Running marathons and breaking records with cystic fibrosis

Evan Scully has worked with over 100 Olympians, with an impressive tally of 33 medals, and the Navan-based running coach and therapist recently set out to break his own marathon personal best in Paris.

Working off an 18-week training block, Scully was looking to break three hours for the first time, and in fact, was looking to complete the gruelling course in sub 2hrs 50mins.

However, with just over four kilometres remaining, the Paris course hit some unwelcome gradient, and two kilometers further closer to the finish, another hill confirmed that he would not be hitting his target - eventually coming home in just under 2hrs 52mins.

And yet, Scully, who has worked with Olympic 1500m champion, Taoufik Makhloufi from Algeria, the Nike Oregan Project, and Olympic medalists from Kenya, Ethiopia, Tunisa, USA, and Britain knocked 18 minutes off his personal best and secured a European record in the process.

Scully was born with cystic fibrosis, a genetic disease effects the lungs and digestive system as well as several other organs, and his parents were told that he was unlikely to live past ten years old.

Now approaching his 37th birthday, five years older than the Irish life expectancy, Scully's recent lung function test was the highest it has ever been.

"My first marathon, I got to 23 miles, and I didn’t run out of fuel or I didn’t hit a wall, I ran out of salt," said Scully, speaking on the RTÉ Running Podcast.

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"And for anyone who doesn’t know what cystic fibrosis is, it’s a