An Irish woman has won the hearts of the internet after revealing she’s run 79 marathons over the course of her life.
Speaking to The Line Show following the recent New York City Marathon, the Irish native revealed it should have been her 80th outing, but due to injury she was only able to collect her 79th medal.
‘How is that even human? She’s tun 79 marathons’ the interviewer remarked in shock, revelling in the woman’s casual admission.
The woman, who has since been named as Ann O’Neill, revealed she’s being testing her limits for about two decades now, with the NYC Marathon marking her third one of 2025.
‘There would have been some years that I would have run like one a month…that’s a while ago now, I’m getting back into it,’ she shared.
Revealing her intentions for the future, Ann boasted: ‘The plan is I need to get to 100 and I need to do the six majors. So this is number four of the majors today.’
Discussing her love of running, she added: ‘Originally I was running with my friend from Galway, so we did it and we had great fun. We went all over Europe, we went to America, we had great fun.
‘Then she got to a hundred before me and she stopped. So then I kinda stopped. I had a breast cancer diagnosis in the meantime,’ she emotionally discussed before confirming she was in the clear.
‘Up until January this year I was at 76 and I said 76 is a stupid number to stop at. So I had to get to 100.’
Due to her wealth of experience, she was sure not to leave without offering some advice to those keen to run their first marathon.
‘Just start. Just push yourself out of your comfort zone…just because we’re too fast to tell ourselves we can’t.’
Many were quick to flock to the comments, sharing their admiration for the woman and her ambition.
‘Just back from a 5k – I’m bolloxed. She’s inspiring,’ one user wrote.
‘Someone please find this lady ? I want to be there for her 100th marathon to support her .. unbelievable xxx,’ another penned.
‘From a fellow Irish woman and breast cancer survivor, you’re some woman for one woman, absolutely incredible,’ a third shared.
