Duleek man who ran the length of Ireland says it was like 'going to war' every day
An inspirational Duleek man who ran the length of Ireland for charity says the experience was like "going to war every day."
Stephen Lynch (28) took on the gruelling challenge of running 563km - the equivalent of 13 marathons from Malin to Mizen Head over nine days to raise funds for SoSad and Mental Health Ireland.
Over €37,000 has been raised so far from public donations.
"There were times where I was screaming, limping and crying, it felt like I was going to war every day," he said.
"Emotionally and physically it pushed me to my absolute limit," he added.
The heroic ultra runner ran an eye watering 100km on the first two days but admits he "hit a wall" on day three.
"I smashed the first 100km a day in about thirteen hours, it was extremely tough and I had no idea how hilly Ireland was to be honest. After I did the 100km the first thing in my head was right can I do it again so smashed out 100km again in the second day.
"One the third day, I could really start to see the effects of the hills, particularly on my quads, because going up a hill is one thing but when you are coming down the impact is ten times worse. I saw a physio who said it was damage limitation at this point so he strapped me up and I got another 17km done.
"On Wednesday afternoon after I got 80km done I was in a really bad way. I remember lying in the bed with my feet up, they were blistered to pieces and everything was swollen, I literally couldn't move."
Unknown to Stephen, his worried sister sought medical help for him but nothing could make determined Stephen give up.
"At about 1am these three paramedics bust in the room and I had no clue that they were coming in. I couldn't even leave the bed to go to the toilet at this point.
"They said you are in a bad way, your race is over you are not going to do this, you need to be admitted to hospital and go on a drip and, I said 'look I am booked in for a physio in the morning and I'll go from there'. It got to the point where I was like 'right I will go', they told me I'd only be there for a couple of hours."
However, when they stepped out of the room, Stephen had a change of heart and fearing if he gave in at that point the "whole thing would be over" sent his partner out to tell them "he wasn't going anywhere".
"The next morning I got up and I had to be wheeled from my bed on a luggage trolley to my car and I drove to the physio, I couldn't get out of the car to see him, he came out from his office to see me.
"He said ''listen get some ice, get those feet elevated, the swelling should go down, you should be able to walk after lunch'. So I thought 'right that's it game on', once I knew I could physically walk and go forward, I knew that there was nothing going to stop me."
After lunch on the Wednesday Stephen did walk, 14km, to get to the nearest town, and, knowing running-wise, he was going to be limited, he focused on spending as much time on his feet as possible.
"The following day, the Thursday, I think I started at six in the morning and I finished at 10pm and I did about 60km and that was pure walking. The previous day it took me ten hours on my feet to get to 40km."
Although the Duleek man admits being on his knees as time went on he says he "had an epiphany" towards the end
"The next morning, on the last day, I met my mam heading off and I was literally crying in her arms, I just wanted it to be over. My first kilometre took me 20 minutes, I was so stiff I couldn't move, I was just in complete agony.
"As the kilometres went by, I could feel myself loosening up, I was getting quicker and quicker and I felt the pain going out the window. I did my last kilometre in something like six minutes - which is a massive turnaround.
"The last 15km I went out by myself, it was lashing rain and I had my headphones on, I was shouting to myself, I was talking to myself, I was crying. It was I went through a complete emotional rollercoaster.
"I had no idea after the previous eight days of pain and suffering that I would be able to finish in the time that I did.
"It felt like I had gone to war for the nine days and I just came home."
The recruitment executive says the "overwhelming" support of the Duleek community gave him the strength to keep going.
"At one point I realised this was bigger than me, it had gone past doing this for myself with so many people behind me. I think that's people got so behind it because I wouldn't give in. I just thought what kind of example do I want to show people, when the going gets tough, you just give up?"
Stephen, who battled with own mental health as a teen, says the experience has made him more resilient and given him tools to deal with challenges in life.
" I learned that if you keep moving forward, you will get to where you want to be. You have to keep going but because that's what life is about, you can't choose what happens to you in life but you can choose how you react.
"In everyday life we all face challenges or come up against things that we don't want to do but I fully believe that if you choose to to do these things on a regular basis, it gives you better tools to deal with that situation.
"I learned more about myself in those nine days than I did in the previous 28 years. Emotionally and physically, it pushed me to my absolute limit, I would say I hadn't cried in about 10 years but I cried more in that week than I'd care to remember.
"There is saying that when you feel you have nothing left, you are only at 40 percent and that has been playing in my head ever since."