The ‘888 Challenge’ looms large for seasoned Northern Ireland runner Eugene (Oggie) Winters, as he pursues his 888th marathon challenge at this year’s 2026 Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon on Sunday 3 May.
The dedicated endurance runner named the Unsung Hero at the 2025 Spirit of Northern Ireland Awards, is once again proving that age is only a number and that the numbers that really matter are the number of unrun marathons yet to come.
As the Portstewart-based runner who originally hails from the townland of Brantry, Co. Tyrone approaches his 69th birthday on 3 May, he is aligning the celebrations with yet another endurance challenge, planning to donate £888 to Action Mental Health on completion of the Belfast Marathon on the same day; a pound for every marathon pounded to date!
In the past, Eugene’s challenges for Action Mental Health have included the completion of 300 official marathons in 300 weeks. Three years later, this would become 600 marathons and last year’s Belfast event increased this figure to 800 marathons. This year Eugene has set his sights on the 2026 Phoenix Energy Belfast City Marathon to reach his 888th marathon, matching this with a donation of £888 to Action Mental Health.
The remarkable athlete who started running at the age of 55, finishing the 2012 Belfast Marathon, has also completed all the World Majors – London, Boston, New York, Chicago, Berlin and Tokyo marathons, completing his 7th major in Sydney August 2025. Highlights include back-to-back 100 marathons per year in 2017 and 2018. He ran 10 marathons in 10 days finishing on 16 March 2026, the fourth time for such a challenge, and has completed many back-2-back marathons, treble and quads which entails running 2, 3 and 4 days in a row. To boost his total and reach the 888 goal Eugene has just completed another 7 marathons in 7 days in England at the beginning of April and a week before the Belfast Marathon he finished the London city marathon on the 26 April.
On three occasions he has completed 100-miler endurance races within 24 hours. One of these he finished in a time of 21:40:40 at the age of 60 at Victoria Park, Belfast. He has also completed many other smaller ultras.
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.”
Eugene continued,
“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.”
A member of two elite marathon clubs; 100 Marathon Club UK and Marathon Club Ireland which all his official marathons are verified through, Eugene is happy to be raising funds for Action Mental Health once again.
Jonathan Smyth, Head of Communications & Fundraising, Action Mental Health said:
“Eugene has supported Action Mental Health for many years, directly supporting our services through amazing challenges. Eugene has pledged to donate £888 to support our vital mental health services, on completion of this year’s Belfast Marathon. 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.”
