A year ago, the thought of running a marathon would’ve been enough to put Liam Dolan off. Fast forward 12 months, and the TikTok star has recently returned from New York after running his third of the year.
Resilience was put to the test, pain was overcome and memories to last a lifetime have been made.
Having completed the gruelling 42 kilometres in both London and Paris, all that was left for Dolan was the concrete jungle of New York City.
Prior to his trip across the Atlantic, all kinds of emotions were flashing through his mind. With the previous marathon falling just four weeks before this, training was disrupted as he looked to recover physically.
Dolan travelled to New York full of hope, and despite the difficulty of the challenge he was able to finish the world famous marathon and complete his set.
He told Mersey Sport Live: “When I crossed that finish line I just thought, ‘wow, I’ve done it now.’ You are so physically drained but the feeling of doing it just takes over.”
Although completing it was still an incredible achievement, Dolan took longer than he had hope to finish in New York. Despite this, the run was still wrapped up within five hours on what is a more challenging route that his previous two marathons.
That’s now three marathons completed for Liam Dolan after his success in New York. Here’s what he had to say. pic.twitter.com/1opJnh1WgG
— MerseySportLive (@merseysportlive) December 2, 2022
The natural layout of New York City means lots of hills are met, something that he found tough towards the latter stages:
Said Dolan: “New York was by far the hardest of the three, it was so hard and there are so many hills, but I just had to keep going and finish it.
“My legs were in bits towards the end, so I’m just made up that I kept on pushing.”
That determination has been a key theme of Dolan’s runs this year. There were points during training for Paris in May where he struggled to complete 10km runs, let alone marathons. Believing in himself and trusting his spirit has got him to the position he is in now.
He said: “Once I completed Paris I just thought to myself, I can do more of these. New York to complete the three was just magical, it’s something I’ve always wanted to do so being able to finish it at the age of 20 is boss.”
“If you told me I’d do this last year I wouldn’t believe you, it’s definitely the biggest achievement of my life.”
Whilst running through New York City, Dolan was blown away by some of the sights and general atmosphere.
Beforehand he expressed his excitement to run through Times Square and others. When reality hit, he couldn’t quite believe what he was taking in.
Not only did he see the Empire State building and Central Park, among other iconic landmarks, but the noise generated by the thousands of onlookers spurred him on.
“The atmosphere was amazing. There was music and just a general great noise,” said Dolan.
“It was so good and at no point did I feel like I was alone. So many people were struggling too, but you are lifted by everyone around you.”
Whilst completing the runs, he raised more than £1500 for Children with Cancer. The Aigburth based runner’s charitable efforts speak volumes of his character. Not only was the treble of marathons beneficial for him, but he has helped so many people.
Now the dust has settled, Dolan can reflect on what has been an incredible year of self-development. With three sparkling marathon medals now sat on his wall, he knows there are no limitations to his capabilities.
