ONE down, five to go.
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Tadhg Kelliher has a long term ambition to complete all six of the world's major marathons. This week the 34-year-old former Taree and now Port Macquarie resident ran the Boston Marathon, a race he qualified for by just a second at Newcastle last year.
Now he has his sights on the Tokyo, London, Berlin, Chicago and New York City races, although he says he has no time frame in place.
"It might take a while and it might be just a dream, but it's something I'll consider,'' he said, speaking to the Manning River Times not long after crossing the finish line at Boston. Kelliher is in America on his honeymoon with his wife, Amy.
"The legs are a bit worse for wear, but I made it,'' he said.
He clocked 2 hours 48.15 for the 42.2km event.
"I was hoping for a 2.45, but I died on the Newton Hill. Coming out of there I thought I'd run the last one (hill), but there was another in front of me.
"So I faded a bit towards the end, but I still ripped four minutes off my PB, so I'm pretty happy with that.''
He's a newcomer to marathon running, finishing his first last April in Newcastle.
"After that I started to train for Boston,'' he said.
"I did a lot of running with (Taree's) Luke Murray, I live in Port now but I'm a Taree boy at heart.
"I did a 16 week training block for Boston, starting around Christmas. But I was a bit hampered because I recently got married.
"So it was a bit of an interrupted prep, but I got there in the end.''
However, he admits to being 'pretty beaten up' after the race.
"The weather's hot so I'm dehydrated, which is why the legs gave out a bit. It was still a cracker of a time but I would have liked to have gone a bit faster,'' he said.
The marathon route is one-way, which makes it unique.
"We ran all the way from Hopkinton to Boston city. There's basically 350 metres of descent following by 250 metres of ascent, so your test the quads pretty early,'' he said.
"That's exactly what happened to me.''
Fantastic atmosphere
He described the atmosphere in Boston while the race is in progress as 'fantastic - a once in a lifetime experience'.
"From Hopkinton all the way into the city the crowd is four deep. The race starts at 10am and people are outside cooking barbecues,'' he said.
"It's a big do.''
A former rugby league player with the Taree City Bulls, Kelliher admits running marathons wasn't something he considered when he was younger.
"But it just suits my lifestyle,'' the managing director of Eire Constructions in Port Macquarie said.
After making his debut at Newcastle Kelliher raced at South West Rocks, where he was first across the line in 2 hours 52.
The newly weds have been in the US for just over a week.
"We went to New York before heading to Boston. We'll go to Hawaii after this,'' he said.
He might defend his title at South West Rocks on the June long weekend.
"It might be too quick a turnaround,'' he said.
"I'll enjoy a few cocktails in Hawaii and think about that.''
