Belfast Marathon 2026: Eugene 'Oggie' Winters to celebrate 69th birthday at his 888th marathon
If you need a little inspiration and get out and active this weekend, consider Eugene 'Oggie' Winters, who will celebrate his 69th birthday while completing his 888th marathon at Sunday's Belfast City Marathon.
And what is all the more, the elite athlete only took up running when he was 55, meaning he has run an average of 63 marathons in each of the 14 years since he took up the sport.
Oggie will donate £888 to Action Mental Health on completion of this Sunday's race, helping to provide vital NI-wide services to those who are living with mental ill health - a pound for every marathon he has pounded to date.
Almost 24,000 people have signed up for the marathon with 70-100,000 people expected to turn out to watch the spectacle.
Runners will cover a 26.2 mile route covering every compass point of the city - north south east and west.
Eugene said: “Running is good for the mind, soul and body and you always meet so many like-minded people out there doing what they love best, be it Parkruns, 5k’s, half marathons, marathons or Ultras.
" We are all different in what we do in the running game, in the distance or pace. But the most important thing is getting out and doing it.”
He added: “Marathons are always very tough going at times as my ambition is to do a 300 sub-4 Marathon challenge out of my total of marathons over this next couple of years which adds to the difficulty level. I find I must rely on my own mental strength and toughness to get me through, and I find that when I do it for charity that this also helps me.
"I hope that my efforts will maybe inspire other people to go out and do something active, as I firmly believe exercising and keeping active can help not just our physical health but our mental health too.
"I thought what better way to celebrate than to donate some money to Action Mental Health, to help support the vital work they do across Northern Ireland, dedicating a forthcoming 900th official marathon in the months to come for Pretty in Pink [breast cancer charity].”
The Portstewart-based man originally hails from the townland of Brantry in Co Tyrone.
In the past, he has completed 300 official marathons in 300 weeks. The remarkable athlete started running at the age of 55 when he finished the 2012 Belfast Marathon.
He has now completed all the World Majors - London, Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo and Sydney.
On three occasions he has completed 100-miler endurance races within 24 hours.
Jonathan Smyth, Head of Communications & Fundraising, Action Mental Health said: "We know that running and all physical activity is a great way of supporting your mental health, so we are particularly delighted to be the beneficiary of this amazing challenge and wish Eugene well.”
The Belfast Marathon begins in Stormont estate in east Belfast at 9am on Sunday then heads south, taking in Boucher Road and then the Falls Road.
It then flows past the Waterworks in the north and the city centre, before ending in Ormeau Park.
Roads will start to close from around 6am and will fully reopen by 4.30pm.