Frank Scanlan - running his first marathon for charity
Many of the runners taking part in Monday's Dublin Marathon will be raising money for charity. Frank Scanlan, a 37-year-old Cork native who will be collecting for the Irish Cancer Society and Wicklow Cancer Support, knows the value of those organisations. In 1997 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs. Looking back, he recognises that his body had been trying to tell him something. "I had a chest infection I couldn't shift and was getting back pain, night sweats and migraines. But, at that age, cancer is the last thing you think of."
Nine years on, Scanlan is healthy and in the final stages of preparation for his debut marathon. He is one of 13 first- timers selected for the Adidas Dublin Marathon Virgins team, which has been trained by Gary Crossan. "I started running with a couple of guys at work at lunch-time around Cabinteely Park. Then I started doing short races like the Great Bupa Ireland Run. I was looking for the next challenge when I saw an ad for the Marathon Virgins team."
The team's sense of community has helped the training. "We get a weekly e-mail plan from Gary with advice on training and nutrition. It's nice to be in the hands of a professional coach and getting good feedback."
Scanlan is quietly confident, having completed a 30km hill run two weeks ago. "The hill work is great for building muscle and should make it easier in the marathon, which is flat. That was the longest I've ever done, so the legs were heavy for a few days."
This week he did a couple of shorter runs, near his home in Wicklow, of 15km and 7.5km. This weekend he will be resting and "eating loads of carbs: pasta and spuds". Crossan's advice for Monday morning is to eat a light breakfast of cereal and brown bread and drink lots of water. As Scanlan says, that probably means no jumbo breakfast roll. Michael Kelly
• The Adidas Dublin Marathon begins at 8.55am on Monday. See www.dublincitymarathon.ie. If you'd like to sponsor Frank Scanlan you can e-mail him at frankscanlan@hotmail.com.