We’re proud to announce that Charlestown Giant Ryan O’Leary is Gentle Giant’s Athlete of the Month for November!
Ryan recently completed his first marathon in St. George, Utah, finishing 170th out of approximately 4,000 runners with an impressive time of 2:59:04. This was Ryan’s first foray into running and endurance training, and a sub-three-hour marathon was quite the way to start.
Ryan grew up with his mother and two sisters in County Donegal, Ireland. As a smaller, heavier kid, he remembers getting his fair share of teasing, which partly motivated him to take up boxing and Gaelic football and sparked an early interest in physical fitness. By 18, Ryan was a regular in the gym, and by 21, he was working as a coach and personal trainer.
Around that time, Ryan heard about Gentle Giant from his friend and fellow Giant Philip Myers. Eager for the opportunity to travel and work while continuing to push himself physically, he applied and eventually made his way to Boston.
Now in his second year with Gentle Giant, Ryan decided to take on a completely new challenge: the St. George Marathon. He began training while back home in February and got serious about his preparation when he returned to Boston for work in May.
Ryan built a training plan around getting comfortable running on tired legs. He ran nearly every day, combining speed work, long runs, and recovery runs while continuing to make time for weight training. Rather than viewing the physical demands of moving as an obstacle to his training, Ryan embraced the job as part of it. Long days on his feet and working at an elevated heart rate helped build his endurance, while regularly training through fatigue strengthened him mentally.
That mental toughness was put to the test before the race even began. Early that morning, Ryan stepped off the shuttle in the dark and fell into a pothole, cutting his knee. Although it shook him up initially, he approached the setback with the same mindset he had brought to his training and refused to let it become a distraction.
A few hours later, Ryan crossed the finish line in 2:59:04, completing an incredible debut marathon.
We’re happy to celebrate Ryan’s impressive run, proud to have him as part of the Gentle Giant team, and excited to see what challenge he takes on next. He certainly doesn’t seem to be slowing down, with plans to take on a full-distance triathlon in the future.