A 58-year-old man who was diagnosed with Parkinson’s nearly a decade ago has just ran 10 marathons in 10 days.
Tadley resident Gary Shaughnessy completed this monumental challenge on Sunday, June 16, after running 26.2 miles across the rolling hills between Kingsclere and Whitchurch as part of the 2024 Hampshire Hoppit.
Throughout the 10 days, Gary travelled to Switzerland to run around Lake Zurich, he ran through Greenham Common, he ran along the canal at Aldermaston and he even completed the 50km Sussex ultramarathon Race to the King.
Gary spoke to the Newbury Weekly News during a break while he was running his eighth marathon on Friday.
He was joined and cheered on by a large crowd of supporters while he ran several circuits around a route in Silchester.
He said: “I was diagnosed over nine years ago, and I’m not sure that the extreme challenges are that good for me, but the training is very good for me.
“From a mental health point of view, it gives me a focus, but in addition to that, it gives me a voice to raise awareness.
“We met two different people recently who were newly diagnosed.
“Neither of them had been talked to about the importance of exercise.
“When I was diagnosed, you get this message that says it’s all downhill.
“You may as well retire and stop thinking about the future, and I just think it’s a lot of tosh actually.”
Since being diagnosed, Gary has devoted his life to raising awareness about Parkinson’s and how the disease can be managed through the power of exercise and maintaining a positive mind set.
As chairman of trustees for Parkinson’s UK, he has completed several physically demanding challenges and raised over half a million pounds for the charity.
Just last year, he cycled from Liverpool to the Polish-Ukrainian border, won back the ‘farthest distance run three legged in 12 hours’ Guinness World Record in Silchester, cycled from Brighton to Barcelona, and ran four marathons.
Gary said: “I have been so lucky. I have met some brilliant people and I’ve been involved in some superb stuff.
“I’ve learn a lot about myself and using my voice to make the point that there is a more positive way of looking at these things.
“My one piece of advice for anyone with Parkinson’s who wants to take up exercise, would be to do what you enjoy.
“You might enjoy ping pong, running, walking football, cycling, golf, or martial arts, just choose whatever is best for you.”
To find out more about Gary, his challenges and to donate to his fundraisers, visit his website at https://www.garyschallenges.com/
Despite just completing his 10 marathon challenge, Gary will be cycling from southern Norway all the way up into the Arctic Circle in August, and in November he will take on the Westport Sea2Summit adventure race in Ireland.
