Boris Bozovayski

60 in September

My Activity Tracking

106
kms

My target 360 kms

360 km for Every Heartbeat ❤️

I’m taking on the Irish Heart Foundation’s 60 in September challenge to help support their work for people affected by heart disease and stroke.

This September is also the sixth month of my running journey, while the Irish Heart Foundation celebrates 60 years — so I decided to take their challenge a little further:

6 × 60 = 360 km ❤️

I’ll walk, jog and run 360 km throughout September, including the Dingle Marathon, while aiming to raise €360 for the Irish Heart Foundation.

My full story — from my first walk to the marathon start line — is in the update below. ❤️🏃‍♂️

My Achievements

Shared Page

Self Donated

Updated a Profile Pic

Logged your first 5Km or Miles!

25% Target Reached

Reached Fundraising Goal

My Activity

My Updates

Back on the Road ❤️🏃‍♂️

Saturday 12th Sep
One week since the Dingle Marathon, and today I finally felt ready to put the running shoes back on.

10 km done, nice and easy — and this one was a little more special because my son joined me for 5 km, running 3 km and walking another 2 km with me. ❤️

After 42.2 km last week, I honestly expected the recovery to be much harder, so I’m really happy with how my body is feeling.

The marathon may be finished, but the challenge isn’t.

360 km in September — time to keep moving. 🏃‍♂️❤️

The Same 7.95 km. A Different Person.

Tuesday 8th Sep
On 3 April, I walked 7.95 km with a dream that maybe one day I could run a marathon.

Two days after completing the Dingle Marathon, I went back and walked those same 7.95 km again — this time wearing my marathon top with the medal around my neck.

I wanted to wait until then before writing about the marathon, because I needed some time to think about what I actually learned from it.

There’s a quote that has stayed with me for years:

“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

The marathon reminded me how true that is.

You can prepare everything down to the smallest detail, but sooner or later something won’t go to plan.

Around km 34, with my back hurting, my legs cramping and another long hill in front of me, I genuinely thought I was done.

But standing there, I realised that focusing on everything that was going wrong wasn’t going to get me any closer to the finish line.

The only thing that mattered was: what can I do now?

Eat. Drink. Recover a little. Adjust the plan. Keep moving.

And somehow, not long after thinking I couldn’t continue, I was running again.

That was probably the biggest lesson for me.

When things aren’t going your way, it doesn’t mean you’ve failed and it doesn’t mean you have to give up.

Sometimes you just need to stop focusing on the problem, focus on what you can control, and keep moving forward.

And don’t waste your energy comparing your race with somebody else’s.

Run your own race.

At your own pace.

Five months ago, I walked those 7.95 km with a dream.

This time, I walked them with a medal around my neck.

Same 7.95 km.

Different person. ❤️

And the 360 km September challenge continues. 🏃‍♂️

Let the Challenge Begin ❤️🏃‍♂️

Tuesday 1st Sep
September is here, and the 360 km challenge officially starts today.

Before I’ve even logged my first September kilometre, you’ve already helped me smash my original €360 fundraising target — we’re at €439. Thank you so much to everyone who has donated, shared the page or supported me. ❤️

So I’m raising the fundraising target to €600 — €10 for every year of the Irish Heart Foundation’s 60 years.

Now it’s my turn. 😅

360 km throughout September, with the Dingle Marathon coming up on 5 September.

The fundraising has already gone further than I expected.

Now let’s see if my legs can do the same. 😂🏃‍♂️❤️

Every kilometre counts. Every heartbeat counts.

From a 7.95 km Walk to a Marathon Dream

Monday 24th Aug

On 3 April, I went for a 7.95 km walk with one thought in the back of my mind — maybe one day I could run a marathon.

At the time, it felt like a distant dream — something for “one day”, certainly not a few months later.

But you know what they say: be careful what you wish for — you might just get it. 😅

A little over a month later, I completed my first 10K in Killarney — my first ever continuous run and the longest distance I had ever run.

It was tough, but crossing that finish line and getting my first medal 🏅 didn’t put me off. Quite the opposite — it made me wonder how much further I could go.

So naturally, I started looking for a half marathon.

The Dingle Half Marathon looked perfect, but it was already sold out, so I joined the waiting list.

And for some reason I still can’t explain, while I was there I also clicked the waiting list for the full marathon.

Three days later, I received an offer.

Not for the half.

For the full Dingle Marathon — 42.2 km. 😂

After about four sleepless nights wondering whether I had completely lost my mind, I accepted.

The excitement was huge. Then reality kicked in.

I had never even walked 42 km before, never mind run it.

So in June, I signed up for the Half on the Head Half Marathon to find out what 21 km actually felt like.

Well… I found out. 😅

Those hills destroyed my legs and probably a small part of my soul too. My knees were hurting, my quads were cramping, and I remember thinking:

If 21 km feels like this, how on earth am I going to do 42?

I finished, collected another medal 🏅 and walked away with a serious reality check.

Then came another lesson — more isn’t always better.

I started training harder and harder. Fatigue built up, the pain in my knees and shins increased, and eventually I had to stop running for around two weeks and step away from the gym.

I recovered, started listening to my body more and learned to train smarter instead of simply doing more.

Along the way, I completed another 10K in Banna and added another medal to the collection. 🏅

And now, less than two weeks before the marathon, I’ve reached the point where I can run 20 km comfortably and recover well the following day.

But 42.2 km is a completely different beast.

Beyond the distances I’ve already covered, I’m stepping into the unknown — and that’s what makes 5 September both terrifying and exciting.

On that morning, just over five months after that first 7.95 km walk, I’ll stand on the start line of the Dingle Marathon and give that dream everything I have.

But the marathon won’t be the end of the challenge.

September will be the sixth month of this journey, while the Irish Heart Foundation is celebrating 60 years.

So I decided to combine the two:

6 × 60 = 360 km ❤️

Throughout September, I’m challenging myself to cover 360 km through walking, jogging and running, while also aiming to raise €360 for the Irish Heart Foundation.

On 3 April, it started with a 7.95 km walk and a dream.

Now it’s time to see just how far that dream can take me.

Thank you to everyone who has donated, shared my page or supported me along the way.

Every kilometre counts. Every donation counts. ❤️🏃‍♂️

Thank you to my Sponsors

105.25

Anonymous

53.48

Anonymous

Best of luck

51

Jamie Moynihan

50

Ivanka Bozovayska

50

Shane Doyle

Keep it going 👍👍

50

David Doyle

32.78

Sheila Hurley

28.06

Jeremiah O Connor

28.06

Eva Babova

22.80

Lucie Zelenkova

17.18

Anastasiia Antoniuk

11.60

Anonymous

5

Anonymous