An ultra runner has become the first to complete the 2,700 kilometres of the Wild Atlantic Way on foot.
Tom Reynolds (46) took 35 days to run from the Peace Bridge in Derry which he left on July 22 and arrived on Friday evening in Kinsale, Co Cork.
He was accompanied on the first part of his journey by his running partner Lillian Deegan who picked up a few injuries in the early part of the race and is still completing the course. She was in Co Kerry on Sunday evening.
Mr Reynolds’ route took him through nine countries and was almost the equivalent of running a double marathon every day.
Both ultra runners are raising money for their chosen charities Pieta House and Billy’s World.
A garda escort heralded Reynolds’ arrival into Kinsale as far as the end point of the Post Office. He was accompanied by local runners, friends and crew.
Both participants have been the beneficiaries of great acts of kindness along the way, including offers of accommodation in guesthouses, hotels and family homes; refreshments; running equipment; physiotherapy and the company of other runners, walkers and cyclists for parts of the journey.
Originally from Co Leitrim but now living in Louth, Mr Reynolds had been athletic during secondary school but did not come back to athletics until a few years ago, in his early forties.
He is no stranger to daunting challenges having completed the legendary Marathon des Sable which is billed as ‘The Toughest Footrace on Earth’. He ran over 250km across the Sahara Desert in six days during 2015.
Both runners experienced discrepencies between the route programmed into their trackers and the actual Wild Atlantic Way route itself which is marked by road signs and almost 200 specific discovery points.
In order to keep the integrity of the challenge, both runners decided to reach every one of these discovery points (marked by metal structures) whether they were on the tracker or not.
“I have to say that I was very impressed by the Wild Atlantic Way itself,” Mr Reynolds said on completion. “I saw some really beautiful parts of the country that I didn’t even know existed and I’m looking forward to returning to them when I don’t have to be on the road again running the next morning.”
The Facebook page for the runners remains live (https://www.facebook.com/wildatlanticroute/) as the second participant Deegan completes the challenge.
