A LOUTH man is set to run his 100th marathon next weekend in memory of his young nephew, who passed away from meningitis.
Hari Ingman was just two and a half when he fell sick and passed away from pneumococcal meningitis on October 28, 2017.
He was the eldest son of Eileen and Aled, and they were devastated when he passed away, less than two months after they had welcomed his little brother Noa.
Since his death, the family have launched their own Team Hari and have taken part in a number of events to raise money and awareness for the charities who helped them.
These have included First Light, ACT for Meningitis, and the Meningitis Research Foundation.
On Hari’s first anniversary, the Dublin Marathon was being held on the same date so a team of 22 family members, including dad Aled, ran it in his memory.
This time round, they are aiming to raise as much money as they can for Temple Street Children’s Hospital.
61-year-old Dr Seán McCormack and his son Steven will pound the pavements running from Kentstown, Co Meath through Louth to Inniskeen in Monaghan on June 8.
Seán was a local doctor in several areas including Ravensale and Lordship in Louth before he moved to Wales, where he is a GP in Abergele.
He ran his first marathon in 1998 when he was 35 to raise money for the RNLI.
And since then he has even represented his adopted country Wales at international level ultra running for seven years, even becoming a Welsh champion.
“My marathon career began over a few pints with an old friend after a rugby match in January 1998. He was putting together a team to run the Dublin Marathon later that year in aid of the RNLI and I agreed to join him.
“I had lived in Dublin for many years including when I first met Majella and got married so I had many happy memories there, and I had two previous short lived failed attempts at doing the Dublin Marathon so I was very keen to give it a go again and dived straight into training for it the next day.
“This time my training was successful, and at the age of 35 I completed my 1st marathon in 1998 in 3 hours and 1 minute.
“At that time I didn’t think of myself as a runner and never planned to carry on, my goal was just to do the one Dublin marathon for charity and then move on.
“I didn’t run for 3 weeks after that first marathon, the longest time I’d had a break from running since I started in January 1998 until Majella died in November 2021.
“During that 3 week break the one minute in 3:01 slowly started to niggle away at me and I knew I could beat the 3 hour mark if I did it again, so I committed to getting back to it and running the Dublin Marathon again the following year.
“In October 1999 I ran it again, my 2nd marathon, in 2:48:38, a time that remains my fastest to this day.”
While at the age of 46 I had only done 6 marathons, by age 53 I was up to almost 80.”
Seán
Seán said Hari meant a lot to him and his family, especially his wife Majella, who he said believes that Hari watched over and protected her when she had a long illness.
She fell ill in 2008 and Seán recalled: “During that first year of Majella’s illness she was in and out of hospital undergoing treatments and investigations and we had been told several times that her death was imminent, one time we were told she’d be dead within the hour, then with 2 weeks, then by the end of the year, and each time she kept beating the odds.
“Majella continued to encourage my running through all of this. She was always extremely proud of me, and she knew that running was good for me mentally, so she didn’t want me to stop.
“I continued trying my best throughout the 2009 season but naturally my running suffered.”
Hari’s grandad Jim McCormack and his uncle Dara are members of the Irish 66’ers, a group who take part in the Temple Street Challenge every two years, where they ride their Harley motorbikes on Route 66 from Chicago to Santa Monica in LA.
This 12 day trip covers 3,940km and each participant raises at least €10,000 for the charity.
Their last trip was in 2022 and the group raised €412,000 which was used to purchase essential equipment for the hospital.
All money raised by Seán and Steven will go towards Jim and Dara’s fundraiser.
“While at the age of 46 I had only done 6 marathons, by age 53 I was up to almost 80.
“However ultra-running took its toll, and my body and mind could no longer handle those distances, and I did what I thought was my last ultra in August 2016.
TRAGIC LOSS
“In October 2017, my young nephew Hari Ingman tragically died of meningitis at the age of just 2 years old. Hari’s 1st anniversary in October 2018 would coincide with the Dublin marathon, so I helped organise along with Hari’s mum (my niece) and dad, a team to run the Dublin marathon in Hari’s memory and Team Hari was born.
“On Hari’s first anniversary in 2018, 22 of us including Hari’s dad, Aled, ran the Dublin marathon in his memory.
“This was my 84th marathon, and running for Team Hari reignited my passion for running marathons.
“Majella felt a particular special bond with Hari, whom she was adamant watched over and protected her throughout her illness, and over the next few years, at Majella’s insistence we continued to run marathons for Team Hari, raising money for various charities including The Meningitis ResearchFoundation, First Light, the Lullaby Trust, and Temple Street Children’s Hospital, where Hari sadly died.”
Majella passed away in 2021, but Seán has kept up a number of what he has called Majella Memorial Marathons for Hari.
This includes running the distance from Hari’s grave to Majella’s, just over a marathon’s length, which he did last year.
And now to complete his 100th marathon, he will do the same again, on what would have been the weekend of Hari’s 9th birthday.
He said it will be a milestone, adding: “100 marathons, with Majella’s never ending love and support inspiring me all the way.”
To donate in Hari’s memory, please do so HERE
