Gary loves the hardship and adversity of ultra-running

Finished a race covering over 107 miles

By Peter Gleeson

A FORMER smoker from Roscrea who has taken up running races of over 100 miles says he loves the hardship and adversity of the sport.

Only last month 40-year-old Gary Elbert finished 20th in the 24-hour national championship race in Belfast.

In the race he covered a total distance of just over 107 miles, or 172.8 kilometres – the thought enough to make the ordinary man or woman keel over.

Last July he ran the Wild Atlantic Way 50-mile ultra-marathon and followed up just four weeks later by competing in the Connemara 100-mile event, finishing in second place.

Then just two weeks before tackling the 24-hour race in Belfast he decided to run the Galway Bay Marathon as his final preparation for Belfast.

Completing and excelling in such gruelling long distance events is all about the training - Gary runs anything from 40 to 100 miles every week.

To the ordinary person it seems gruelling, but not so for Gary. “I enjoy training for a big challenge,” he says. “As a former smoker I am full of gratitude to be able to push my body and mind and see where my limits are.

“I am at my best in life when I am aiming for an event or a big physical test. I love a bit of hardship and adversity.”

FIRST ULTRA MARATHON

The Roscrea native ran his first ultra- marathon in 2019, a 40-mile race in Longford. He was hooked to ultra-distance running after that.

“I can honestly say running that first ultra-marathon was one of the best experiences I ever had – it gave me the bug for endurance,” says Gary.

ON RTÉ

Drawn to almost super-human challenges, that same year he was chosen as a recruit on Series 2 of RTÉ’s Ultimate Hell Week, the programme that subjects participants to excruciating mental and physical challenges.

Of the series Gary says: “Ultimate Hell Week remains the biggest challenge I have ever taken on.

“It was both brutal and beautiful and remains a fond memory.“

He says the televised edited highlights of the programme don‘t come anywhere near to capturing the brutal reality of the course.

“It is relentless, it is intense, and it is designed to make you break mentally and physically from the word go. It breaks you down and forces you to ask some very deep questions about yourself.”

The first pandemic lockdown in March 2020 gave Gary more time to focus his energies on ultra-distance running. In that year he went on to compete in his first Connemara 100-mile race.

“It was 30 degrees that day and I finished under 24 hours - absolutely zonked,” Gary recalls. “I came back to the same race this year and took almost eight hours off my 2020 time, finishing in 16 hours.

“It made me feel like a kid again,” he says of running the 100 miles around such scenic terrain.

While taking part in a marathon might be the ultimate challenge for many runners, Gary says he has run just “a handful” of such events.

Of ultra-marathons, he says: “I prefer the longer distances as it feels more like an adventure with lots of ups and downs, high and lows, and a better opportunity to get to know yourself and your ability to function under pressure.

“Ultra-marathons are a different beast. It’s the challenge, and as you grow more experienced you learn how to strategise, to manage pressurised situations, and overcome big obstales.”

MEANINGFUL LIFE

Gary says a good and meaningful life for him is not about material comforts. “It’s about taking on and overcoming challenges - what puts a bit of fear and doubt into me - that’s usually what I feel compelled to do.

“I realised that for my life to have meaning and purpose I had to start doing things that provoke a bit of fear and a bit of uncertainty.

“The ultra-marathons offer a journey that can last for hours and hours and even over multiple days. They offer steep challenges mentally and physically and that’s what I want in life.

“In two years of running ultra-marathons I have already accumulated so many unique experiences that I will never forget.

“The events themselves are special. It’s a warm, positive, and supportive environment full of fascinating and outstanding people, all trying to better themselves. The ultra-running community in Ireland is growing all the time and it is a very special community of people.”

Before taking up ultra-marathons Gary, in his teens, played soccer and Gaelic. He then took up kickboxing and martial arts in his mid-twenties, competing in fights around the country for five years and finishing up with a highly impressive record of 24 wins, three losses and one draw.

He gave up kickboxing in 2017 after deciding to return to college as a mature student and give his time to pursuing his studies and ultra-running.

A postgraduate student in NUI Galway, he was born with a cleft lip and palate, which, he says, shaped his view of the world and made him as determined as he is.

He is currently writing a book about his experiences, which should prove interesting given the life he lives.