Cancer Focus NI Gerry McElwee remembers 1982 marathon

“I trained for about 5 months alongside Jim McParland from Lislea in County Armagh and we ran together on the day.

 We based our training loosely on a schedule that Jim Stokes had written for the Belfast Telegraph but we probably missed out on a number of sessions as well.  

.In those days the marathon was over two laps starting at Maysfield Leisure Centre and going around mainly south and east Belfast. Monday May 3^rd was a cold and windy day which made it tough going in places, especially on the Boucher Road where we were more exposed to the elements” he remembers.

“There were just over 3,000 competitors that first year. It had the feel of a local event back then, with only a few competitors coming from GB and the Republic,” he says.

“With the large number of participants, it must have taken at least 10 minutes for most people in the queue to get to the start line. After that we were a bit surprised by the fast pace that many people around us set off at. We were only focused on finishing but from memory, our time was just under 4 hours which was a bonus.

 “It was a great experience, and the large crowds gave us a huge boost all the way around the course. I remember meeting many friends from various places who were participating either as runners, spectators or volunteers helping us along the way.

I remember we were registering in Maysfield on the previous Saturday and Les Jones who was the driving force behind the Belfast Marathon came over and had a chat and gave us plenty of advice and encouragement. I met Les a few years later in Heathrow and we spoke again. Les was a real gentleman.

When we’d finished we bumped into my next door neighbour from Cookstown, Pascal Rushe. Pascal began running marathons at age 44.  He became a well know face on the Marathon circuit and raised large amounts of funding for Cancer. Pascal ran his fastest marathon in 2 hours 52 minutes at age 53 in London..

 “Running the marathon is a fantastic, challenging thing to do and we felt a huge sense of achievement. If you are running the Mash Direct Belfast City Marathon in May, I’d urge you to run it for Cancer Focus NI. You will be helping us to raise funds to continue vital research in immunotherapy which has the potential to save lives. But it can’t be done without your help. I’ll be there to cheer you on!”