Having braved the Rás in May and fought through crashes to finish, there has been no rest since; as his finishing time at the Dublin Marathon shows (Photo: Sean Rowe)
Rás county cyclist in blistering run at Dublin marathon
Having battled through adversity to finish his third Rás back in May, veteran rider Sean McFadden hasn't exactly been kicking back.
The 41-year-old Donegal man was in the field at the Dublin Marathon at the weekend. And he ran a blistering time of 2:52.
McFadden sprang to prominence during the Rás for his insightful daily dispatches about the pain being suffered inside the peloton.
He would overcome several crashes to finish. And when he rolled up Skerries main street to complete the race he unfurled the Donegal flag from under his jersey.
McFadden is no stranger to running, having competed at it before he took up cycling.
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But even with that experience, the fact he could get into sub three hour marathon shape after so much cycling so recently is phenomenal.
McFadden said a few years ago he did the Sligo-Letterkenny sportive and for charity he ran 10k straight after it.
“We did 100km on the bike and then I ran the 10k and I suppose that was really when I got hooked on the cycling. Then I started doing the odd triathlon; sprint distances and longer ones.”
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He has completed two Ironman triathlons, completing the Copenhagen Ironman in 9hours 52 minutes.
“I suppose the daddy of them all was the Rás,” he said of the major events he has targeted.
“We were told we hadn’t got enough talent to ride the Rás; that we weren’t able to do it. So I’m the kind of person that if somebody tells me I can’t do it, then I will do it.
“So at this stage I’ve done the Rás three times, two Ironman and two marathons."
McFadden said that after the Rás he took a holiday in Dubai and fixed on his next challenge while there.
“I promised myself I’d do a sub three hour marathon and knuckled down. I did a lot of miles and a lot of track sessions.”
He now hopes to beat his marathon personal best, possibly in Manchester or London.
“The big aim is to qualify for Kona, that’s my goal before I’m 45 or maybe a bit before that,” he said of the most iconic Ironman of them all.
“I know there’s a sub 9:20 or 9:30 in me. I just need to get the running legs back. I know I can bike and I know I can swim.
“Kona is definitely the last box I want to tick. I have a few miles left in the legs.”
He’s taking no rest after his marathon effort and is currently in a triathlon training camp in Spain.
He’s training with a group of young athletes from Donegal in the company of Sam Lynch and Sinead Jennings, two top former international rowers; Jennings having also been an international track cyclist for a period.
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