Ollie McShea ready for the Dublin marathon to raise money for charity
The 36th Bank of America Chicago Marathon certainly proved to be an unforgettable experience for two Enniskillen Running Club athletes on Sunday 13th September.
Along with 41,000 other runners who completed the 26.2 mile course through the shadows of iconic skyscrapers such as the Willis Tower, the John Hancock Centre and several Chicago neighbourhoods including Lincoln Park and China Town, Tara Malone and David Somerville were cheered on by an estimated 1.7 million enthusiastic spectators who lined the entire route.
Following a long and dedicated training schedule, Somerville achieved his personal goal of running a sub three hour marathon.
In fact, he smashed through the three hour mark and crossed the finish line in Grant Park in an amazing time of 2:56:18. This earned Somerville a finish position inside the top 1.5% and a massive 15 minutes off his previous personal best set at the Belfast Marathon in May.
Running her fourth marathon in 2013, Tara Malone also set a new personal best time for the marathon distance for the third time this year. Tara completed the course in a brilliant time of 3:18:53 which also meant she finished as the 298th female at the event and an excellent 56th category placing.