CELEBRITY FANS/DAVID NORRIS:Politician, 65 Marathon running Marathon running may
be tough, but it's the best cure for a night out

Forgive me, but I was amazed to discover that you ran three marathons.

I’m amazed myself. The first one was in 1988. I’d just won a case in the European Court of Human Rights and people had thrown a huge party for me and I was presented with a bottle of champagne and a bottle of whiskey. I drank most of them myself that night. The next day the Millennium Marathon was on. I woke up with a thunderous hangover. I dithered but then I thought I better do it because it would be another thousand years until the next Millennium Marathon.

How did you do?

I tottered around, but I’ll tell you it’s the best cure for a night out. Within seven miles, I had sweated out the hangover. It was a beautiful day. People were very surprised to see me running around. I got terrific cheers, but I kept to the same moderate pace all the time. I never did it in anything other than a really dreadful time, but on the three occasions I did it I saw really good athletes who had taken off too fast massaging their thigh muscles in the ditch later because they’d cramp.

What were they cheering?

“God, you’re a great lad. You win the court case one day and you’re out running a marathon the next. There’s no stopping you!”

How was your body afterwards?

I was very, very stiff. At the end I was tottering (laughs), at a very sedate pace. Afterwards, I went home and soaked myself in a Radox bath. That was the Bank Holiday Monday. The next day I was lecturing in Trinity and I could hardly make it down the stairs into the lecture hall.

When did you run the other two?

I did it again, I think, in 1991 and 1993.

What were your times for the three marathons?

My times were five hours (laughs), five and three-quarter – on that occasion they were just starting to dismantle the clock; I was the last person to be photographed – and five and a half hours.

What training did you do for them?

I did a little bit of jogging up and down the Bull Island and in Phoenix Park for the first one. I had a gym routine also – weights, bench presses and sit-ups.

What advice would you give to someone facing into their first marathon?

I think the whole key to is, if you can do a little bit of training. Then you’re supposed to eat some pasta the night before. This is the lovely social aspect of it – they threw open the Round Room in the Mansion House where they gave us our registration, our race number, a little leaflet with some advice on it and a good feed of pasta.

Did you do athletics when you were young?

No. I played tennis, a bit of squash and did some swimming, and I played rugby – at High School and a very dim team at Old Wesley, the Bs or something – and I enjoyed it. I was on the right wing, which kind of flattered my ego because the ball would be elegantly passed along the line out to me. I had a good turn of speed. I would hare around like blazes and plant it between the posts to a burst of thunderous applause and I never had to stick my nose into people’s backsides like they did in the scrum. I enjoyed that.

Running is a terribly boring pastime, is it not?

No – I was talking to people, having little chats, because I wasn’t pushing myself so I wasn’t out of breath. And then there would be people waving and shouting things to you, and you’d be looking at shop fronts and people’s houses and what they were growing in their gardens. From that point of view, it was very interesting.

Do you follow athletics on television?

No. I don’t. You see, I’m a participant due to being a bit of an egomaniac. It’s a dreadful thing to admit, but it’s true. I would be a competitor.

What is good about marathon running?

There’s a feeling of fellowship with the other men and women who are doing it. Everybody was so friendly and encouraging. There’s a sense of fun. Also, there’s a sense of achievement. You know – I actually ran 26¼ miles.

Would you do another one?

I don’t think so because I have arthritis.

What was frustrating about the marathons?

Towards the end, because I was amongst the last, all the water had run out. There was nobody to give you water and you’d be absolutely parched. That was the only thing – I wasn’t a bit frustrated; I was delighted with myself, and thoroughly enjoyed the day. And you know I’m in for another race now, another marathon, really – the race for The Park.

In conversation with Richard Fitzpatrick.