‘It was such a rollercoaster.’ – Those words perhaps sum up Liam McCann’s incredible Ultra X challenge better than anything else.
Liam recently took on the gruelling ultra-distance race, setting off at 6am on Saturday and crossing the finish line at around 9:30am on Sunday – more than 27 hours later.
What started as a huge physical challenge quickly became an equally demanding mental one.
“I expected a lot of elevation gain in the first quarter but I didn’t expect how difficult the terrain was,” Liam explained. “It was very hard to make progress at all, never mind at any kind of speed.”
The combination of difficult terrain and heat left Liam exhausted much earlier than expected. As night fell, he still had around half of the race ahead of him.
At around 70–75km, things became particularly difficult.
“I started to struggle a lot and started to feel pretty awful,” he said. “There were some long, remote sections that were pretty lonely to get through during the night, so the mental battle was quite intense.”
Liam reached a checkpoint around 85km in at 3:30am, feeling extremely rough. With the help of an event medic, some food, medication and a short 30-minute power nap, he was able to continue.
And continue he did.
His fiancée managed to reach some of the checkpoints during the night and was waiting for him at the finish line. Alongside the incredible event volunteers, her support helped Liam keep going when he was beginning to question whether he had anything left to give.
“To share both some tough moments during the night as well as the elation of the finish line was very special and very emotional,” Liam said.
Perhaps surprisingly, after spending so much of the race wanting it to be over, Liam found himself feeling very differently towards the end.
“It was such a rollercoaster and I spent so much of it struggling and wanting to be over, yet when I had perked up and was moving well towards the end I really didn’t want it to be over.”
And would he do something similar again? – “Definitely.”
Going the extra mile for Motiv8
Liam took on the Ultra X challenge while fundraising for Motiv8 Addiction Services, helping to raise vital funds to support people and families across the Isle of Man.
This was Liam’s first ever fundraising challenge and he is understandably proud that he has already surpassed the target he originally set on his JustGiving page.
But the fundraising doesn’t have to stop at the finish line.
Every donation will help Motiv8 continue providing free, confidential support to people and families impacted by alcohol, drugs, gambling and gaming dependency.
For Liam, the challenge may be over, but the difference his efforts can make continues.
If you would like to support Liam and help raise even more for Motiv8, you can still make a donation through his JustGiving page.
https://www.justgiving.com/page/liam-mccann-1
Thea, Motiv8’s CEO said ‘A huge congratulations and thank you to Liam for taking on such an incredible challenge and choosing to support Motiv8’s work.’ Adding ‘Your determination, resilience and willingness to keep going – even when things got incredibly tough – is something to be proud of. – Thank you, Liam.’
