Tough as Leather

The Story of Sporting Legend John Lenihan

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'Tough as Leather' written by award winning Kerry journalist and photographer, Con Dennehy is the fascinating story of the Kerry athlete John Lenihan who lives in one of the most isolated and weather beaten parts of Kerry. As a child he attended school for just 5 years and was educated at home by his grandmother. His story is one of a lonely childhood with no friends and little interaction with his peers. A supplement in the national newspapers in 1976 "Be Active, Be Alive" inspired him to start a life of fitness and good health that would culminate with victory at the 1991 World Running Championship in Switzerland, the only Irish man to win this title.
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Cordee Code: CTJ113
Page Size: 148 x 210 mm
No of Pages: 219
Publisher: Roisin Publications
ISBN13: 9781782805045
Author: Con Dennehy
Published Date: July 2015
Edition: 1st ed, 2015
Binding: Paperback
Illustrations: colour photos
Weight: 480g
Product Type: Book
'Tough as Leather' written by award winning Kerry journalist and photographer, Con Dennehy is the fascinating story of the Kerry athlete John Lenihan who lives in one of the most isolated and weather beaten parts of Kerry, the Stacks Mountains.

As a child he attended school for just 5 years and was educated at home by his grandmother. His story is one of a lonely childhood with no friends and little interaction with his peers. A supplement in the national newspapers in 1976 "Be Active, Be Alive" inspired him to start a life of fitness and good health that would culminate with victory at the 1991 World Running Championship in Switzerland, the only Irish man to win this title. He also won the challenging Carrantuohill Mountain Race in Kerry on 19 occasions.

He ran more than 150 miles a week, winning races all over Europe. He developed an open air gym in the forest close to his home to perfect his fitness. John Lenihan has run more than 140,000 miles during his career (the equivalent of running around the world 6 times), ran an incredible 170 million footsteps in training and burned out 280 pairs of running shoes during his spectacular running career. His story tracing his life from 1960 to 2015 is one of courage, inspiration, sadness and the ability to take on challenges of life despite his isolated childhood.
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