Barry Potts joined Donore Harriers in 2000, aged 50. Since then he has become an inspiration for runners of all ages. “You are never too old to run” is his motto. He’s the present Irish, Leinster and Dublin M70 marathon champion. Thus far, he’s won 54 championship medals, including 4 when representing Ireland in the British & Irish Masters cross-country championships.
Barry is also one of the club’s longest serving coaches, having mentored the Fit-4-Life squad since 2008. He has been responsible for supporting scores of newbie runners to achieve their target goals that range from 5km to the marathon. The warm respect that exists between Barry and the Fit-4-Life members is evident in this interview.
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Buckingham street tenements, Dublin 1949. Checked it with archives.
WHERE ARE YOU BEING EDUCATED? De La Salle Primary School
WHAT IS YOUR PLANNED CAREER PATH? Joined the Army at 17 and 4 months. Retired in 2008
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2000. I was aged 50 when I joined
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? Nearest club, no car
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No. I ran in Business Houses AA races. Also, I participated in Defence Forces championships especially cross country where I won individual and team
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? I played 7 a-side hockey and participated in tug-of-war events
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? I don’t really have any, but if I had to pick probably 10 miles
WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Athlete and Coach for the Fit-4-life group
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? The runners ahead me in a race. I like getting to the finish line ahead of them and afterwards enjoy a nice bottle of red wine
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? The film Mozart with live music at the National Concert Hall
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. White Christmas
2. Student Prince
3. African Queen
Can’t beat the oldies!
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? I have very fond memories of Germany where I spent some years
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Music, I taught myself to play the mandolin and tenor banjo. And I sang and played with a ballad group in the sixties and in various groups up to the seventies
IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
1. I’ll Walk with God – Mario Lanza from the movie musical Student Prince
2. Drink Drink Drink – Mario Lanza from the Student Prince
3. 1812 Overture
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO IS YOUR COACH? Willie Smith and ironically, he was the Men’s Coach when I joined the club
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? Putting on the Irish vest in the British and Irish International master’s cross country championships
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES/MARKS (PBs)? All my PBs were achieved after the age of 50.
5km – 17.20 which I ran 6 days prior to my 55th birthday
4-mile – 22.40
5-mile – 28.20 when aged 53
10km – I have the course record in the M55 (36.59) and M60 class (38.59) in the Dunshaughlin 10km road race. The previous Over 60 record was held by the great late Jim McNamara which made it special
10 mile – sub 60 at age 54 years
Half marathon – 79 mins at age 54 years
Marathon – 2.57.36 at Dublin 1992
I won the Frank Duffy 10 miles in all age categories from 0/50 to O/70. To date I have 54 championship medals which includes 4 international gongs from the British & Irish Masters
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? At my age, any session I can start and finish
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? I always enjoy training sessions. Difficulty sometimes can be in the head
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN (pre-covid)? I train 6 days per week with an extra session Mondays and Wednesdays prior to coaching the Fit 4 life. I also swim 4/5 mornings a week.
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME (all sports)?
Any three from the Fit 4 life
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST DISTANCE? The ones I win
YOU WERE PLAGUED WITH INJURY A FEW YEARS BACK AND ADVISED TO QUIT RUNNING. HOW DID YOU DEAL WITH THAT DIFFICULT SITUATION? I got a slipped disc in 1987 which prevented me running for over 2 years. That experience helped me in accepting and using the injuries as a benefit rather than a hindrance. Prior to my slip disc I ran the Dublin Marathon in 3.39. When I recovered and got back training, I ran 3 marathons in 1992, Belfast in 3.04, Finglas in 3.01 and Dublin in 2.57.
All my injuries since then I have used as rest and recuperation periods. If you’re not using the energy, you’re storing it. The last serious injury was worn tissue on the medial meniscus. My surgeon suggested an injection which had to be gotten from the UK as it wasn’t registered here. It wasn’t guaranteed to work but I had nothing to lose. Unfortunately, the injections weren’t successful. I hadn’t trained for about 4 months. My surgeon told me that I couldn’t do any more damage on the knee. The pain went so I resumed training and with the long rest and the extra swimming, I was doing 1500 metres 5 days a week, it wasn’t too difficult getting back to my training routine
HOW DID YOU GET INVOLVED IN COACHING? I was injured for 7 weeks plus and Charlie O’Neill approached me and asked if I would be interested in coaching the Fit-4-life
DO YOU HAVE ANY COACHING PHILOSOPHIES? Mind over matter – I DON’T MIND AND YOU DON’T MATTER.
WHEN DID YOU START UP THE FIT-4-LIFE SQUAD? In 2008
HOW HAS THE WHOLE FIT-4-LIFE BEEN FOR YOU? MAYBE GIVE A NEGATIVE AND A POSITIVE? I would find in impossible to be negative in relation to Fit 4 Life. I have the greatest respect for the group. A person arrives at the club 30, 40, 50 years of age with no running experience and I see the tremendous effort that they put in to run 5k without stopping and then running 10k. Eventually they are running races in all distances including marathons. I have nothing but admiration and respect for the Fit 4 Life group
<NOTE: Here is a poem in tribute to ‘Barry’ and the Fit-4-Life squad, written by Jo Hughes. It was presented to Barry on his 70th birthday and it catches the camaraderie and spirit of the group>
Barry has a little group
Its name is Fit-4-Life
30 odd members 2019
No arguments rifts or strife
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Mondays and Wednesdays, we always meet
Whether its hills or track or run
Rain or hail we rarely miss
We get miles and chats and fun
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Back in the day there was Barbara & Niamh
Turning up every week without fail
If it wasn’t for them as others moved on
Barry would have had to bail
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There was Nicola and Elaine and Stacey’s Dad Ken
They kept us going through thick and thin
But alas they got too fast for us plebs
So, they climbed the ladder and now they’re celebs
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As time went on the club started to grow
Deirdre Healy and Andrew, Anne Rush and Jo
Others joined too, but soonest they left
But that’s all right, Barry wasn’t bereft
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Don’t shame me if I get the order wrong
We welcomed the brothers Neil and Colm
Anna and Orlaith the athletic sisters
Put a spring in our step and soon we had blisters
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Deirdre Brennan and Coyle were next on the list
Amadine and Adrienne if weren’t around would be missed
Julie is in and out of the game
And without Orla and Sile wouldn’t the the same
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We were delighted to welcome Shiofra and Peter
And part of the furniture is our good friend Cariosa
2 Seans’ joined up Sean White and Sean Browne
Not as good at runnin’ as hittin’ the town
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Claire and Jenny came to join the group
More marathon runners to add to our troop
Siobhan and Rachael put pressure on our paces
Made us stop and think and sign up for some races
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Andrew and Daniel were nearly last
But there’s no denying they’re bloody fast
Ray and Tony we are glad to have
As of our group, they’re really sav
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A few more faces in the last year
Namely Rachael and Blathnaid they have no fear
Daniel apparently is training hard
For Ultras and marathons, he won’t get jarred
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Simon joined back after 2 years gone
Faster than ever and ever so strong
Claire is still strutting her stuff
As Siobhan and Stacey are up the duff
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That’s us all Fit For Life in Donore
Keep telling your friends we could do with some more
Thank you, Barry, for your constant dedication
It’s your 70th birthday but still no hesitation
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We did a collection, nothing you need in your life
So, buy something nice or go out with your wife
Your efforts and kindness we cannot measure
So, we made you a book, we hope you will treasure!!!
HAVE YOU WON ANY IRISH SINGLETS? I have won 4 Irish singlets. All from the British and Irish International cross country
YOU HAVE A 3rd AND TWO RUNNERS-UP RESULTS IN THE WATERHOUSE BYRNE BAIRD SHIELD HANDICAP RACE; DO YOU HOLD ASPIRATIONS TO GET YOUR NAME ON THE COVETED SHIELD? I must admit it’s not high on my bucket list! But yeah, I’d love to win it on merit
