An ESL teacher has decided to conclude his year of teaching in Taiwan, a country he has fallen in love with, by running a 30-day marathon for cancer research. Neil O’Maonaigh-Lennon has already run 13 marathons including the ING Taipei marathon in December 2007. With an April 1st start, of his envisioned 30-day marathon, he will add a third continent to his ambitious plan of running one marathon in every continent.

O’Maonaigh-Lennon cites Terry Fox, and his celebrated 1980 “Marathon of Hope” for cancer research, as an inspiration for his own run. On the teacher’s website, which will have journals of his marathon adventures, he has offered people a choice of two organizations to donate money to, the Cancer Research UK and the Taiwan Foundation for Rare Disorders.

People are welcome to join the run, which will cover a distance of 42km a day. The marathon will begin in Fugueijiao and follow the east cost south to Chialuoshui before turning north. O’Maonaigh-Lennon plans to take time to veer off course in order to visit some of Taiwan’s scenic hotspots.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2008/02/09/2003400671

By Sean McCall