Off The Ball speak to Ciaran 'Kipper' Maguire and John O'Regan.

'I wouldn't call it mad' - The inside track on Ireland's extreme sports enthusiasts

Tomorrow night, a new documentary called Extreme airs on Setanta Sports.

Tracking seven Irish athletes, it shows them as they pursue the different extreme sports that they are involved in.

Some of the sports include base jumping, thunder cat racing, surfing, rock climbing and kayaking among others.

Tonight on Off The Ball, kayaker and the show's presenter Ciaran 'Kipper' Maguire and marathon runner John O'Regan joined us to talk about the documentary and their own experiences in extreme sports.

The latter, who spent time with TV adventurer Ray Mears, has competed in 24 hour marathon races as well as a six-day race in the Sahara desert. 

"I wouldn't call it mad because I was still able to do it," he said of the Sahara race, which he suggested was "underwhelming".

 "I'm not someone who can't swim and then decides I'm going to swim the channel. I didn't see this as a big deal but I did set myself a two-year plan. I made sure I could run a marathon first of all. The idea came into my head in April 2001 after I ran the Dublin marathon in October. I didn't just jump into it."

Listen to the full interview with Maguire and O'Regan via the podcast.

Extreme TV Documentary

Extreme  is a TV documentary made by Athena Media Productions for Setanta Sports Ireland with the support of theBroadcasting Authority of Ireland and the TV licence fee. Extreme is an exploration of adventure, the stories of those who go to the edge. Extreme will be broadcast March 5th, 8pm on Setanta Ireland. Presenter Kipper Maguire meets athletes across Ireland to find out what they do and why they do it. Extreme features the athletes Fergal Somerville, Easkey Britton, Conor Heelan, Aileen Mann, Ricky Bell, Heather Irvine and John O’Regan who Kipper meets to find out what drives them to regularly compete in some of the world’s most daring activities. Kipper Maguire is no stranger to the extreme and has competed himself in Freestyle World Championships and White Water trips all across the globe.

Extreme - Athena Media's new TV documentary

Extreme is the story of people who go the edge, who want to know what their limits are and keep pushing them. Meet ultra swimmer Fergal Somerville, who has swam the north channel, ultra runner John O'Regan who runs 240km without thinking too much of it, base jumper Conor Heelan who literally jumps off tall buildings, Ricky Bell rock climber extradordinaire, big wave surfer Easkey Britton, thundercat pilot Aileen Mann and adventure racer Heather Irvine. They are the participants in our new TV documentary presented by Kipper Maguire, himself a champion kayaker, and heading to air in Spring 2015 on Setanta Sports Ireland. Made with the funding support of the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland and the TV licence fee.
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