Runners welcome to join in event to remember Paul

The inaugural Paul Myles Memorial Run will take place this Bank Holiday Monday in tribute to the late garda who made his name as an athlete.
The charity run was organised over recent months by a group consisting of Paul’s family, friends, ex-colleagues from An Garda Siochana, and the athletic fraternity.
Participants are welcome to run, jog or walk the 5km course on Monday, May 5 at noon from Drumalee Cross (beside The Orchard Pub). The fun event is in aid of patient comforts in the ‘Alzheimer’s Society Day Care Cavan’ and ‘Friends of Lisdarn’, two groups which provided such wonderful care and support to Paul and his family during his long illness.
Paul Myles gave over 30 years’ service to An Garda Siochana, completing his service at Cavan Garda Station and retiring in 2002. He was a keen sportsman with an avid interest and involvement in running. Many will remember Paul running around Cavan town and it’s environs during the 1980s, 1990s and noughties.
He was extremely successful in numerous Garda Athletic Championships where he excelled in track, road and cross country events. The range of races he competed in was unique, in that he excelled in all distances from 400m to marathon distance.

Record
In 1981 he took part in the Dublin City marathon and recorded his best time of 2 hours and 30 minutes. This was a new Garda record which stood for several years, until beaten by George Maybury.
In 1991 he competed in his first World Police and Fire Games in Memphis, Tennessee. He also competed in America, Australia, Canada and Europe. In Stockholm, in 1999, in his own age category, he set a games’ record at 1,500m which still stands to this day. As recently as 2007, at the age of 57, he competed in his last World Police and Fire Games in Adelaide, Australia where he won gold in the 5,000m cross country race.
In April 2008, he travelled to Paris and took part in the Paris Marathon, shortly after which his health began to deteriorate, and after almost five years of enduring a particularly aggressive and debilitating form of dementia, Paul passed away on April 7, 2013 aged just 62 years.
Paul was a long standing member of the Donore Harriers and the Cavan Athletic Club. He also took part in the New York City Marathon as part of Eamon Coughlan’s team in 2002, 2003 and 2004 and raised funds for Cavan Homecare, and Crumlin Children’s Hospital.
Whilst many of us will not come near Paul’s speeds on the tarmac on Monday, May 5, organisers hope the community will come out to pay tribute to Paul’s life and athletic career, and support two worthy causes which provide care and support to those suffering with dementia and alzheimers; in addition to enjoying the fresh Cavan air and the exercise.
More information regarding the event is available on the facebook page - Paul Myles memorial run and online registration is available on Runireland.com