Two Derry grannies - with a combined age of 136 - run four half marathons in four days

MOVILLE-BOUND. . . .Anne and Cecilia make their way out of the village towards Moville during their fourth half marathon in four days on Sunday. (Photos: Jim McCafferty Photography)

Anne Hutton and Cecilia Deehan, who are both aged 68, have just completed four half marathons in four days.

The two friends first started running in 2012, when Bolt Running Club was starting up and they wanted to set themselves a new challenge. Anne only intended to run one half marathon when she first began but, 11 years on, she has three marathons and half marathons under her belt and no intentions of stopping any time soon.

Anne said: “I first started running because I wanted exercise and was curious to see if I could do it. A the very beginning, the goal was to see if I could run a half marathon. I did my first half marathon in 2012, the Waterside Half Marathon, and I though that was me – I wouldn’t have to worry about doing another one again! But because the club was just formed, they were always setting we goals and aiming for other half marathons so we just carried on.”

Anne and Cecilia completed a ‘Quadrathon’ at the weekend, a four day running festival where participants can either run four half marathons or four marathons in four days. The annual event takes place in scenic locations in Donegal and, although it’s quite a small event, it does attract international participants.

HATS OFF TO MARATHON LADIES!. . . .Grannies Anne Hutton and Cecilia Hutton pictured on Sunday morning before their fourth half marathon in four days. (Photos: JIm McCafferty Photography)

"Cecilia had done the Quadrathon before, running four half marathons in four days once or twice but also running four marathons in four days. She said to me earlier this year that she had signed up for it again but I had no intentions of doing it at that time,” said Anne. “We ran the London Marathon earlier on this year for the Foyle Hospice, which we did very well at and also recovered well from, so I started to think that maybe I could do the Quadrathon. I asked Cecilia how she was training for it and she explained that she had been told to do three long runs back-to-back every week and building them up. Her suggestion was to do 6km-7km-6km and then do 7km-8km-7km and keep going like that. So, I jumped in at the middle of it with 7km-8km-7km and then I did 8km-9km-8km. I had a gap because I had to get a dental implant so, when I got back to training, I did three 10km back-to-back, then three 11km and three 12km. Cecilia and I ran a few of those together and then we did our last week of 10km-13km-10km and then we tapered down after that two weeks before the event.”

Anne says she couldn’t do these events without the support of her family, friends and fellow Bolt members. Her proud children and grandchildren can be seen waiting at the finish line of most events, with her grandchildren sometimes even running with her across the line.

“When Cecilia and I went over to do the London Marathon, we were on our own and already had all our fundraising done for the hospice so we thought we would just do the marathon and come home again. Then, at the half-way point, Cecilia spied two of my daughters and my son-in-law at the side-line cheering us on! They had flown over on the Sunday evening to offer us support and meet us at the finish line so that makes things worthwhile and shows that people think it’s a good thing that you’re doing. You don’t do these things without support from family and friends.

"Along the final day of the course on Sunday, some of our club members came along to support and give us water and sweets. You need to be appreciative of the support you get from other people. You don’t operate any part of your life in a vacuum, there’s always other people to support.”

Cecilia Deehan and Anne Hutton, who recently ran four half marathons in four days.

For anyone who wants to start running themselves, Anne’s advice is that you ‘have to want to do it’.

"Like any activity, you have to want to run so you’re able to give it the commitment that it needs. You also can’t be afraid of it because everyone does it at their own pace and if you’ve never run before, you do what everyone else does; you run a bit, then walk a bit, then run a bit, and walk a bit, and eventually, your running bits are longer and your walking bits are shorter. Before long, you realise that you just ran three miles without stopping and that’s a big win. That’s always something to pat yourself on the back for and you keep building up. As the old saying goes; ‘practice makes perfect’!”