Running on Courage
The Anglo-Celt Community & Sports Awards, in partnership with Mannok and Kingspan, will take place this evening in the Cavan Crystal Hotel. Marathon runner Brenda O'Keeffe is a finalist for Outstanding Achievement of the Year...
For most people, running a single marathon is a major life achievement. For 46-year-old Brenda O’Keeffe, marathons have been life sustaining. Come August she hopes to have completed her 600th in Longford.
What makes the goal all the more extraordinary is the fact Brenda is living with incurable bone marrow cancer.
Diagnosed last year with multiple myeloma, a rare and aggressive form of cancer, Brenda was told to slow down, rest, and prepare for a different kind of journey.
But the Cavan Town native and chef by profession, who kicked a 60-a-day smoking habit before taking up running, had other plans.
“Running gives me purpose,” she says. “It reminds me I’m still here, still fighting.”
She had hoped to complete the 600th in June but since she last spoke with the Cel,t has endured and overcome multiple medical complications.
Through chemotherapy, fatigue, and pain, Brenda still continues to lace up her running shoes and push forward, mile after mile. Each marathon now takes more out of her, but she refuses to give in and through sheer strength of will looks only to the finish line.
Her endeavour most recently earned her the 'Audience Choice' at the recent Outsider.ie awards, which recognises normal Irish people who, despite being faced with insurmountable odds, go above and beyond to encourage others to share their love of outdoor and adventure pursuits. “I couldn't believe it, I was in tears.”
Brenda last won an Outsider.ie award, in the ‘Breakthrough Achievement of the Year’ category in 2016. That was after setting a European and Irish record for most marathons ran in a year (107) in 2015, including 20 in a single month and 10 in just five days; and also running home from Croke Park to Cavan for Christmas in aid of CF Cavan and for ‘Care for Cian’.
Brenda’s grit, resilience, and unwavering spirit have earned her a nomination for 'Outstanding Achievement' at The Anglo-Celt Community & Sports Awards 2025. It highlights her refusal to surrender to her diagnosis, and the impact she has on others fighting similar battles. “I'm a proud Cavan woman,” says Brenda. “This means so much to me.”
With special thanks to our partners and sponsors in these awards - Mannok, Kingspan, Sherry FitzGerald Declan Woods, Cavan Crystal Hotel, Dovida, Kyte Powertech, CICS Silo Clean and Joe Rowley Windows