Oranmore resident, John Quinlivan who transformed from 19st to running seven marathons over the past three years; has been shortlisted as one of the six finalists for the ‘Rock ‘N’ Run Idol’ contest being held in the lead up to the Rock N Roll Half Marathon which takes place in Dublin on Sunday, August 7th.
In its fourth year, this event also incorporates the National Half Marathon Championships which attracts the attention of thousands of runners throughout the country. The event features the best of local talent with live bands entertaining participants along the 13.1 mile course which starts in the Docklands in the centre of Dublin and finishes in the Phoenix Park.
“I joined a local weight loss group in Oranmore and started to lose weight. That gave me the confidence to join a Zero-to-5K running group which started in Oranmore in January 2013. In ten months I went from having never having run before to finishing the Dublin Marathon in 3 hours 52 minutes.”
Since then, John has taken part in many other races including Connemarathon, the Cork Marathon and last September ran in the Berlin Marathon, one of the ‘Big Six’ marathons. This year, John took the reins of Maree Athletics Club when he was voted Chairman for the club. The club, based in Maree, consists of 35 runners from the Maree/Oranmore area.
“I love running and love to see others pursue and chase their dreams, be it run their first 5K, half marathon or marathon. With any goal or dream, mindset is so important and if I’ve learned one thing through all of this, it’s the power of your own mind. If you believe you can do it or can’t do it… you’ll be right. Believe in yourself and don’t berate or scold yourself along the way.”
The general public is now invited to vote for the winner by voting at the website: www.runrocknroll.com/dublin/rock-idol. You can find John Quinlivan’s blog (From 19st to 10k) here: http://19st-10k.blogspot.ie. Maree Athletics Club meet twice weekly in Oranmore and Maree and always welcome new runners. You can find out more on www.mareeac.com.