Outstanding Offaly athlete breaks National 100-mile record

AN Offaly athlete has broken the national 100 mile record.

Kilkenny native, Stephen Murphy, a member of Tullamore Harriers, smashed the Irish 100 Mile record in a phenomenal time of 13 hours and 18 minutes last weekend, beating Ed McGroarty's time of 13 hours and 47 minutes.

Stephen set off on his challenge on Saturday the 15th of June in Victoria Park Belfast. Here he covered a total of 99 laps of the park with each loop making up 1650 meters. Murphy's mental and physical endurance to complete 99 laps without a break over such a long period is remarkable, keeping an average pace of 4.57 per kilometre for the entire distance. 

Stephen has been training up to 100 miles per week plus strength and conditioning to reach this peak fitness level. He was very unfortunate to have a stress fracture of his tibia in the early part of the year, but his performance yesterday is testament to his meticulous training regime. He adjusted his training to include twice daily sessions, allowing him to maintain his fitness while ensuring adequate recovery time for his injury.

Over the course of his run, he consumed approximately 10,000 calories and thanks to his support crew this task was taken care of as he ploughed through the miles.