LUKE BOLAND
With no weekly reports due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic we hope to do a series of interviews with club members. The first person in the frame is Luke Boland, winner of the 2019 Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield.
STANDARD QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin, 1984
WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? Hartstown Community School & DCU
WHAT IS YOUR MAIN CAREER PATH? I’m a Civil Servant – I’m currently with the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade but I still expect to make a spectacular leap into professional athletics stardom… just as soon as my glutes start activating (any day now)
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? Around 2014
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I worked in Chapelizod at the time. Actually, I live much closer to Liffey Valley AC but I prefer the Donore colours
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? Nope
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? Not really – GAA when I was very young. I was a pool lifeguard for a while but I’m not an elegant swimmer
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? Maybe 1500m but I like the marathon too. They all have their good and bad aspects. As a spectator I like pole vault
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE AT THE CLUB (e.g. COACH, ATHLETE, ADMINISTRATOR, DIRECTOR)? Athlete
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? I read ‘Running with the Buffaloes’ when I first started running and the coach in that, Mark Wetmore, stuck a chord- his emphasis on starting out controlled and trusting your fitness at the end. Having said that, I really admire the likes of say Prefontaine or Alysia Montaño – people who just go out like a lunatic and try not face-plant before the finish line… I’ll try it one of these days
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Under the Net, by Iris Murdoch
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Orbital
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. Fight Club
2. The Big Lebowski
3. Dr Strangelove
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? Cuba was the most interesting. Mexico the most fun. I love Spain, though
NAME 3 SONGS THAT YOU RECENTLY LISTENED TO?
1. Bobby Womack – California Dreamin
2. Kamasi Washington – Street Fighter Mas
3. Elis Regina – Águas de Março
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO IS YOUR COACH? Iain Morrison / Willie Smith
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENTS? Finishing 2nd in Lanzarote Half Marathon was great fun and then winning the WBB Shield two weeks later. I ran my first Marathon in the Sahara in 2014 – I’d only intended to run the half marathon and decided the evening before to switch my entry – it wasn’t a great athletic achievement but it was pretty brave, looking back on it so I’m proud of that too.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES/MARKS (PBs)? According to the Jack Daniels running calculator my best time is a 4.16 1500m, from 2015.
WHAT ARE YOUR SPORT AMBITIONS? Break the above and maybe add another B to the WBB Shield 🙂
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Anything on the Polo Grounds on a summer’s evening
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? Any pyramid session. I’m a conservative racer but I’ve messed up more than one of these by hammering the first few and not being able to finish
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WERE YOU SURPRISED TO WIN THE 2019 WATERHOUSE BYRNE BAIRD SHIELD? TELL US ABOUT THAT … Absolutely – when the handicaps were sent around I didn’t think I’d nearly enough of a head-start on Rossa – luckily for me he didn’t toe the line. And afterwards I didn’t actually realise I’d won for a minute ‘cos I’d seen there were people in vests already standing around the line. I was delighted when I realised. About 7 miles in, my Achilles seized up. I remember thinking ‘what if I quit and could have won and there’s nothing wrong with it?’ and ‘what if I don’t quit and don’t win but I’m doing damage?’ Happily, I won, cos it was partially torn.
WHAT WOULD YOUR WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN LOOK LIKE? Normally two sessions and as much easy running as possible. I’m only getting back into things now – I’d say my total mileage for the year is 50. I’d built it up fairly steadily last year to 80+ miles/week. It paid dividends, so hope to back there
WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING YOUNG ATHLETES? I feel kind of unqualified here as I was a late-comer to the sport, but I suppose the obvious one is that you’ve time on your side – keep it enjoyable and consistent and the gains will take care of themselves
