‘Pretty average’ runner to take on 100-mile ultramarathon

A man from Athlone is set to take on his first 100-mile ultramarathon, having only taken up running eighteen months ago.

At the time, Warren Francis from Auburn Heights had struggled to run his first 2km.

“I was very overweight,” Warren said. “I was 111kg and I struggled pretty much all my life with weight.

“It’s not that I wasn’t doing anything because I was into fitness, but I just never really stuck with it or did any programme properly.”

Oisin Mulligan, a personal trainer based in Athlone, soon took Warren and his girlfriend on a 2km run, something which Warren says was “pretty bad.”

“We had to keep stopping to be able to do it. From there I really don’t know why I kept running because I really hated it. I just thought that it was going to be the best way for me to lose weight so that’s why I kept at it.”

Warren then continued to push himself, completing a 5km run, followed by five 5km runs and a 10km run with some friends.

“I started to believe in myself more, so I kept increasing the distance I was running. We all booked a marathon but with Covid it got cancelled.

“I definitely had more of an interest in it than the rest of the group, so I went ahead and did it anyway with one other friend.”

He completed his first 50km ultramarathon in Kerry in May, an event he had booked before completing his first marathon.

“I was really happy with the way it went and I learned a lot from it. I had only run one marathon before that, and that was the furthest I had ever ran.”

Warren says himself that he is “an average guy” who just learned more and more about running and competitions as time went on.

“I just did what I thought I was able to do, and it was probably too much to be totally honest.

“I was going to the gym maybe four or five times a week and I was running three or four times a week. I kept pushing myself, and while I was able to do it I probably wouldn’t recommend it.

“I don’t think my friends or family fully understood what it was at the time, kind of like myself. It never clicked with them that I was going to be running these crazy distances. They just saw it as another run that I was doing.”

Warren’s mother Alison Holmes sometimes gets worried about the distances her son is running, while his dad Ultan says he will have bad joints in the future, but Warren tries to forget about that.

He picked up tips through reading articles and watching videos online, and in advance of the Connemara 100-mile ultramarathon on August 14, he has been running six days a week with one or two sessions in the gym.

“It’s pretty hard to balance it all, and I would like to run more than I am. I work shift-work in a factory so I work forty hours a week across days, evenings and nights. I’m pretty much busy all the time, but I like it that way.”

“A few weeks ago I got a bit nervous so I contacted a coach who has run a couple of 100-mile runs before so I am training with him now.”

Warren hopes to complete the run in under 24 hours, with the event having a 30-hour cut-off time.

“I’ll be starting off at 5am, running through the day and however long it takes then through the following night.

“If I do it under 24 hours it will be a huge achievement for me.”

Alongside running, Warren has set up a Tiktok account called ‘prettyaveragerunning’ documenting his training and competing journey.

His first video racked up over 26 thousand views, when he was barely expecting 100.

“The main reason I made my Tiktok and Instagram is to show that anybody can do whatever they want. I wanted to show people that they are way more capable than they think they are.

“There’s nothing special about me and I’m as normal as anyone else. I’m not an athlete and I haven’t trained like one, and I had never even heard of ultra-running until a while ago and I had to Google what it was!

“I just think that if you put your mind to something you really can achieve it and all you need is the belief in yourself. If I even inspire one person to go out and run then that will make me happy, and by the comments I seem to have done that.”

Looking to the future, Warren says he has “no idea” what his maximum distance is, but knows that when he completes the race in August he will be looking for the next challenge.

“Once I realise that I’m able to do something I’ll be looking to push myself. I have a couple of ideas for the future but no solid plans yet.”

Warren can be found on Tiktok under ‘prettyaveragerunning’ as well as on Instagram @prettyaverage_running

PHOTOS: Ronan Killian