Conor O'Keefe has been forced to press pause over the last couple of days.
A torn chest muscle is the price for the punishment the ultra-runner’s body took last month.
The initial plan for April was to run 32 marathons in 32 counties. That, of course, was before Covid-19 stepped in, the pandemic lockdown rendering Project 32 a non-starter.
But rather than bow to the virus and its attendant restrictions, O’Keeffe plotted an alternative undertaking.
Working within his 2km radius, the 28-year old Glanmire native set himself a series of daily tasks, all of which would be tackled to raise money for Pieta House, which provides counselling for people who are suicidal.
O’Keeffe’s recent diary entries make for an exhausting read.
On April 9, he knocked out 320 push-ups as part of his 10,000 end-of-month
target, 13 consecutive minutes of burpees as part of a 14-day burpee challenge, and, just as a gentle warm-down, he pulled a car for 1km.
On April 19, he ran 66km.
By this point, though, his body was in torment. A stabbing pain burned inside him. He was dizzy and light-headed. Walking up the stairs left him breathless, a most unfamiliar experience for an ultra-runner.
The white flag was eventually hoisted. Temporarily, mind you. His final undertaking — running around the back-garden patio for a minimum of 24 hours straight — has been pushed back by one week to this Friday and Saturday, May 8 and 9.
For a young man who thrives off such a hectic and limit-pushing existence, the forced inactivity of the past week, coupled with the world around him also being on hold, is rare.
There was a time when this unhurried pace of life would have greatly unsettled O’Keeffe. He’d have sought to outrun it, as he did for most of his 20s. He’d have turned to booze; anything to avoid being left alone with his thoughts.
He no longer drinks; he hasn’t since January 26 of last year.
Depression no longer stalks him.
