Bay Estate resident Collette O’Hagan described Sunday’s Dublin City marathon as the most emotional and beautiful marathon she has ever completed. The 75 year old completed the 26 mile journey alongside her daughter Jacqueline while her other daughter Sarah and granddaughter Emily were at the finishing line to greet Collette.
She crossed the line in six hours 25 minutes which was well short of her best time but according to Collette Sunday wasn’t about racing against the clock, instead it was about embracing all the love and support she experienced during the race through the Dublin City streets.
“ The support and love I received during the marathon on Sunday will stay with me forever. I was getting stopped by people looking for selfies and hugs and my daughter Jacqueline just said to me ‘forget about the clock’ just enjoy the experience. And that’s exactly what I did. I was very emotional at the finish line and I actually couldn’t speak at the end,” revealed Collette.
“The crowds on the route were unbelievable and I had friends from the UK and further afield who I have made friends with through running join me on the day to run with me in my 1000th marathon. I came relatively late to running and my very first marathon was the Dublin City Marathon way back in 1990 so it was special to run the 1000th here as well.
“ I was kind of nervous in the weeks building up to it as there has been quite a bit of attention on the fact that I was about to complete my 1000th marathon in Dublin. I was terrified of picking up an injury before the race and I didn’t want that to happen as I really wanted the 1000th marathon to be in Dublin. I had an injury on my foot at the start of the year and I was worried about that at the time but I went to the foot clinic in Blackrock where Justin did a great job on me. He promised me I’d be back running within a few weeks and he was spot on.
“I am still in a wee bubble here to be honest and just thrilled with how the whole day went on Sunday. It was wonderful to have my two daughters and granddaughter with me at the finish line and later on we went to the Greenore Railway Bar in Dundalk where Declan really looked after us and we had a fantastic evening celebrating,”
Rather than put her feet up and reflect upon her fantastic achievement, Collette is already gearing up this weekend not just for her 1001st marathon but also her 1002nd and 1003rd!
“I fly off to off to England tomorrow (Thursday) and I will be running three marathons over the weekend. On Sunday I am running one for a very good friend of mine who is sick at the moment. She has been diagnosed with a rare form of blood cancer so myself and a few friends are planning on dressing up as leprechauns and doing the marathon for charity.
“I absolutely love running and have no plans whatsoever to stop. As long as I can still put one foot in front of the other I will keep on going. Why stop now? I see 80 and 90 year olds completing marathons and they inspire me and I want to be that inspiration for somebody else,” stated Collette.
