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| | Tony's Biography
The ultra running achievements of Tony Mangan from the Metro St Brigids Athletic Club in Dublin are quite extraordinary. It takes your breath away just reading about them. In October 2003 Tony climbed off a treadmill at the Dublin Marathon expo having run for a solid 2 days. His reward was the World 24 and 48 hour treadmill running records. Twice this year he has completed in 48 hour races. In Brno in the Czech Republic over St Patrick’s weekend he won covering 426 kilometres whilst 2 months later in Surgeres in France he came second after running 401 kilometres. We interviewed Tony recently to find a bit more about this amazing athlete.
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Slugging it out with my good friend and main rival, John Geesler during 2007/2008 Across The Years 72 hour race... |  |
CLICK ON PHOTOS TO ENLARGE. |  |
Don't stop me now! Guinness World record certificates for 24 and 48 hours on a treadmill. |  | Running in Ireland (online running magazine) interview, June 2007.
Please describe how you first got into running.
I was a late starter as I only started running a few months before my 30th birthday. For many years after watching the first Dublin City Marathons (which used to be broadcast live on RTE) I developed a fascination with marathon running. Before that I was slow to take to it. For a couple of years I said I must go out and do a training run before the year’s end. I remember one year not going out until very late on New Years Eve, just to keep that promise to myself.
I then got into more serious running in September 1986. Looking back I got caught up in the running boom of that time. I entered a 10K fun run sponsored by Radio Nova. They gave it great hype and made it fun. By the time I got to the finish line I decided I would run the Dublin Marathon as it was only 6 weeks away. I figured that way I would take care of one of my lifetime ambitions and I would probably never run again. That way I would not do the month’s of training required and running would be ‘done and dusted’ from my life quicker than it had started! I ran my only long run of 22 miles / 35 kilometres seven days before my Dublin 3:09 debut. I then got hooked and entered every fun run I could find!
In those days I used to play a lot of soccer too. The penny only dropped when I got an ankle injury and much to my astonishment missed running more than the footie. Besides I was an appalling player – I haven’t kicked a competitive ball since.
My then girlfriend’s boss was on the MSB Running Club Committee. She was always telling him how crazy I was. He told her I would fit in well with MSB. So, I joined them in January 1987. For a few years I ran 10K’s and marathons getting my 10K time down to 33 minutes and the marathon down to 2:38. My ambition for several years was to try to win the Finglas Marathon. I had several placings in the top three to six but never managed to win.
In 1994 I emigrated to the Colorado Rockies and loved it. I ran many mountain races and discovered ultra running there. I soon discovered I could compete in ultras. The longer the distance the better I ran. In 2002 due to a plantar fasciitis injury I returned to Dublin for treatment. This injury usually takes about six months to recover from but Mick was so good he had me back running in two months. I ended up staying in Ireland.
I continued running ultras focusing mostly on the 24 hour event.
You have recorded some amazing feats in the last few years. Which is your proudest achievement and why?
In April 2003 I ‘broke’ the Guinness World Record for 24 hours running on a treadmill – 134.4 miles. I finished the attempt on the Easter Sunday which was my 46th birthday. When I sent the evidence in to Guinness it was rejected because an English runner had run exactly 1 mile more than me two weeks before. He managed to keep it quiet until my attempt was over. I had made a tactical mistake by not running the last hour hard as I easily had more than a mile left in me. I had been giving interviews and enjoying myself on the run. I was heart-broken and decided to go for it again at the Dublin Marathon Expo in the RDS six months later. This time I only did the minimum publicity which Guinness World Records require and kept the attempt quiet. When I got to my previous distance (while running down that extra mile which the English runner had run) I had my handler play a specially commissioned CD dedicated to the other runner. The two tracks were, Tom Petty’s ‘Running Down A Dream’ and Queen’s ‘Don’t Stop Me Now’. It took about a mile to play them and it was the happiest few minutes of my life! I ended up with 138.2 miles / 222.4 kilometres for the 24 hours. I decided to keep on running and to go for the 48 hour world treadmill record also just as insurance!
Treadmill running then was not very competitive and the 48 hour was only 150 miles. So, I only needed 12 miles in the second day. I ran like a man possessed for that second day and night and hammered the record. I was worried that if I eased up a bit that someone would pip me by a small amount again. My folks were so worried they kept asking me to ease off telling me that I would have a heart attack. I told them if I fell off the treadmill and died to make sure they got the distance recorded in the log book and send it into Guinness World Records before they picked me up off the floor! I finished up with 232.2 miles / 372 kilometres.
On the treadmill I was running with the specially commissioned Dublin Marathon race number ‘4824’. ( 48 and 24 hours ) Fifteen hours after the attempt I was lining out for the Dublin Marathon and ran 4:02 – my slowest ever but happiest marathon. I had just spent two days with a timing clock stuck in my face and just wanted to enjoy the run without thinking of time. It was almost like a lap of honour around my city! I got both the 24 and 48 hour records certified by Guinness World Records as World Records and am listed in the 2005 Book Of World Records.
Your achievements are all the more amazing given that you are now 50 years old. Have you any injury prevention tips for other runners of your age?
My club physio, Michael (Mick) Farrell has been giving me massages for over five years now. I used to get one a week but now get one every fortnight. I get them for preventive reasons but he can also attack any niggles I pick up. Also, I would advise not to wear down your running shoes too much and to replace them before you need to. Most runners don’t like spending too much for their shoes. I don’t have a shoe sponsor and only yesterday went to Arnott’s Summer Sale and bought five pairs of top of the range shoes for half price in the sale. That way I can change them often.
As you get older stretching before a run is most important, cooling down and looking after your feet. But I think most important is to ‘listen’ to your body and if something is not right … just back off! Having said that I am just like any other runner as I am not taking my own advice as three weeks ago I felt a pain in my ankle and kept running on! I now have a really bad limp and haven’t run since.
What other crazy things have you done? I read you cycled around the world in the seventies.
In 1978 at the age of 21 I cycled around the world. It was in the days before ATM’s, credit cards and mobile phones and even cycling equipment was pretty basic. I cycled across Europe, the Turkish Mountains in the Winter and on into Iran on my 5 speed Raleigh Corsa bike. The Iranian revolution was getting worse and after I entered the country just before Christmas the borders closed due to civil disobedience. It was an attempt to topple the Shah’s regime. The banks were on strike and I couldn’t collect my money from the bank. I was stuck in Tehran for six weeks and survived by selling blood plasma to the blood bank, twice.
I shared a dirt cheap hotel room with other foreigners. We lived on bread, tea and omelettes cooked on a kerosene stove. In February 1979 Ayatollah Khomeini returned from his exile in Paris. The borders re-opened and I cycled on into Afghanistan. I felt lucky in so far as I had the freedom to eventually move on.
Can you describe a typical week of training?
I more or less run as I feel, but typically, before a major race I peak out at about 200 kilometres per week. I usually run about a 50 km at the weekends on the trails of Dublin’s Phoenix Park. Sometimes I link up with the club. We have an 8 mile / 13 km lap and several variations. There are two water points and I just love running there. I work for a construction agency and as my work is very physical I feel that helps keep me fit even when I am not running much. I am on my feet for long days and my legs are permanently tired. I feel this is beneficial to my ultra running. I usually run home from work after a very hard day. Often this is the last thing you want to do. Then, if I have to stop at traffic lights it can be very hard to get going again. Before, I often walked a little when I felt that tired but now I don’t as I think it is great simulation for race conditions – when you really need to keep running – say at hour 32 in a 48 hour race when you are shattered, and there is still a long way to go.
Do you have a coach?
No, because there are not too many people around to coach this stuff! But I do have a few advisors whose opinions I value. Besides my physio, Mick, I am advised by Christian Landsteiner, a nutritionist in Austria, Alan Young, a Scottish Athletics official and Phil Essam, Australian Webmaster of an ultra website (www.planetultramarathon.com).
What do you think about when running?
When I’m training, just the normal day to day stuff. I usually have a radio tuned to Newstalk 106 planted in my ear! I haven’t figured out the iPod stuff yet!
In competition I never listen to anything. I prefer to concentrate on how I am moving, watch what’s happening in the race, monitor my speed, running style etc.
Do you have any races lined up?
I have just been appointed captain of the Irish World 24 hour championship team. I have not run in three weeks due to the ankle injury I mentioned earlier. The race is in four weeks time – in Quebec, Canada – so, right now, I’m not a happy camper! Also, I want to return to Arizona for the Across The Years 72 Hour race in December (2007) as last year I don’t feel I did myself justice and want to put that right.
Do you have any spare time? If so, how do you spend it?
I waste an incredible amount of time surfing the net and e-mailing and almost all of it is running related! I am a talk radio junkie! I love good restaurants, live rock/sing-a-long music and theatre but don’t go often enough. I have some really good friends and believe one has to work very hard with friendships and not take them for granted. I like to broaden my mind as I don’t want people to see me as a big running shoe … "Here comes Tony five pairs, again!". I enjoy watching Liverpool (sometimes!), also Dublin and the Ireland and Leinster rugby teams.
Have you any burning ambitions still left to fulfil?
To settle down in a few years time and have a big family!! Also … in ultra running the two supreme tests are the 24 hour and the 6 day races. I want to improve my 24 hour distance and run a 6 day race, which will probably be next year. That is one of the reasons I have moved up in distance from 24 hours to 48 and 72 hours and have been racing so much this past year: in order to gain the experience and the mental strength.
Courtesy of www.runninginireland.com, June 2007 |  | | | | |
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