Athletics: Ron Shannon's average time for his last three marathons is around 3hrs 58mins, a respectable achievement for a 50-year-old, writes Kevin Fahey.

That those last three marathons were put together in successive days over last weekend is testimony to his physical powers and mental fortitude.

But what is truly staggering is that marathon number one last Saturday was the gruelling Beachy Head race, whose 26.2 miles are almost entirely off-road and include the punishing climbs of the Seven Sisters in the closing stages.

The following day Shannon went to the other extreme by lining up for the Crawley track marathon, held over 105 laps, before he completed his endurance hat-trick with the Dublin marathon on Monday morning in Ireland.

No wonder Shannon was happy to be back behind his desk by the end of the week.

"I was not looking for personal bests, just to get through the three days, taking every day as it came," said Shannon.

"I must admit I did not realise that Beachy Head was so hard. The last six miles was continually going up and down the Seven Sisters and that was very tough."

Refreshed by an overnight stay in Eastbourne, Shannon headed to Crawley for the track marathon, a challenge for really dedicated runners.

"I ran the Crawley race at a steady pace in the rain, just to get through the event and finish," added Shannon.

"One side effect of the 105 laps was that my right leg became very stiff and sore, and I can only put that down to running in one direction round the track, taking the bends on the right side."

A flight to Dublin wouldn't have helped, but by the next day Shannon, who lives in Warmley and competes for Bitton Road Runners, was raring to go again.

"As the weekend went on I got more confident and strangely the best I felt was in the closing stages of the Dublin race," said Shannon. "It is a great race."

As for his next race plans Shannon has nothing lined up. A rest will do nicely for now.