights on maybe climbing Ireland’s four highest mountains in a day, or perhaps an event called the Nijmegen IML, which sees lunatics march 40kms each day for four days.

Well, that is what Athy physiotherapist Francis Harrigan (40) is now planning for his next tortuous adventure in aid of ONE Athy – the charity that supports ex-servicemen of the Irish Defence Forces.

Last month Francis ran his 7th consecutive Dublin City Marathon (17th overall) in four hours and 12 minutes to raise €3,250 for the charity. It exceeded his fundraising target although he admits he was unhappy with his time.

“I didn’t have as much training as I wanted…I basically turned up on the day,” said the Enniscorthy native.

“We have to do something for them (ONE) again next year,” he said.

“Maybe the Four Peaks Challenge, or the International Marching League (IML) where civilians can compete with the military,” he said.

Francis is a corporal in the 6th Field Artillery Regiment in the Army Reserve and hoping to gain a third stripe on his sergeant’s course next summer in the Curragh Training Camp.

“(Former TD and Army Ranger Captain) Cathal Berry persuaded me to enlist,” he revealed.

“He may have lost out at the last general election, but I don’t think we’ve heard the last of him, he’s a good fella,” said Francis.

A seeming glutton for endurance, Francis referred to Part 4 of the sergeant’s test in Kilkenny called ‘the Loaded Ruck’, which requires candidates to do10Kms in full fatigues with a 14Kg backpack.

“I did one hour and four the last time, and I hope to be faster this time, although, technically, you’re not supposed to get faster as you get older!” he chuckled.

Francis opened up his first practice in Athy in 2017 and was then encouraged by Shane Ryan (pharmacist) to open a second practice in Rathangan, and then a third in his native Enniscorthy last year.

Any plans for further expansion?

“Not this year. My fiancée Christina is expecting our second on Christmas Day, so I think expanding the family is enough challenge for one year!” “We already have a five-year-old – Georgina – running around the place,” he said.

His colleague in Athy Áine – officially a cardiac echo stenographer, unofficially a fellow “physio-terrorist” - also ran the Dublin Marathon for O.N.E, and finished in 4:06 – six minutes faster that Francis, a fact that might niggle a tad to this ultra-competitive fellow.

“We went off in waves – me in the second one, and her in the third, so technically I crossed the line before her,” he quipped.

“But she did a programme, whereas I just turned up on the day, and relied on the muscle memory of the 26 I did before!” “I try to do between 30 and 50kms each week to keep ticking over.

“There is a degree of mental robustness to get over a marathon,” he admitted.

There is also military – and other! – history in his heritage.

His grandfather Frank “who I’m named after” was in the Army in the Curragh for 34 years, while his father Joe was the youngest ever instructor in the Army No.1 Band, and co-wrote Ireland’s first ever Eurovision entry ‘I’m Walking the Streets in the Rain’ for Butch Moore and the Capitol Showband in 1965.

“It’s the family’s claim to fame,” said Francis.

We concluded with a last reference to his business, which now employs six people in the three locations, although he seems to have a soft spot for Athy where it all began.

“The clinic is in the business campus, just round the corner from Minch Norton, he clarified.

“Thankfully, it’s doing very well, thanks mainly to the people of Athy,” he said.