Football

Former Tyrone star Seanie Meyler completes fundraising marathon in his garden shed

Seanie Meyler (right) and Conor during the fundraising marathon in the family's garden shed
Seanie Meyler (right) and Conor during the fundraising marathon in the family's garden shed Seanie Meyler (right) and Conor during the fundraising marathon in the family's garden shed

SO FAR, over £20,000 has been raised by former Tyrone player Seanie Myler’s incredible treadmill marathon on Monday.

The 54-year-old Omagh St Enda’s clubman ran every step of the 26 miles, 385 yards in his garden shed and every penny will go to a comfort fund for nursing staff at South West Acute Hospital (SWAH) in Enniskillen.

Seanie’s wife Paula is a nurse in the Covid-19 intensive care unit at SWAH and his son Conor, a star of the current Tyrone side, explained how an idea quickly turned into an inspirational endurance effort.

“We’ve seen how tough it has been for my mum, physically and emotionally, and dad was just looking to find a way that he could do something,” said Conor.

“Last week (Monday, April 6) he decided that he was going to run a marathon in the shed. He says: ‘I’m going to run it next Monday’. I didn’t really know if it was going to come to fruition but on Thursday he got the Go Fund Me page set up and he got the go-ahead from the nurses to do it.

“By the end of last Thursday he had £5,000 raised and it probably hit home then: ‘This is really happening’. Thursday to Monday was a very quick turnaround and I was doing my best to help prepare him for it because, to try and run a marathon without any preparation is a bit mad.

“Physically, we knew he was going to find it very, very difficult but mentally he is incredibly strong and he was able to get through it.

“He was in bits yesterday, I’ve never seen him so exhausted but he was just glad to get it done.”

And Seanie didn’t limp over the line either. Despite the cramped and stifling confines of his shed, he completed the marathon in a very impressive three hours and 56 minutes.

“On Saturday, August the 4th he did 10 miles on the treadmill and that was the longest he had ever done on the treadmill,” said Conor.

“He did a marathon a couple of years ago but he hadn’t done a lot of running since then and marathon training is nearly specific on its own. At the start he took off well and he was comfortable and full of chat, but as the shed heated up the chat stopped and after 16-17 miles he was saying he was really hurting.

“How he managed to pull out another 10 miles I don’t know because he was in a lot of pain but he did it.”

To donate to the appeal, go to www.gofundme.com and search ‘Intensive Care Covid-19 Nursing Staff in SWAH’.