Richard Donovan: Extreme Events Organiser & Ultra Runner

No Finish Line

My guest today is Richard Donovan, who will discuss the background of extreme events he organises such as the North Pole Marathon, Antarctic Ice Marathon and World Marathon Challenge. However, given his diversity, Richard is worthy of an entirely separate podcast to share some of his thoughts on the philosophy of ultrarunning, the direction of the sport and his previous roles as a Director of the International Association of Ultrarunners and Head of UltraRunning Ireland. He has organised the IAU Trail World Championships at ultrarunning, obtaining the first global TV audience in the process, and was also a Race Director of the first Commonwealth Championships at both 100km and trail ultra running. He additionally helped to launch the first Wings for Life World Run and was Race Director of the inaugural Irish event. As if that’s not enough, Richard has run across three continents and won several events such as the Himalayan 100 mile Stage Race and Inca Trail Marathon. Richard has shown himself to be a strong advocate for access to sport for people with disability and a big supporter of Irish athletes attempting to qualify for the Olympics, among others. His brother Paul was a two-time Olympian, multiple NCAA track champion and indoor world medalist at 3000m. https://worldmarathonchallenge.com https://www.npmarathon.com https://www.icemarathon.com https://www.volcanomarathon.com