Co Derry pensioner set to run 740th marathon for mental health charity

A pensioner from Northern Ireland is gearing up to run his 740th marathon and his 250th at a sub-four hour time.

Eugene "Oggie" Winters from Portstewart in Co Derry ran his first marathon in Belfast in 2012. Since then Oggie has run 300 official marathons in 300 weeks for Action Mental Health. Three years later, he completed 600 official marathons in 600 weeks for Action Mental Health and has also run marathons for many other charities.

Having taken up running at the age of 55, Oggie has also completed all the World Majors - London, Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo marathons.

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In the ultimate test of endurance, 67-year-old Oggie comepleted 100 official marathons in both 2017 and 2018, ran 10 marathons back to back over a period of 10 days and on three occasions he has ran 100 miles in 24 hours. Now he is gearing up to run the Belfast City Marathon.

“I always find running is good for the mind, soul and body and you always meet so many people out there doing what they love best, be it Parkruns, 5Ks, half marathons, marathons or ultras," he said.

"We are all different in what we do in the running game, in what distance we do, or pace we run at. But the most important thing is getting out and doing it.

“Marathons are always very tough going at times and pushing for this 250th sub-4 challenge adds to the difficulty level. I find I have to rely on my own mental strength and toughness to get me through and I find that while I do it for charity that this also helps me."

Oggie hopes that his efforts will inspire other people to go out and do something active.

"I firmly believe exercising and keeping active can help not just our physical health but our mental health too. I thought what better way to celebrate than to donate some money to Action Mental Health, to help support the vital work they do across Northern Ireland," he said.

Eugene is a member of two elite marathon clubs, which are 100 Marathon Club UK and Marathon Club Ireland which all his official marathons are verified through.

Jonathan Smyth, Head of Communications & Fundraising, Action Mental Health said: “Oggie has supported Action Mental Health over the years with various challenges. So when he reached out once again to let us know about his new personal challenge and we were absolutely thrilled to have his support and generosity once again.

"Oggie has pledged to donate £500 to support our vital mental health services, when he completes his 250th sub-4-hour marathon challenge. We know that running and all physical activity is a great way of supporting your mental health, so we are particularly delighted to be the beneficiary of this amazing challenge and wish Oggie well.”

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