Thomas Maguire set the current Irish record for 100km in October 2006.
The following is Richard Donovan's account of his achievement.
Completing a marathon is tough. Breaking four hours is a noteworthy achievement for many. Dipping under the three-hour barrier is a very significant benchmark for a seasoned and well-trained club runner. Imagine breaking three hours and then continuing onward at the same pace for another 26.2 miles: a double-marathon in under six hours. Add an additional ten miles, still at sub seven-minute mile pace, and you're into the territory of a world class performance.
Although such a performance managed to escape the news headlines in October 2006, Thomas Maguire's 7:05:06 hrs for 100km (62.1 miles) propelled him into the top dozen in the World 100km Championships in Misara, South Korea. His 12th place finish was the highest by an Irishman at global level in 2006.
Thomas hails from Belcoo, Co. Fermanagh, a sparsely populated hinterland on the border with Leitrim. Working in woodland conservation management as a tree surgeon, Thomas finds himself outdoors quite a bit. He was responsible for 'alien species removal' with the Environment & Heritage Centre of Northern Ireland when he ran the 2006 World Cup. On the doorstep of his home were endless miles of track that run through the forestry: and he knew every inch of these trails.
Preparing for the IAU 100km World Cup entailed weeks of training up to 120 miles, miles that came on top of the physicalities of his day-time job. Red squirrels and pine martins became sole witness to his solitary 40-mile training runs each Sunday, his testing half-marathon tempo runs mid-week as well as daily maintenance runs of 14 miles. Maguire even ran the Longford Marathon as a training run, finishing in 2:43 despite having run 70 miles on hilly routes over the preceding five days. Of course, it helps to be somewhat 'eccentric' when you're an ultra runner.
As with many ultra athletes, Thomas had an epiphany of sorts in his debut at the 100km distance the previous June. Running in the European Championships in Belgium, he confesses to never having experienced such dark places inside himself during the race. He underestimated the requirements of running at pace over such a distance and has little recollection of events between miles 29 and 39. He believes he may have even fallen asleep from the strains of physical tiredness and intense mental and emotional effort. But he stayed on his feet, recovered from an absolute trough, and finished in a very credible 7:43 to earn a top 30 placing.
Maguire returned to Fermanagh, upped his training, paid more attention to his diet (drinking more water and eating more pasta). He even cut back on his crisp consumption and "replaced chips with boiled rice" when indulging in his favourite Chinese. The month preceding the World 100km he ran a total of 462 miles, including two hard 45-mile runs.
A leaner, more focussed Maguire lined up at the World Championships.
Although temperatures were a moderate 14C at the 6am start, they increased to 21C by mid-way and then to 29C in the latter stages of the event. A conservative start, which found Maguire in "last position" was a wise option that ultimately reaped dividends. He constantly picked off the opposition on the 10km repeated road circuit and realised he was finishing in a high position when finally "encountering Japanese and Russian bucks". His time of 7:05:06 smashed the Irish record and made him a force to be reckoned with at global level. The fact that he was disappointed at not breaking the seven-hour barrier is testament to the standards he sets for himself.
Thomas won the North Pole Marathon the following year and helped Ireland's men's team to 8th position in the World 100km Championships. He is the reigning National 100km Champion.
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