Hero who helped struggling runner finish marathon hails from athlone
The man who was hailed as a hero after he helped a struggling Castlepollard runner to complete the Dublin marathon has been identified as an Athlone native.
An online search to track him down began yesterday when Castlepollard's Martin Murphy told our colleagues in the Westmeath Examiner that he was seeking to contact the mystery runner who helped him finish the marathon after he 'hit the wall' in the closing stages.
Recalling the closing stages of the marathon, Martin said: “Everything was going well. I was enjoying the race and the atmosphere on the day, but I was aiming for a time and I started off too fast. When I reached the 20-mile mark I hit the wall and the wheels came off the wagon.
“I was struggling really badly. I had to walk from 20 miles because once you hit the wall you don’t come back from it. With 200 metres to go, everything locked up.
'I could see the finish line but my legs and arms wouldn’t move and next thing, out of nowhere someone came along, put out his arm, and helped me across the finish line.
“It was absolutely amazing. He was like an angel on the day. Only for him, I was out of it. I don’t know him and I didn’t have the chance to say thank you, so if anyone out there knows how I can get in touch with him I’d greatly appreciate it,' said Martin.
It has since transpired that the man who helped Martin - Padraic Lenehan - is a native of Athlone who works with Donegal Creameries.
Speaking to the Wesmeath Examiner, a modest Padraic said: “There are probably many other similar stories from that day but I couldn’t have possibly run past him without stopping to help. He was so close to the finish line.
“I could see what was happening to him. I heard about it from others who ran marathons, “hitting the wall”, but seeing Martin just stop so close to the finish would have been heartbreaking. I couldn’t let that happen. So I offered out my arm.
“I didn’t know who Martin was either and I never realised he was a Westmeath man until I finally got to chat to him on the phone, which was great. It’s something anyone would have done,” he insisted.
The event was Padraic’s first time ever to run a marathon.
“I’ve been running on and off maybe for the last two or three years. I really only started training in earnest ahead of the marathon,” says the Shannonsider, who completed the race at around 4 hours and eight minutes.
“Even myself, around mile 21, everything in body is just telling you to stop, that’s when the going really gets tough,” he said.