Excuse not accepted

I need to retire so I can run more. This working-for-a-living is getting in the way of my real life. I’m so motivated by a Canadian I was reading about online this week, I may apply for early retirement next Monday!

Martin Parnell has a goal... run 250 marathons to raise money for charity. The insane twist is that he wants to run all of those 250 marathons this year.

By today he has hit the 206-mark and still has two more months to achieve his goal.

As he recently remarked on crossing the finish line of marathon 200, “I’m on target. I’ve 66 days left to do 50 marathons, so as long as I’m careful and nothing catastrophic happens – I don’t twist an ankle or something – I’ve got a good shot.”

Parnell, a 54-year-old semi-retired mining engineer began his quest on Januay 1, 2010. He sees himself as just a recreational runner who is able to run long and slow.

Parnell hopes to raise $250,000 for Right to Play, a humanitarian organisation that uses sport and play programmes to improve health, develop life skills and foster peace for children and communities in some of the most disadvantaged areas of the world.

He got the idea five years ago when he cycled down Africa from Cairo to Cape Town and watched kids playing in towns along the way.

The statistics are impressive, “I’ve run over 8,000 kilometres or 5,000 miles so far and took my 10 millionth step just the other day...”

Parnell’s progress is being tracked on a virtual map and his mileage confirmed by a GPS transmitter, which measures distance as well as his heart rate and blood pressure.

If your motivation for tomorrow’s long run is wavering, log on to www.marathonquest250.com.

In contrast, here’s the tale of a woman who has run “only” 80 marathons. Margaret Hagerty has decided her next marathon (her 81st) in December is going to be her last one. After all, she’s 87 years old.

Amazingly, Hagerty didn’t take up running till she was 64 years old. Her doctor told her to “quit smoking and get out and move it.” So she did.

Her friend suggested she jog to get into shape. That first day she only ran the length of two houses.

The next day she ran three houses. Then four houses. And by then she was hooked.

At 66, Hagerty ran her first marathon. In 2005, she made it into the Guinness Book of Records as the oldest person to complete a marathon on each of the seven continents, at age 81 years, 101 days.

She’s run in the kind of marathons you dream of, including the Great Wall Marathon, the Mt Everest Challenge Marathon, the Antarctica Marathon – five of those miles are on a glacier – and the original marathon in Athens, Greece.

In the past, she has completed some of the marathons in six hours, but these days does what she calls “the old lady shuffle” and takes slightly longer than she used to.

Asked for advice, Hagerty recommends consistency.

“Do it every day, and keep a regular schedule,” she says.

Her own schedule includes yoga twice a week, presumably to retain her flexibility. She runs most other days.

Although her next marathon will be her last, Hagerty will continue to run in half marathons. She can’t imagine ever stopping. She loves to compete. Did I mention she has also completed a number of triathlons?

I don’t know about you, but I feel guilty enough already. Be careful and maybe we’ll meet somewhere on the roads tomorrow.

johnzwalsh@yahoo.com