Coosan brothers take on Lough Ree endurance challenges

Two brothers from Coosan are set to test their endurance this coming May, with one swimming the length of Lough Ree while the other runs around it.

Patrick McDonnell is aiming to swim from Lanesborough bridge to the bridge at Athlone castle, completing a distance of 33km, while his brother Michael plans to run around the lake, amounting to a distance of 90km.

Explaining how the idea came about, Michael says that he has been wanting to complete an ultramarathon for a while.

“I was planning to do one in 2017 before I had an injury and then I ended up working long hours and didn’t really get time to train. Last year then I decided it was time to do it. I signed up for a 100km run, but that obviously got cancelled. So this year I’ve signed up for the Connemara 100 Mile Ultramarathon.

“Training for that, I was looking for other things to do as well to build up to it, and the idea to run around Lough Ree came to me. It was always something I thought about. I got speaking to Patrick, and then he thought it would be cool to get involved and swim in while I run around it.”

Patrick, living in Cloghan in Offaly, is an outdoor swimming veteran, having swam the length of the River Shannon in 2018 in 14 days.

“While training for that, the opportunity to swim the length of Lough Ree didn’t come up, which was a shame,” he says. “Jim O’Connor, who has passed away, has the record for that at 13 hours and 34 minutes. My wife Ailbhe was asking me last year would I not go and do Lough Ree, so it’s been in my mind for a while as well. Michael mentioned that he was aiming for 12 hours running around it, and I’d be aiming for about the same with the swim, so we’re going for it together.”

Michael also has a history of extreme sports, having completed triathlons and half-marathons in the past.

“In 2017 I worked too much, started to gain weight and I eventually couldn’t cross the road while jogging - my back got that bad. I couldn’t continue with that, so I finally got some physiotherapy and got back into a position where I could start running again.

“When I couldn’t run and I saw people out running, I was wishing I was them. That was the signal to make changes. In early 2019 then I struggled through a 5km. I went home that day then and signed up for the 100km!” he laughs.

Training for both brothers has been disrupted with the pandemic, with gyms and swimming pools being closed.

“The training is after taking a slump recently with the pool being closed, and you wouldn’t spend four hours in the open water at the moment, not even in the sea,” Patrick says. “I go out for the odd run with Michael as well. I won’t be wearing swimming togs like Jim did because I haven’t been getting that open water training in, so I’ll be wearing a wetsuit. I’m banking on having good weather come May 15.”

Similarly, Michael says he would be doing a lot more strength training if the gyms were open.

“Swimming helps too with relieving the pressure on your legs, and in the cold weather it would be better to be using a treadmill in a gym. I’d like to be doing more.”

“At the moment I’m trying to get four days in a week, with a 50km run in a few weeks time. I’ve never ran a marathon, but that will be a marathon plus an extra seven or eight kilometres!”

Patrick and his wife welcomed a baby girl into their lives in November, and says they probably would have went mad during lockdowns without her.

“Overall it has been tough, but we’ve had to focus on her. Comparing the training I put in for the Shannon a few years ago, this has been nearly non-existent. I would want to be swimming up to two or three times a week for four hours in the lead up to. But that’s just not possible, so I could be doing tricep dips or shoulder presses for half an hour instead.”

The longest swim Patrick had while swimming the Shannon was 29km, which he completed in 11 hours and 30 minutes. Patrick finished the Shannon swim, taking seven days off the previous record which had been held by Dean Hall..

Patrick did the swim for charity, raising funds for the Irish Cancer Society, Pieta House, a local soccer club and a local hall.

Two friends of Patrick’s who lost their lives to suicide were looking down on him, he says, which is why Pieta House was chosen.

This time, the brothers are raising funds for the Irish Cancer Society, with Michael saying that there is nobody in Ireland who hasn’t been affected by it.

“It’s scary when you see how prevalent it is. It’s a good cause and we’re happy to support it.”

Patrick says that the closer they get to May, the more competitive they will get with each other.

“We’ll be watching what the other is doing, and gauging how it’s going, but I’ll be keeping a close eye on the weather from March. If it’s bad it’ll affect both of us,” he says.

The progress that both brothers are making can be found on ‘Mike’s Ultramarathon Challenge’ on Facebook.