A photo of John Casey running during Sunday's Berlin Marathon went viral earlier this week. It featured the 58-year-old from Cork passing Brazilian legend Kaka, both with the ache of the race on their faces.
Casey, who runs with Togher AC finished what was his first marathon in 3:30.29, just under eight minutes ahead of the 40-year-old Kaka. It was also a race which saw Eliud Kipchoge take 30 seconds off his own world record.
'Kaka seemed like a really nice guy'
KAKA the Brazilian football legend getting outpaced by a lad from Togher at todays Berlin marathon. @PaudiePalmer , @MickRing83 , @BigRedBench ,@ExaminerSport ,@echolivecork pic.twitter.com/AoARVjhwgK
— Tony Cahill (@tonycahill73) September 25, 2022
"I was running with the 3:30 pacer group and we passed them at mile 21," Casey told RTÉ Radio 1's Today with Claire Byrne show.
"I call it the Covid handshake - he just gave a fist bump to me. We exchanged a fist bump as we're passing right and a smile.
"Runners are a really inclusive bunch in general. It was just an acknowledgement. He seemed like a really nice guy. There were no airs and graces about him. He's a world superstar.
"At that juncture, the crowd knew that the world record was after being beaten around at mile 21, there was a big buzz in the crowd at that point in time.
"Then the crowd were calling out his name [Kaka] and I thought no more of it and just ran on.
"I didn't realise that the photograph was taken at the end and look, it absolutely has gone viral like in the last 48 hours, it's been absolutely mad.
"I was in pain [when the photograph was taken]. The photograph has touched people on a number of levels. The first thing [people said] was it's a great memory to have. The second thing is there's the shared pain of the marathon on both our faces."
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Casey said he started running 10 years ago.
"I did a few local races. A friend from school, Martin Casey, encouraged me to join Togher AC," he said.
"[The marathon] was a bucket list thing for me to do. I have a son, Jack, living in Berlin. It killed two birds with one stone. My family were there as well supporting me. I'll definitely do another one. I found my tribe in Togher AC. I firmly have the running bug.
"They are good times. Kaka put in the work. I don't have 20 million Instagram followers. I don't photograph my food before I eat it. I'll leave him to it. I don't think we'll be having a rematch."
Pictures: Shutterstock.com
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