Clondalkin runner’s marathon trek in aid of local man

A Clondalkin man ran two and a half marathons in one day to raise funds and awareness for Eoghan Gorman, a local man who was left paralysed after a mountain biking accident last year.

On Sunday, October 30 at 9am Mark Conlon began the official Dublin Marathon and finished the race in five hours.

Conlon didn’t stop there and he continued his run throughout Dublin and Clondalkin finally completing his mammoth adventure 106km later at 1:30am.

Conlon says he has now ran 176 official marathons and 15 Dublin Marathons in a row – with several in aid of charitable causes such as Pieta House, Temple Street, Inner City Helping Homeless, and the Peter McVerry Trust.

This year, Conlon dedicated his endurance trial to Eoghan Gorman, a 24-year-old man who was left paralysed after a mountain biking accident in October 2021.

Gorman, who attended Holy Family Community School in Rathcoole, was a sporting fanatic, participating in several sports at a high level.

He joined Clondalkin Taekwondo in 2005 and competed in numerous national competitions representing Ireland in Belgium in 2009.

He then took up martial arts and represented Ireland at the World Kickboxing Championships in 2016.

He also fought in the UK and Hungary and participated in many national competitions with South Dublin Taekwondo.

Gorman also has a love for motorcycles, learning to drive from an early age and took up mountain biking and BMX during his teenage years.

However, on Sunday, October 3 2021 his life changed forever.

“While mountain biking in the Dublin mountains with his friend Sean, Eoghan came off his bike while coming down a trail and caused a fracture of his C3 on his spine,” Conlon said.

“He was rushed to hospital where he was put in an induced coma and on a life support machine, he later underwent emergency spinal surgery.

“He was placed on a ventilator and his family were told he may never breathe by himself again but after weeks of battling he is breathing by himself but is left paralysed from the neck down.

“My mission is to raise as much awareness and funds as possible for Eoghan,” Conlon says.

O’Gorman’s family has set up an online fundraiser to help pay for his ongoing rehabilitation and support.

To donate, you can visit www.fightwitheoghan.ie