An incredible conversation with a man who has fallen into the pit of despair and depression several times, and every time has come back stronger. Conor actually wrestled with an inclination to take his life on a couple of occasions long enough to subdue the impulse and instead focus on a way to numb the self-loathing. For most of his twenties alcohol helped to dilute the urge but that hollow feeling, the critical introspection always returned; he couldn’t outrun his thoughts. Conor, now an ultramarathon runner from Glanmire, Cork, became the youngest ever winner of an Enduroman 200-mile Ultra Run in England, the first person in three years to finish in under the 60-hour time limit (59 hours 45 minutes) and only the second ever to achieve that feat. Running has set him free, physically and mentally. After a brief flirtation with boxing at the Sunnyside club, he joined the Siam Warriors, a Muay Thai boxing club. By the time he was 22, he’d earned an Irish title fight before a 2,000-capacity crowd in his native Cork, narrowly losing the fight. Afterwards, by his own admission he became an aggressive drunk keen to play the tough guy. One night he ended up in the Mercy Hospital, his nose splattered by a punch. He was working and drinking, trying to subdue the feeling that his life was a meaningless mess. He ran the Cork City Marathon (three hours, 38 minutes), a New Year resolution in 2018 on a cocktail of drink and modest training. He then singed up for a 200-mile run in England. He’d four months to prepare, training his mind as much as his body for 182 laps of the 1.1 mile circuit. He then came up with the idea of Project 32: 32 marathon-length runs, in 32 days in 32 counties. It was due to start on April 1st until coronavirus intervened, he now plans to do it later this year, and us currently in training for it.
O’Keeffe, the ultramarathon runner, pursues sober living taking “full accountability” for his actions. “I show myself compassion. If you are living a life you don’t want to then it is pointless adding another person to the list of people who are berating you for your choices; and that person is you. It keeps me in a happy and balanced state of mind.” Follow Conor's journey via his Instagram https://instagram.com/cokeeffe and check out his brilliant Podcast https://open.spotify.com/show/78Cdc6H7dbG5fvRKst9Wxf?si=A6FNsXknTsChheOrO_w4fA&utm_source=copy-link