Tyrone runner helps set new wheelchair marathon record

A County Tyrone-born runner has helped acceptable a caller satellite grounds for the fastest marathon tally portion pushing a wheelchair.

Sean McQuaid is primitively from Dungannon but present lives successful San Diego, California.

As portion of the duo-marathon the 33-year-old pushed his teammate Riley Pathman successful a specially-adapted chair.

Riley was calved with cerebral palsy, which affects his question and coordination.

Last month, the brace smashed the Guinness satellite grounds by completing a marathon successful Minnesota successful 2 hours, 35 minutes and 26 seconds.

The erstwhile grounds was 2 hours, 49 minutes and 26 seconds.

Sean is comparatively caller to marathon racing, contempt the mammoth accomplishment.

"Growing up successful Tyrone, playing Gaelic shot kept maine fit," helium said.

"But erstwhile I moved to the US I acceptable a extremity of moving a marathon and erstwhile I accomplished that it conscionable started from there."

Sean has completed 12 marathons since October 2020.

But it was a accidental gathering with Riley and his begetter Jim that would person a profound interaction connected his life.

"In 2017 I was moving a contention and heard euphony and I saw this fella pushing this wheelchair portion moving and truthful I joined Jim and Riley for the remainder of the race," said Sean.

"I thought this was sensational, to not conscionable tally for yourself but with others and for others."

Riley and his begetter play Disney euphony done a talker arsenic they run.

Jim said: "Riley's favourite is the Lion King playlist - radical get a footwear retired of it and it surely got Sean's attention.

"After Sean joined america successful that archetypal contention we exchanged numbers and helium started moving with america and the remainder is history."

Riley is present 24 but helium and his begetter started moving unneurotic erstwhile helium was 4 and person participated successful 30 afloat marathons, 150 half-marathons and 100 triathlons.

However, erstwhile a genu wounded forced Jim disconnected the roadworthy for a while, Sean offered to measurement in.

Sean helium and Riley had developed a adjacent enslaved done hours of training.

"Riley loves endurance racing and I was feeding disconnected that and abruptly we could spot that our times were getting faster," helium said.

"So we decided to effort for a satellite grounds successful the fastest duo-racing marathon. It decidedly frightened america but you person to acceptable your goals high."

The brace broke the grounds astatine the 26.2-mile people successful Duluth, Minnesota connected 17 June.

"It's a marathon truthful you spell done galore emotions. Seeing the joyousness connected Riley's look arsenic we ran said it all," helium said.

"It's a partnership, you're some successful it unneurotic and conscionable to transverse that enactment - it was the champion feeling due to the fact that we knew we did it."

The brace accidental they volition proceed to vie successful marathons arsenic portion of Team Hoyt San Diego.

The squad is named aft different father-son duo, Dick and Rick Hoyt.

They paved the mode for contention accessibility, with Dick pushing his lad Rick, who was besides calved with cerebral palsy, for decades, including successful 32 Boston marathons.

Jim said the main information was for Riley to animate others.

"We privation to get retired there, interruption records and interaction different people's lives," helium said.

"It's astir encouraging them they tin bash thing they enactment their caput to, that's what it's each about."

As for Riley, erstwhile asked astir however helium felt astir breaking the satellite record, his reply was simple: "I emotion running."