If you are looking for a sporting inspiration, then look no further! Florence Curley was encouraged into running by her sister Anne and inspired to take the sport seriously by the Olympian and Late club coach Jim McNamara. Any ‘couch to 5k’ or fun-runner looking for a story to encourage their progress in running should take heart from the commitment and achievements of Florence.
She left her schooldays PE games to the sporty types, then took up running with a commitment that has gained her enormous respect within the sport. As an athlete she has won medals at county, provincial and national level on road and cross-country and in distances between the 6km and the marathon. As a long-standing road and cross-country captain Florence has steered Donore Harriers to consistently take places on the podium.
In 2018 she became the ‘club captain’, a directorship role previously held by the legend that was Jim Mac – and thus, she is the custodian of all athletics activities within the club. It is a position well deserved! Florence is one of the most ardent of club volunteers, doing a multitude of tasks that include administration, marshalling, handicapping, minute-taking, the collation of club results/reports, etc.
Donore Harriers and running have been important to Florrie, and Florrie has been integral to the sport of running – and to Donore Harriers!
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin 1973
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2004.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? My sister Anne had been a member since 2000 and had been encouraging me to join for a while, so there was never any other club I considered. I had started doing some running and had run the women’s mini marathon twice but had no consistent training. Anne had got really good at running since she joined Donore Harriers. I was not very fit, but I thought this time I will do it right and join the club and here I am 16 years later!
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? No, I am not sporty. Literally the only thing I am able to do in sport is run. People think I am exaggerating when I say this but it’s true! I was never involved in any organised sport as a child or teenager apart from schools PE, which I was terrible at, and had a very brief and unhappy stint at gymnastics, so avoided it like the plague for nearly all my 20s until I started jogging.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? Because I am an endurance runner, I enjoy watching the middle and long distance the most, I guess. The 10,000m is a real epic. To participate in, I have a special fondness for 10km on the road. It was my first ever race and it was a good distance for me, I can’t run it as fast as I used to but still relish it – in my last 10km in 2019 I felt I was getting some of my old form back until injury struck!
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? I am an athlete and I have been on the committee and have been the Ladies road and cross-country captain since 2006. In my early years on the committee, I did some assistant secretary duties too. I am one of the official club handicappers so help to set the handicaps at the Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield race. Last year I became a director of the club in the club captain role.
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? The two main ones are my sister Anne and my first coach – the late Jim McNamara, who coached the women from the late 90s up to 2016. I literally wouldn’t be running at all if it wasn’t for Anne. Her determination, bravery, work ethic, and refusal to give up inspired and still inspires me. She made her first forays into running when there were no fun-runners, so she would finish at the back of the field and it took real grit to do that and keep at it. It also made me think in my own early running days – maybe I could do this too! And she always has given me tremendous encouragement and brilliant advice. Jim’s positivity, kindness mixed with his incredible toughness and determination also inspired me. I was awed by his athletic achievements and talent. I couldn’t believe how hard he trained, and how he battled adversity and tragedy in his own life, but always overcame it. I find a lot of the old school athletes from the 60s and 70s like Jim and the UK runner Ron Hill and all from that era very inspiring. They weren’t doped, had to fit their athletics around their jobs and their lives weren’t easy. I found Ron Hill’s autobiography really inspiring, because it was honest about the struggle of sport and the day in-day out slog and finishing way down the field in races, so not just the winning! I find that as inspiring as talent and it feels real! As a female in sport, pioneers like Joan Benoit – winner of the first Olympic women’s marathon are awe-inspiring. I vaguely remember seeing it 1984. They were ground-breakers. I watched Sonia O’Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan in their heydays before I ran myself … it was amazing to see Irish women on a world stage beating the best in the world
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Race to the Finish – not a running book! It tells the story of the 2008 US presidential race and Barack Obama’s victory
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? It was a few weeks before the country closed down in March 2020. A great sell out charity concert in the Olympia – Rock Against Homelessness which was headlined by Fontaines DC and with Murder Capital, Kneecap and others
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS? It’s really hard to just pick 3, but right now
1. Schindler’s List – monumental, Spielberg’s masterpiece
2. Some Like it Hot –have seen it countless times since I was a child
3. The Ballroom of Romance – A classic Irish film from the early 80s – it says more about Ireland in one hour than 10 films put together
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? There is still so much of the world I have to see but I have made trips to various parts of Italy and it’s always fantastic.
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Before I took up running I used to do a lot of set-dancing, just for fun, not competing. I still love to go to a ceili a few times a year and I adore trad music so I can combine the two at events like the Willie Clancy festival in Clare. I enjoy concerts, live theatre and comedy. Every year I go the Edinburgh Fringe festival. So I am looking forward to the vaccine which will allow all that to happen again! I love reading, and I’m fascinated with history and genealogy so like to work on the family tree. In recent years I have started going to see Mayo GAA games so that can be either trauma or triumph!
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? This is actually impossible because I am a huge music fan so I really could pick 203 songs here, so this is just 3 of many
1. Radiohead – Airbag
2. Springhill Mining Disaster – Luke Kelly and the Dubliners
3. Eleanor Rigby – The Beatles
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO IS/ARE YOUR COACH(ES)? From 2004-2016 it was Jim McNamara who coached all the Donore Harriers women and from 2016 to now Willie Smith.
Jim’s dedication to his runners is legendary. When I think of the hours and hours out in all weathers and all the phone-calls… He built many a runner from a beginner into a senior, including me! So, he wasn’t just interested in talent, everyone was treated the same. Once I joined, I kept improving and it was all down to encouragement, not shouting or put-downs. If I had experienced that I would have left pretty quickly given my bad experiences in sport. Once I became captain I worked closely with Jim on teams and the training and as the group got bigger there was a lot to be done… I’d say we spoke every single day, so I got an insight into how much time he gave to everyone as a coach. He would announce some gruelling session with a smile, but you would still do it! He coaxed you into getting fitter and doing the races. Before people knew it, they were on a start-line of a race they didn’t expect to be in! When you look at the amount of medals won over that whole period it’s phenomenal. I was looking back at all the results there recently and it brought that home to me again. I don’t think Jim truly got all the credit deserved for being the driving force behind that. It was great that me and so many of the women down the years who came and went got a chance to be part of that.
Jim’s passing in 2016 was just dreadful. It broke our hearts. He tried to keep coaching til spring of that year, but he was just too sick to continue and he passed in April. We were just meeting to train ourselves, still shellshocked, and not quite knowing where we were going… So, Willie Smith, who knew Jim for so long and was grieving himself, stepped up to say he wanted to help the group and to coach us. That was an amazing thing to do and he has dedicated himself to the group ever since. It has gained new members and gone from strength to strength in the past 4 years. We are now a very big mixed male and female group, so me and Craig Scott, the men’s captain, support Willie in his coaching. Willie has channelled Jim’s spirit and brought in his own unique approach, which is again about encouragement and a positive training atmosphere. We were having some great results and improvements in the group so when competition returns it will be an exciting time to showcase this.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? I am very proud of the time me, Anne and Angela Eustace won the National masters marathon team title in 2013. It was my debut marathon, which made it even better. There are other road wins and times that I am proud of, because that is what I am better. But some cross-country memories are also great, like winning the national novice team title in 2005. I still feel very lucky to have experienced that. I was the second scorer on the team. We all came in one after the other and Fiona Mahon won outright. I couldn’t stop smiling that day, getting that national gold was brilliant.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES/MARKS (PBs)? All on the road because I have done so few track races. I struggle to remember the exact times from track, so they aren’t here (they aren’t very good anyway!)
5km – 18.35
5 miles – 30.22
10km – 38.52
10 miles – 64.25
Half marathon – 85.18
Marathon – 3.07.49
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Even though it is tough I do like 800s on the Polo Ground – 8 to 10 of them. The Polo Ground is one of the best training sites in Ireland
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? It was a session we did a few times, years ago on the Magazine Fort area. It started on the downhill but then you went into a really sharp hill which knocked you for six. Downhill again and then another long 300m tortuous gradual hill followed by another few hundred metres round the trees. It was 1500m in all – and we did that loop 4 times. It used to kill me. Jim actually stopped doing the sessions with that sharp hill because he thought it was too hard!
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN? I run 6 days a week with recovery runs on Monday and Wednesday, an interval session on Tuesday with the group, a slightly longer run on Thursday by myself which can be easy or steady, a day off on Friday, hills or a Polo Ground session on Saturday with a group, and then a long run on Sunday – sometimes with Anne or with the group – the mileage varies throughout the year but I try to keep the 6 days if I can
DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? I did a 10km race 10 years one really sunny day down in Moone, Kildare. The race started and finished in the village and to my delight I was first woman. The presentation was to happen in a village hall and about 200 metres away was a schoolhouse you could change in, so I went there with my stuff but oddly I was the only one there. I then got stuck in a bathroom cubicle; the lock jammed in some way and I was trying to open it for what seemed like an hour! Nobody was coming into the building and I was looking at the window wondering could I squeeze through it or smash it to get out! Eventually I heard someone and shouted, “help I’m stuck in here”. He had to practically break the door down. On the Monday morning the school was probably thinking what happened to our door? I thanked him and raced to the hall thinking what bad manners it was to miss the presentation and was mortified, but luckily, I was still just about in time! Anne was wondering where the hell I got to!
WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? I would like to see better team cohesion. I know we have no competition at the moment but when we do, being all on the same page – even if people train outside the main groups – and participating in championship fixtures whether XC, national league, and road races is all-important. It’s an honour to be on a club team and to be asked to be on one.
Down the years I know how much it means to people to win team medals and they treasure them forever. You don’t know when injury will strike or when the rug will be pulled from under you, so you have to take your medals when you get them. I remember so many great days where the medals rolled in because we targeted every championship race, we could all over the country. It spurred everyone else on to be better and part of the next team. I know there won’t always be medals and not everyone will win one but once everyone does their best that is important too… When you are on a team there is always more to fight for, and that sense of collegiality is wonderful. There’s nothing like it! That goes for every level from ‘Meet and Train’ to senior. Athletics doesn’t always have to be about individuals all the time. Being in a club means being part of teams. And that mentality also means people are more connected to their club and will help out. We have lots of great volunteers, but we will always need people to pitch in in so many ways. The club is way bigger than when I first joined, there is always much to be done
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?
It’s very hard trying to pick 3!
1. Catherina McKiernan – for all those world cross medals and winning the London marathon which she never truly got the credit for I don’t think. Her astonishing Irish marathon record has not yet been beaten either and might not be for some time…
2. John Treacy – of course for that marathon silver in LA which I have a memory of! But people forget he won the world cross country twice and was a brilliant track runner. There really was nothing he couldn’t do.
3. Sonia O’Sullivan – even though she missed (or was done out of) chances her brilliant sporting achievements stand the test of time
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
DID YOU EVER COMPETE AS A JUVENILE OR JUNIOR OR IN SCHOOLS COMPETITION? No, I never competed in running or any kind of sport as a juvenile. As I said before, sport to me just meant humiliation and I did not enjoy it. I went to an inner-city school with no playing fields, so we did court-based sports like netball, volleyball and badminton which I loathed. There was no running at all. There wasn’t a great choice of sports for girls then anyway in schools in working class areas. It was less enlightened times. That’s why it’s great to see the juvenile female element thriving in the club now
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST DISTANCE? Maybe the half marathon! I am not a speed runner but I probably have a pretty good engine so it is a distance I can get my teeth into and work into, so when it goes well it plays to my strengths, provided I don’t go off too fast. Mile 10 to the end is still always agony though! I am still proud of the day I ran my fastest half in Bohermeen and was 2nd woman. My namesake Pauline Curley won it. She was miles ahead of me, but I really ran my heart out that day. I could hardly move for a week after, but it was worth it!
WHAT’S YOUR PREFERENCE, CROSS-COUNTRY or ROAD? Road! It definitely plays to my strengths more and I have had a lot more success on it. People who beat me on the cross country I would often turn the tables on them on the road. I have a real love-hate relationship with cross country! I am not a natural cross-country runner and suffer on a very muddy course. Cross-country can be terrifying, but it can also be a great buzz and I love the team element. Some of my happiest running memories are cross country races and some of my worst disappointments are also cross country. I will never stop trying in cross country and always encourage everyone to do it
YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH A LONG-TERM INJURY, PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE INJURY AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS? I was training for the marathon in summer 2019 and in early September I felt slight soreness in my heel, but I kept running on it and it got steadily worse. It turned out to be a bad bout of plantar fasciitis – an inflammation of fascia on the heel and into the midfoot. It’s common in endurance runners but non-runners get it too and can be stuck with it for years! I had to completely stop running, even walking became problematic. I had to avoid too-flat shoes and wear inserts and a Strasbourg sock at night. I got some shockwave therapy and laser on it, but I knew that might not completely clear it. I joined the gym and tried to stay fit with spinning and other classes. Anyone who knows me is aware I struggle with any sort of exercise that isn’t running! So, this was a real mental challenge, and I did not enjoy it. Others would do better than me and be more dedicated, so I am not the poster girl for cross-training! It was February before I could even do easy runs again, so I was months out. When the country shut down, I was only starting to get back fit. I lost an awful lot of fitness, so it has been a long road back. I am careful to try and get a good deal of running on grass and I changed my runners back to ones with more support and another brand which lifts the heel a bit. I hope it doesn’t come back as that was my second time to get it and the second time was far worse. This was the worst injury of my career, but I have got off relatively lightly in 16 years compared to some, so I can’t complain too much. Most injuries will come round eventually, patience is a must! I feel sorry for athletes who always get blighted with injury, and it is very difficult having a chronic and unusual injury that can be misdiagnosed which has happened to Anne
YOU ARE NOT ONLY THE WOMEN’S XC AND ROAD CAPTAIN, BUT YOU HAVE THE ROLE OF CLUB CAPTAIN – A ROLE PREVIOUSLY HELD BY THE LATE, GREAT JIM McNAMARA. YOU MUST CONSIDER IT A GREAT HONOUR TO HOLD SUCH AN ESTEEMED POSITION? Yes, it absolutely is. I never thought I would be a sports captain of anything let alone the club captain of a great running club with a rollcall of Olympians like Jim. He represented everything that was the best about the sport; was a selfless club volunteer and nobody loved running more than he did. So, following in his footsteps is something I will always try to do and keep that legacy going.
Being a captain shouldn’t be about prestige or self-interest – it’s about listening and encouraging. As a captain I hope I support and encourage people, especially when they start out. It is daunting joining a club! The role is not just about getting teams out, it’s about checking in with people too. I try to take an interest and keep up with all the athletic activity going on in the club, not just the endurance side of things. The club is all of us! It’s not just a building or a place you go to train. It’s about the people, and sadly we have lost some great Donore Harriers people like John Geoghegan only a few weeks ago, Jim, and our teammate Karen Behan.
There was a time Donore Harriers did not admit women members, so it would probably be shocking for some of the very old-school administrators of decades ago to see a female club captain! But I am proud that women are now central to the club. Jim made the women’s team into an endurance powerhouse and we are still strong in that area. But now we have superb female sprinters and field athletes too, and some great juveniles coming up
WHAT ARE THE 3 STAND-OUT RACES/ACHIEVEMENTS, EITHER RUNNING AS AN INDIVIDUAL OR IN YOUR ROLE AS CAPTAIN? I have already mentioned the personal achievements, so I will pick three memorable events as a captain.
The senior team gold in the National Road Relays 2019 was fantastic. I have helped compile the teams for years and it’s not easy! This was one title that eluded the Donore Harriers women and there was no medal in it since 2002. Year in year out we would put out our best team and get nowhere. It was very disheartening. So, in 2019 in the pre-publicity on the AAI website nobody was tipping Donore Harriers for the win! But the women of Barbara Cleary, Ide Nic Dhomhnaill and Sinead Lambe did it! It was amazing to watch. I hope Jim was looking down approvingly and I was so happy for Willie too.
There have been so many super wins on the cross country! It is hard to pick one as any senior cross-country medals are very memorable. But in 2011 the ladies won the national novice down in the Curragh for the first time in 6 years. It was exceptionally competitive that day with well over 100 runners and nearly 20 teams and it has been like that ever since. I thought that win really was brilliant! Everyone just ran great; I was so proud of them. I remember on the way down one of the team rang Jim to say she was not long into the drive down and forgot her spikes should she go back for them and he said yes please do! So, she did go back and get them and ran great helping them win.
Winning the division 1 National track and field league in 2017 was fantastic. Now I have to say our wonderful track captain Leonie Newman can take most of the credit there for getting the teams out, but I always get involved in getting participants for the middle distance. I remember the bad old days of marathon runners being thrown into doing the 4 x 100 relay and we wouldn’t have a hope of even making the final let alone win the thing!
If I can cheat and add a fourth, there was a magic weekend in June 2014 too where Anne Curley won the Derry Walled City marathon, her first marathon win and on a gruelling course. The next day Barbara Cleary beat a top-class field and won the women’s mini marathon in Dublin. Seeing Barbara coming round that corner into the finish in the Donore Harriers singlet was amazing. That was a very memorable June bank holiday weekend!
