Daragh Fitzgibbon is one of four brothers to have competed in the colours of Donore Harriers. Oisin, Tadgh and Ruairi were active members at juvenile and junior levels. Parents Paul and Ciara have also been strong supporters of the club, fulfilling the Child Welfare Officer role and other voluntary tasks.
Daragh has been a mainstay competitor since joining, aged 16, in 2010. His first big win came when he convincingly won the National Junior 5,000m title in 2013. In 2015 he was drafted into the National Road Relay ‘A’ team as a replacement for the injured Mark Dooley. He didn’t disappoint! Running in the 2nd leg he moved the team into 1st place, and with strong running from Lee Van Haeften, John Travers and Eric Keogh the team gold was secured for the first time since 1992. Daragh was also on the Donore Harriers team that placed a close 2nd behind Raheny Shamrocks AC in the 2019 national road relay. On that occasion the team also consisted of Louis O’Loughlin, John Travers and Eric Keogh.
Daragh won a bronze medal in the National U23 cross-country championships in 2016 and took another individual bronze medal in the Intervarsities XC in the following year. Other notable performances in the colours of UCD include a silver and bronze in the Varsities indoor 3,000m in 2017 and 2019 respectively. Arguably his best achievement to date was winning the Varsities 5,000m in 2018, when an emerging Brian Fay of Raheny Shamrocks AC came 3rd. The Kildare man also won several team medals for UCD, including road-relay bronze in both 2016 and 2017.
Daragh has been a regular on Donore Harriers team over XC, road and track. Among his best performances were a 14.23 for 5km at the Armagh International Road Race in 2020 and placing 8th in the final of the 2018 national senior 1,500m in 3.52.85. He has also represented the club in the National Track & Field League.
In this informative interview Daragh mentions the difficulties in bridging the gap from the junior grade to senior level and the benefits of training camps in Kenya.
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? 12th June 1994 and have lived in Kildare all my life.
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? I studied Chemistry at UCD.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH? I spent two years at Pfizer Grange Castle working in New Product Introduction and I currently work for a Japanese Pharmaceutical company called Takeda that have their offices based in Dublin.
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? I joined Donore Harriers in 2010.
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I was a member of a local athletic club in Kildare (St. Coca’s AC) from the age of 13 but having attended Salesian college, by the time I turned 16 it made sense for me to join Donore Harriers as a lot of the lads from school (Lee & Max Van Haeften, Eric Keogh, Mark Dooley) were members of the club.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? It has to be 3000m indoors, although I do love racing cross country, 5000m and the 1500m.
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? My biggest influence has to be my Coach Emmett Dunleavy. He’s a straight-talking man and always keeps me in check. He’s very good at what he does and knows how to read me when things are going well and more importantly when things don’t go well.
Aside from Emmett my inspirations come from seeing guys I train with getting the job done – Eric Keogh is a grafter and no one works harder than him in my opinion. Throughout the whole Covid-19 saga, Eric along with Lee Van Haeften have been the main men to drag me out for runs and keep me motivated which was definitely needed at times this last year!
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I’m a much slower reader than I used to be – but I’m currently halfway through Matthew McConaughey’s book Green Lights.
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? It’s so long ago I can barely remember, but I think it was Dermot Kennedy at the Academy in 2019.
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Inception
- Saving Private Ryan
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? It has to be Kenya. I’ve been to Iten 3 times on training camps and there is something special about that place. It’s a different world and there’s no better place to train!
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Away from athletics, I’m a big Man Utd fan!
Elsewhere, I do enjoy cooking and trying to perfect recipes.
IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
This would definitely change day/day but:
- Re-Stacks – Bon Iver
- Born Slippery – Nuxx
- Hurt – Johnny Cash
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO IS YOUR COACH? Emmett Dunleavy
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? Winning the Varsity 5000m championships in 2018. I can’t remember another race where I ran more tactically smart.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)?
800m – 1:55. 1,500m – 3:50. 3,000m – 8:12. 5,000m – 14:23
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? My favourite session is one I do in the couple of weeks prior to racing track and indoors. If I can nail this, I know I’m in shape to run a PB.
2-mile threshold, then, 3 x 4 x 400m @ 3km pace with 100m jog between reps, 400m jog between sets – and finally 4 x 200m fast with 200m jog recovery.
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? There’s a mountain route called Kilmashogue that the late Jerry Kiernan’s group would do a lot of their hill workouts on. As Emmett was coached by Jerry, he often brings us up there to do hill workouts.
The toughest session I’ve ever done was up there and was 16 x 60s hills off a 45s jog recovery during storm Desmond. The weather was so bad Marley Park where we normally warm-up before-hand was closed. It was an epic session and thank God we had a decent group to push to the top of the mountain.
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN?
Monday: 30/60 double
Tuesday: Session (usually threshold work in the winter and track in the summer)
Wednesday: 30/60 double
Thursday: 30/60 double
Friday: Session (varies depending on the time of year)
Saturday: Rest
Sunday: Long run 13-18 miles depending on the time of year.
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?
- Roy Keane
- Dan Martin (cyclist)
- Eamon Coghlan
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? I was playing GAA around the age of 12 and for one reason or another my team kind of fell apart. I did a cross country race for the school and did quite well, so I took up running in the local club St. Coca’s to fill the gap GAA had left.
HOW DID YOU FIND THE TRANSITION FROM THE JUVENILE/JUNIOR GRADES TO SENIOR ATHLETICS? I’ll be honest it was tough. The training I was doing at around age 18 was not really suiting the type of athlete I am, and my race performances were reflecting that. I had been somewhat successful at juvenile level, winning a national title and other medals along the way, but hit a stale patch from junior into senior. Once I moved to Emmett, I began to see improvements and I put this down to doing the training that suited me. We use lactate testing to determine the areas we need to work on, and Emmett will design my training around the numbers we get from these tests. So back to your question, I was slow to find my feet at senior level but have been improving year on year having gotten the training right.
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST DISTANCE? 3,000m indoor. I love racing indoors.
WHAT’S YOUR PREFERENCE, TRACK, CROSS-COUNTRY or ROAD? Definitely track, although road and cross country serve a purpose throughout the season and I enjoy racing them all.
YOU WON THE INTERVARSITIES 5,000m IN 2018, TELL US ABOUT THAT PARTICULAR RACE? It was one of those days where everything works out. I had come second in the Intervarsity indoor 3,000m earlier in the year and it still haunts me. I was in shape to win it but had messed up my tactics and kicked too early. So, I was determined to get it right in the 5,000m outdoors. The race went off slow enough which meant with 2 laps to go there was still a decent bunch. Brian Fay was pushing the pace at the front and with 300m to go there were 4 of us – including Neil Johnston, Padraig Moran and Brian Fay. I just remember making the decision to go all out at the 200m mark, and so I did. I think I closed in 27 seconds for the last 200m to take the win.
YOU WERE ON THE DONORE HARRIERS TEAM THAT WON THE NATIONAL ROAD RELAY GOLD IN 2015, WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIES OF THAT DAY? It’s one of the best memories I have in athletics. I was on the 1-mile leg and I remember getting the handover from Lee (Van Haeften) in 2nd place and thinking I better not hand over any lower than 2nd. With about 300m to go there was still a group of us, so I just went all out and handed it over to John (Travers) in 1st position. We all had great runs that day and I’ll never forget it! I hope I can be a part of a team that recreates that someday soon!
<<here is a short clip of the start of the 2013 National Senior Road Relay at Raheny, featuring Daragh and Eric Keogh – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hm-_oHmOM18 >>
WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE AWAY TRIP EITHER WITH THE CLUB OR FOR A COMPETITION? AND WHY? Athletics has brought me on some amazing trips, but I think the first time I went to Kenya in 2018 has to be the best! I just remember being so inspired by all the great athletes around me there.
TELL US MORE ABOUT THE KENYA EXPERIENCE, ESPECIALLY IN TERMS OF FACILITIES, THE BENEFITS TO THE ATHLETES, AND ANY NEGATIVES ASSOCIATED WITH SUCH A TRIP? Kenya is the best place I’ve trained and I’ve been three times, my last stay lasting 6 weeks in 2020. I’ve been to places in Europe before (St. Moritz/Monte Gordo) and Kenya tops them in my book. I stay at Lornah Kiplagat’s camp. The accommodation is basic, but it has everything you’d need including a gym, pool, access to a 400m tartan track and all meals provided for you. The main benefit of the camp is obviously the altitude, but I think the daily routine and lack of distraction are the main reasons athlete’s benefit more than from the physiological adaptations. Everything is centered around training there and to be honest, there’s not a whole lot else to do aside from train, so in terms of negatives I can see that as a potential one depending on the type of person you are. If you need entertainment in a camp, I’d recommend somewhere in Europe, but if you want to focus on training and recovery, Kenya is the place. To put into perspective the following is an example of my typical day in Kenya:
6:00: Wake up. 8-mile run
7:30: Breakfast (porridge, coffee & bread/sometimes pancakes)
9:00: Back to bed for a nap
10:30: Tea & Bread
12:30: Lunch (lentils/beans & rice)
15:30: Tea & bread
16:30: PM Run (4-5 miles)
17:30: Gym
19:00: Dinner (meat, veg, Ugali – a Kenyan staple carb source, fruit)
21:00: Bed
YOUR BROTHERS OISIN, TADGH AND RUAIRI ALL COMPETED FOR DONORE HARRIERS, ARE ANY OF THEM STILL INVOLVED WITH ATHLETICS? THE CLUB? Oisin still dabbles in it, and I know he would like to get back to a competitive level. Being honest, he is the more talented out of the two of us and it was a pity when he stepped away from the sport, but life gets in the way! We still go on runs together so there is hope he might dawn the Donore Harriers singlet again in the not-so-distant future.
HOW HAVE YOU COPED WITH MOTIVATION AND TRAINING DURING ALL THE COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS? If I’m honest, lockdown has been a drain on my motivation. I’ve gone through periods of hating the sport and then there are other days it is the only thing that makes sense to do! I’m sure most athletes can relate to that.
Eric and Lee have been the main reason I have stayed motivated throughout the lockdowns. We have organised the odd socially distant trial locally in Kildare, and there is nothing more motivating than not embarrassing yourself in front of the lads with a poor showing at these time trials!
WHAT RACE/CHAMPIONSHIP WILL YOU TARGET ONCE PROPER COMPETITIONS ARE RESUMED? At the moment I’m battling a couple of injuries, I had a stress issue with my toe that I had to take some time off to let settle, and in the process of cross training I came off the bike and hurt my hip and shoulder.
So, for now I just want to get back to two sessions a week and 70ish miles before targeting anything. I have entered the IMC 5,000m on the 29th of May in Belfast, but that may be optimistic given my injuries.