Marathon Man Seeks Crew
17th March, 2017
The first swimmer to attempt swimming the length of the Irish Coast seeks crew
On the 13th May Irishman Alan Corcoran will kick off a 500km length of Ireland charity sea swim from the Giant’s Causeway, County Antrim. Nobody has swum the full length of the Irish Coast before, and the swim is the equivalent distance of 10,000 Olympic swimming pools or 16 times the length of the English Channel.
The 26-year-old came up with the idea in 2012 after running 35 marathons in 35 consecutive days around the Irish coastline. During this challenge he raised €15,000 and came home thinking he wanted a more difficult charity challenge. “This is where the idea of the swimming came to mind. Nobody has swam the full length of the Irish coast before and I hadn’t had swimming lessons since I was 11 so I knew it would be tough as hell”, Alan told Outdoor Swimming Society.
“It’s obviously been a very steep learning curve and my body hates me for it, but I’ll get there in the end and I’m enjoying seeing the progress,” he says.
Alan sets off on the 13th May and aims to complete the swim within 30 days, finishing at the hometown of Waterford on the south coast of Ireland. He is going to swim 6 hours a day, but if his body holds up and the conditions are right Alan will be using the second tide to take advantage of the night-time tide in addition to the daytime tide which could bring his daily swim closer to 10-12 hours.
Nobody has swam the full length of the Irish coast before and when I started this I hadn’t had swimming lessons since I was 11 so I knew it would be tough as hell
Alan is taking on the swim with the hope of raising €50,000 for the Irish Heart Foundation’s Stroke awareness campaign and a local Cancer Support Centre (Solas) following the recent death of his dad, Milo Corcoran, who suffered a stroke in 2011 and died of cancer last August only three weeks after diagnosis., at that age of 65. Alan began his preparations for the gruelling swim the following month.
Milo was an inspirational figure in Irish Football. The former President of the Football Association of Ireland was key to establishing the cross-border Setanta Cup, which he was the chairman of up until his death. He also helped establish and run the Football Village of Hope in Israel which helped build positive relationships between Israeli and Palestinian children. “I’ve heard nothing but praise for his efforts which makes me very proud of his achievements and inspires me to at least try and live an equally impressive life,” Alan added.
“It’s been an intense few months in all aspects of my life, but I’m glad I committed to this positive charity challenge where I feel I can channel that hurt to try and better myself,” he said. “Last September I was honestly wrecked swimming two lengths of the pool. Last weekend, I completed my longest training session to date which was 400 lengths (10km) with 10km lined up this Saturday and again on Sunday in preparation.
“Having done that sort of distance I know having to cover it on a daily basis until I complete the 500km is going to be the most difficult physical challenge I have and probably ever will take on,” he said.
Last September I was honestly wrecked swimming two lengths of the pool
Alan, who works as a town planner, said he is not nervous about the challenge as of yet as he is concentrating on what he can control now, his training and trying to secure sponsors as well as a support crew for the 30 day adventure along the east coast of Ireland.
For more information, to volunteer or to support the charity event in any way you can please visit www.marathonman.co