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O’Shea in strong finish at ultra-marathon

Marathon man James O’Shea

Bermudian James O’Shea finished an impressive 464th out of 14,580 competitors in the gruelling Comrades ultra-marathon in South Africa last weekend.O’Shea completed the energy-sapping 56-mile route from the capital of the KwaZulu-Natal province, Pietermaritzburg, to the coastal city of Durban in seven hours, 21 minutes and 25 seconds.The 24-year-old, no stranger to tough tests of endurance having completed the New York, Boston, London and Chicago marathons in recent years, received a silver medal for his efforts, having finished the race within seven-and-half hours.O’Shea, who works as a trainee solicitor with Covington & Burling in London, will donate all the money he raised to the Make A Difference Foundation (MAD) in South Africa.MAD was set up by ex-South African rugby skipper Francois Pienaar, who led his country to victory in the World Rugby Classic in Bermuda a few years ago.The charity identifies South Africa’s talented but underprivileged children and provides them with access to the best schools and universities.The Comrades was the idea of First World War veteran Vic Clapham, who wanted a living memorial to those South African soldiers killed in the war.It first took place in 1921 and has been run every year since, except from 1941 to 1945 when it was stopped during the Second World War.