Masters athlete Fergal Whitty could best be described as a teak-tough marathon runner. It’s his favourite athletics event and one that he mastered through sheer hard work and perseverance.

Like a vintage wine Fergal has progressively improved with age. His early marathon adventures included Dublin in 2008 (2.58.30) and 2009 (3.00.25), Melbourne (2.55), and Connemara (2.58).

It was time to join a club! In this interesting interview Fergal explains that if he had initially understood the concept of the ‘warm-up run’ prior to doing a session proper, then he may have enlisted to Liffey Valley AC. Despite finding a similar training routine at Donore Harriers he decided to stay. Thereafter, he began to show a marked improvement in his running and posted a time of 2.44.02 in the 2011 DCM (Dublin City Marathon).

In the 2012 DCM Fergal improved to 2.34.32 and returned a time of 2.35.52 in DCM 2013. He ran 2.34.48 in the 2014 Berlin Marathon, 2.35.12 in the 2015 DCM and 2.34.45 in the 2016 DCM. At this point the 2.30 barrier probably seemed elusive! But times of 2.31.37 at Boston in April 2017 and 2.30.39 in the 2017 DCM gave indication that Fergal could achieve his marathon summit.

Fergal began the long road towards DCM 2018 with a 16.39 in the Tom Brennan Memorial 5km on New Year’s Day to win the M40 class. A week later he competed in the Dublin Masters XC placing 18^th overall and 3^rd M40. In February he posted a time of 54.55 in the Dungarvan 10-Mile and followed that up by winning the M40 class in the Bohermeen Half-Marathon (March 2018) in a time of 1.13.07. During the summer road-race season he recorded 1.14.19 for 7^th place in the Limerick half-marathon, ran 16.34 in the Bob Heffernan 5km, and 33.18 (3^rd M40) in the Michael Manning Dunshaughlin 10km.

Fergal gives a full account of his 2018 DCM race in this interview. He passed the half-way mark in 1.14.54, but strong running in the latter half of the race saw him home in 2.28.55. In the process he won his 3^rd national M40 individual gold – and together with Ken Norgrove and Peter Gaffney won the national M35 team bronze.

Fergal ran 2.29.11 in the 2019 DCM, placing 4^th M40 national. He led Donore Harriers to gold in the Dublin and Leinster M40 team, and silver in the M35 team championships.

Here is a list of some of Fergal’s main athletics achievements –

CROSS-COUNTRY – 2015 Dublin Masters (team gold w/ John Dunne, Ciaran McCarthy & Niall Lynch); 2018 Dublin Masters (team bronze w/ Rossa Hurley, Niall Lynch & Gavin Keogh)

<< here is a link to the 2015 Dublin Masters XC after lap One. Fergal passes at about 15 seconds into the video – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VxJnLnBZGds >>

MARATHON – 2012 National M35 individual silver; 2013 National M35 individual silver and M35 team gold (w/ John Dunne & Niall Lynch); 2015 National M40 individual and M35 team silver (w/ Andy Kinane & Patrick Moriarty); 2017 National M40 individual gold and M35 team silver (w/ Chris Muldoon & Peter Gaffney); 2018 National M40 individual gold and M35 team bronze (w/ Ken Norgrove & Peter Gaffney); 2019 National M35 team bronze (w/ Ray Hynes & Andy Kinane).

HALF-MARATHON – 2013 National M35 individual gold (1.11.25) and M35 team bronze (w/ John Dunne & Niall Lynch); 2017 National M40 individual gold and M35 team silver (w/ Niall Lynch & Chris Muldoon); 2018 National M35 team silver (w/ Chris Muldoon & Andy Kinane); 2019 National M40 individual silver and M35 team bronze (w/ Des Tremble & Chris Muldoon).

10-MILE – 2019 National M40 individual gold and M35 team gold (w/ Des Tremble & Andy Kinane).

10 KM – 2019 National M40 individual gold

Fergal has won multiple medals in Dublin & Leinster championships.

He has also been a very successful athlete in open road races along his athletics path. Just prior to the Covid-19 lockdown in March 2020 he came 2^nd M40 in the Bohermeen ‘Half’ in 1.12.30. Also, among his recent succusses were his M40 victories in the Dublin half-marathon (1.14.18) and Frank Duffy 10 (55.58) in 2019.

<<here is a short clip of the 2013 National Road Relay masters race. Fergal is running in 5^th place – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UdaBFwisqOM>>

STANDARD QUESTIONS

PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin, 1975.

WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? Coolmine Community School, Dublin 15.

DIT College of Marketing & Design (Mountjoy Square) – B.Sc. (Mgmt.),

Advanced Diploma in Marketing & Administration.

Dun Laoghaire Senior College (Blackrock) – Post Graduate Diploma in

DIT College of Technology (Kevin Street) – M.Sc. in Computing (Data Analytics).

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MAIN CAREER PATH? Since graduating from college, I

have worked for AIB for over 20 years in various data analytics roles. I also

spent a short time working for National Australia Bank (NAB) in Melbourne

during a career break, doing a similar type of role.

IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2011

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I had almost joined Liffey Valley a

couple of years beforehand. I had been getting more into fitness in my late

20’s, going to a lot of circuit training and spin classes in the gym and also doing a bit of running. However, I wasn’t convinced that I wanted to join a running

club and become a serious runner. I just liked doing it as one activity amongst

the other things.

So, a couple of years earlier, I had actually gone down to a few sessions with

Liffey Valley. However, I didn’t get the concept of an easy warm-up run over to

the Polo Grounds for a session and the easy cool-down run afterwards, with

only about 20-30 minutes of hard running. I also saw that they had a faster

group that they didn’t put me in, so I think that was bothering me a bit too! I

didn’t see much point in travelling all the way down there for a short workout,

when I had one-hour intense gym classes available nearer to home. After those

few sessions with Liffey Valley, I used to drive back into the park towards home

and then get out of my car at the Wellington Monument and run up and down

it about 100 times! Obviously now in hindsight I see that the Liffey Valley

sessions were perfectly normal, but that was not how I saw things back then,

so, didn’t join the club.

A short time later, I moved to Melbourne for a year and did the marathon in

2.55. About six months later, I did the Connemara marathon in 2.58, and

thought about giving a running club a go again. I was aware of Donore Harriers from just passing it many times. Many Saturday mornings, I used to see the

runners heading along the ‘S bends’ from the club towards the Magazine Fort.

Jim Mac (Namara) used to stand out with his bushy head of hair, although I

didn’t know his name then. My Dad knew who he was when I described him.

So, a few weeks after finishing the Connemara marathon, I simply popped

down to Donore Harriers one evening. I think it was a Thursday and I went out for a run with Fred Kiernan and Fergal Swaine. I remember the pace started very slow, and I was thinking “what is it with these club runners and slow

running”. However, the pace picked up as we ran 10 miles over the Phoenix Park trails, and I was hanging on to the lads.

WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE

HARRIERS? I played Gaelic football for St Brigid’s GAA club on the Navan Road

as a youngster and in my early teenage years.

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? Gaelic football in my early years.

I used to swim a few times a week in my early twenties to try and stay fit and

fight off the flab! I also used to play a good bit of 5-a-side astro soccer with

friends.

Around the same time that I joined Donore Harriers, I also started

doing some triathlons and duathlons. I did that for a year or two. However, I

remember Jim Mac saying to me that if I wanted to be a serious runner, then I

should just run. So, I did!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? The marathon.

WHAT IS/ARE YOUR MAIN ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Athlete.

WHO WERE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? As a kid and

teenager, I loved soccer and was a Manchester United fan. I loved players with

skills and flair, like Giggs, Sharpe, Scholes and Ronaldo, and was also a big fan of Eric Cantona. Roy Keane also impressed me for his fitness and professionalism.

I think that had an influence on me around the time that I started to get into

being fit. I would push myself thinking of the likes of him, to be in the best shape that I could. I think Ronaldo is the ultimate athlete now – absolutely committed to his training regime and it shows on the pitch.

From a running perspective, Jim McNamara and Willie Dunne would have had a big influence. I was slightly in awe that I was in a dressing room with two Olympians, and I used to lap up their stories about training and racing in the

old days. I loved the idea of the old school hard training and that definitely had a huge influence on me. I remember after running a PB of 71 minutes in the Half Marathon that Jim Mac got my number from someone and rang me that evening to congratulate me. I was really chuffed that he took the time and

effort to do that. It says a lot about him. I know why he was a much-loved coach and all-round club legend.

In more recent years I have been a big fan of Eliud Kipchoge. Obviously an

amazing ground-breaking athlete. I love watching him run, it looks so effortless and efficient. What I really love though is how humble and dedicated he is.

There are a good few videos on YouTube showing his training camp and how he thinks, lives and acts with his training group. I have a lot of admiration for him.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Can’t Hurt Me by David Goggins

(Former Navy Seal and Ultrarunner). Good book about mindset and pushing your boundaries.

I’ve just started reading ‘Running with the Kenyans’. Enjoying it!

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? I think it was Ed Sheeran in

the Phoenix Park a few years ago. I was blown away how one guy could have such stage presence in front of a huge crowd.

I got to see the musical Hamilton in London a couple of weeks before lockdown. It was brilliant too, highly recommended.

WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?

1. Terminator & Terminator 2

2. Gladiator

3. No Country for Old Men

Shoutout to Marathon Man starring Dustin Hoffman, which is actually a very good film.

FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? AND WHY? Hard to pick one.

Torres del Paine (Chile/Argentina) is amazing for scenery and hiking.

I loved Bolivia many years ago. I loved Salar de Uyuni (Salt Flats) and having

some mad experiences like cycling “The Most Dangerous Road in the World”,

going down a mine and buying dynamite.

Australia and New Zealand for diverse and unique landscapes. Great places for

road trips and outdoor lifestyle. I love northern Spain for the culture and food.

Sri Lanka has a lot to offer – safari, hiking, beaches, food, culture. Just watch out when running. The dogs are not friendly, few scary enough encounters!

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? I love

reading books – mainly self-development, entrepreneurship, or interesting

I like the Jack Reacher novels too.

I enjoy travelling and have been fortunate enough to visit a lot of countries.

I also like to get out walking or hiking, just being in the fresh air and clearing the head.

IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY

BE?

1. Paradise City by Guns n’Roses

2. Wonderwall by Oasis

3. Politik by Coldplay

(shows my evolving musical taste over the years!)

ATHLETICS QUESTIONS

WHO IS YOUR COACH? For marathon specific training, I have just coached myself over the past few years – although sessions and knowledge have

obviously been picked up from various coaches over the years.

Then, at other times of the year, I join back in with Willie Smith’s group. I really

enjoy Willie’s coaching. He is very caring towards every athlete and has developed a great spirit amongst the group. He always has some encouraging words and wants everyone to get the best out of themselves and is very

conscious of sensible training methods.

A special shoutout to Mick Bourke too, who has been standing on the side- lines with a stopwatch shouting encouragement in all sorts of weather conditions for many years.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? I am going to say my PB of 2.28.55 in the Dublin marathon in 2018, because that has ultimately defined my running career for many years. Breaking 2.30 was a goal that I was pretty much obsessed with and was driven by to train extremely

hard for many years.

I had made many attempts over several years beforehand where it just didn’t work out on the day for various reasons. Each year I was wondering if I would ever break 2.30. Did I want to put myself through the intense training cycle again – it was tough physically and mentally. Ultimately, I always decided that I would try as long as I have the capability. I didn’t want to look back some day and say that I hadn’t given it my best shot.

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)?

5K – 15.52

10K – 33.05 (I had run another 10K a few weeks earlier in 32.43, but

frustratingly the course was short. I think I would have broken 33 that day.)

10 Mile – 54.49

Half Marathon – 71.35

Marathon – 2.28.55

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Maybe simply 400 repeats. It

is the fastest pace that I ever run, so once I manage to dial in the pace with a

group, I feel like I am running well, and each one is over pretty quick! I would

always perform much better in a session like that with a group.

Not the answer I originally thought I would give to that question!

DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU DID? My least favourite

would be doing a session solo, that has long reps, and in the dark, and

particularly that combination. I have done a few of those over the years. I

cannot recall details of the hardest, but I will describe one from a few years ago that I remember and typifies how I have felt at times.

On a Saturday morning, I did an 8-mile tempo about 5.40 pace around the

Fifteen Acres in the park. I then jogged down to the club to meet Philip Hennessy to do 6 x 1mile with him. It was great to have company for the

second part of my session, but I was breathing hard from the start of those reps. Philip turned to me and said: “You are finishing after two”. After four of

them, he was literally trying to drag me back into the club. I managed to hang in there for all six. Not actually the worst session I have done, but just a hard one that sticks in my memory.

WHAT IS A TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN – OUTSIDE OF LOCKDOWNS? I

have consistently done fairly high mileage (85 – 100+ miles) for the past few years and have then increased it to very high mileage (120 – 135+ miles) for the

3-4 months leading up to a marathon.

A typical marathon training week would have been something like this:

Monday: AM: 12 miles PM: 4 miles easy

Tuesday: AM: 4 miles easy: PM: 4 x 2 miles (14 miles total w/ WU+CD).

Wednesday: AM: 12 miles PM: 5 miles easy

Thursday: AM: 4 miles easy, PM: 15 miles hilly progression run

Friday: AM: 9 miles easy, PM: 4 miles easy

Saturday: 9+ miles tempo at approx. marathon pace + 6 x 20 seconds (15 miles

total w/ WU+CD)

Sunday: 24+ miles steady run.

I will actually do less miles when training for my next marathon. While “miles

means minutes” – do the miles to shave off the minutes – has been one of my

mantras over the past few years, I would prefer to focus on being a little faster and fresher if possible.

HOW IMPORTANT IS THE ‘COMMUTE RUN’ TO YOUR OVERALL WEEKLY

TRAINING PLAN?

I remember a couple of years after joining the club that Ken Nugent told me that he had just run a 100-mile week while on holidays. I was shocked, and

even more so when he said he did the same the following week while back at

work. I was studying for a masters part-time on top of work at the time, but

decided I would try that once the semester finished. I just started adding a few miles to every run and managed to get it up to about 90, then 95 and then hit 100 a few weeks later.

Using the commute in and out of work was key to increasing my mileage. I live in Blanchardstown and worked in Ballsbridge for most of my career. So, by

running in or out of work (or both), I could do 9 miles each way.

Much of the time, I would park in the Phoenix Park and do about 4 miles in the

morning, and then an extended run such as 9 or 10 miles in the evening. I

would often run to Blackrock (opposite direction), so that I would have 6 miles done by the time I got back to the office, and then 4 more back to the car. I

found that to be a useful tactic to make sure to do the miles. Once you get to

Blackrock, there is no choice in running 7 more miles to get back to the car!

Another obvious benefit of using the commute for training is that it is time efficient. It would have taken me pretty much the same time to travel there by

train, including the walk at each end. Also, it is a lot easier to have a good-sized run done in the evening when you reach home, rather than try and summon the energy and motivation to go back out after you get home in a car or public transport. I used to find it easier to run home after a long day in work, knowing it had a practical purpose to it, i.e., to get home! Running in the morning is

obviously also a good way to start the day.

DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY OR UNUSUAL STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE

CLUB? I have a few stories …

One year for the Berlin marathon I decided to bring my own breakfast with me,

having had tummy issues in previous years. I handed a bowl of porridge to a

waiter in the hotel and asked her to heat it. I was waiting a while and no sign of

the porridge coming back out. Obviously getting anxious as timelines are tight for eating pre-race etc. With my German about as good as her English, “Danke”

is the extent of it, I frantically followed her into the kitchen, where it turned out my porridge had been binned. I managed to salvage a breakfast, but that was not the prepared start I had in mind that morning.

One year during marathon training, it must have been around peak training time a few weeks out, as John Downes had prescribed a monster session. I

think it was 28km in total (maybe 6km x 4, 1km recovery). I had got stuck in

work a little bit late, so missed doing it with the other lads. I was feeling sorry for myself that I was only starting around the time that they were finishing, and did about 4 miles warm-up, which was partly procrastination. I eventually got it done, just as it was getting dark, and I was delighted with myself. I had to jog back from Castleknock roundabout of the park to the club, so was pitch dark by the time I did that. It must have been close to 10pm. The gates were closed. I was soaked in sweat, dehydrated, and starting to get very cold very quickly. I jumped over the gate. I was then shouting for Stephen (Kelly – the caretaker) at the back of the club, hoping he would hear me. No response. Just as I was despairing about my next move, a back window upstairs opened. John Downes was just nodding off to sleep when he thought he heard a voice calling out. When he realised it was me, he couldn’t control his laughter, he was in tears. He came down and let me into the club, where I changed my clothes and

cycled home. It was a long evening!

A couple of years ago, I was running along the Merrion Road one evening

towards Blackrock. Opposite the Tesco, a guy passing on a bike slowed down and asked me where I worked. I replied “Ballsbridge”. He then asked as to

where I lived. “Blachardstown” I said, wondering why I was readily providing a

total stranger with personal information. He then goes “I see you everywhere” before he cycled off!

In 2019, about three weeks out from the Dublin marathon, I missed out on

doing a key session on the Saturday. The Three-Quarter Marathon (19.6 miles)

in Longwood, Enfield was on the next day, but I didn’t have an entry. I decided that would be a good way to get a quality session in, so decided I would just run it as a training run. I ran with a couple of lads who I knew and told them I

wasn’t racing, just so they knew the situation. When it came to an end, I was

in 8th position and was fairly motoring over the last couple of miles. I didn’t

want to cross the finish line, to cause any confusion about race results. I had

debated stopping slightly short at 19 miles, but of course instead decided to

round it up to 20. So, approaching the very end, with another runner just

behind me, instead of turning left into the carpark with the finish line, I just kept running straight like Forrest Gump. The stewards and small crowd were all roaring at me to take a left, thinking I had missed the finish. I ran on for a

couple of more minutes until I hit 20 miles, passing Eric Keogh and Mark

Kenneally walking back to their cars. I think Eric thought I was just doing something mad like repeating the whole course again.

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?

1. Sonia O’Sullivan

2. Catriona McKiernan

3. Katie Taylor / Rob Heffernan / John Treacy

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? As outlined earlier, I

sort of just fell into it as part of getting healthy and fit and taking a step up

from being a fun runner doing the odd race here and there.

When I joined the club, I think I had run four marathons up to that point. Back

in 2008, I had decided I would like to do a marathon as a sort of bucket list item. I applied for the Dublin marathon in September a couple of days before

the closing deadline, and then went on holidays for a couple of weeks. When I

got back there was only about three or four weeks until marathon day. I didn’t

know anything about marathon training, so from a quick Google search, I came across the Hal Higdon Novice Plan. Quickly realising that the 18-week plan

would have to be condensed, I kind of followed the latter weeks of the plan. I

had also vaguely heard somewhere that breaking 3 hours for a marathon was considered a good achievement, so I decided I would go for that, as I would probably be only running one of them in my life! I call this “naive confidence”,

which I actually think can be a good thing for running. I had no preconceived notions about how difficult that would be and was not applying any self-imposed limitations.

I don’t recall huge amounts about the race itself, but I loved the buzz of it, and

always have since. Just using a basic stopwatch to keep track of time, I

somehow managed to finish that marathon in 2 hours and 59 minutes. I had

ticked the box! I was a little unsteady on my feet after I crossed the finish line,

and was whisked straight into a wheelchair and up to the medical tent.

I didn’t know back then what lay ahead of me in the years ahead.

YOU FINALLY BROKE THE 2½ HOURS BARRIER WITH A 2.28.55 MARATHON AT

DUBLIN IN 2018. TELL US ABOUT THAT DAY? My goal was to break 2.30 and I

had come very close the previous year 2.30.39 – 40 seconds over my dream time. That morning while having breakfast, I had written 2.28 and 5.40 (pace)

on an A4 page with a marker – just as a form of visualisation. I used to keep those numbers drilled into my head.

I have been lucky enough to get an elite entry for the Dublin marathon for the

past few years, so during a short warm-up with a few other lads who were going for the same time we agreed to try and stick together. In previous years, I had been exposed to wind and run much of the marathon on my own. Peter

Mooney was one of those lads, and he had managed to break 2.30 in his last

few marathons, so I felt my chances were good if I could stick with him.

There is always that nervous anticipation leading up to the start. The time ticks down very quickly and always feels like a bit of a frantic rush getting the final

preparations in place and up to the start line.

Always a bit mad of a start with people bursting off, but I try to stay relaxed and keep an eye on the group I want to run with. It thins out after a mile or so, so I don’t get too worked up early on. However, it is hard enough to dial straight into 5.40 pace, especially when on hills and the climb up towards Stoneybatter.

I try and run at a fairly even pace throughout, maybe a fraction slower for the first 10km, and then pick the pace up slightly in the latter half or just finish strong. Castleknock is a great spot for the crowd support. My family are always there too, and I usually get a gel from my brother here. It is only a couple of miles from my home, so it is great to pass through a local spot that I run through every day. I find that I settle down a bit once we are coming down the side of the park after Castleknock as there is a constant subtle climb up to that point.

Also, at that stage you are about 8 miles in, so you are well on the way. The

buzz coming by Donore at mile 9 is always unbelievable, even when you know

it’s coming. I find that climb just after Chapelizod village very tough, but try not

to force the pace. We had a nice small group working very well together and that made a big difference, both physically and psychologically. Miles were ticking by and I felt okay. I knew if I could just keep going at that pace, I would make it, but very unpredictable what would happen. It is a fine line trying to hit those times, just hoping to keep going to the finish line without falling apart. A lot of head games going on.

At about the 20-mile mark coming down towards Milltown, I seemed to surge away a little from the group. Peter Mooney came with me. It wasn’t really intentional. I was more interested in the time rather than race position. Peter said some encouraging words but reminded me to stay controlled. I remember going well over the next few miles, running strong up the UCD ramp and feeling that it was going exactly as I wanted, although still with some apprehension about the last few miles. I was on my own at this stage. Turning onto Merrion Road is the first time that it starts to feel properly hard. I don’t know if the mind starts to switch off knowing it is near the end, but it was now all about willpower and forcing myself to keep moving at that pace. It was playing over in my mind about how much I had wanted this time and it was within my grasp and totally down to me over the next few minutes whether I

did it or not. The atmosphere coming down Mount Street towards Merrion

Square is electric. Thousands of people cheering, surrounded by the high- office buildings give a kind of amphitheatre effect. There are barely any other runners around, so I pretty much had the street to myself. I can see the blue carpet in the distance, but my eyesight is not great, so I cannot make out the

time on the digital clock. I was virtually under it when I could see the time –

2.28.55. Relief, joy, exhaustion. Done!

Afterwards, I met up with my girlfriend (now wife) and family and a couple of

friends. We went to Toners for a while to catch up with the Donore Harries gang. The buzz around town is unreal. I think it is one of the best days in Dublin each year, even for people not running. I just headed home in the afternoon to relax and have a nice dinner. Not much energy for any more than that!

GOING FORWARD, WHAT ARE TARGETS IN MASTERS ATHLETICS? I would love to break 16 minutes again for 5km. I did that once several years ago, so would like to get back to there. To do that, I feel I would be in very good shape. It

would obviously be great to PB in any of the other distances too, or at least keep producing decent results and competing for Masters medals.

Overall, I would like to focus on improving my speed. I think I need to be fresher and run with better form to do that and focus on speed type sessions.

Other than that, I want to just stay fit and healthy.

DO YOU HAVE ASPIRATIONS OF COMPETING IN THE WORLD AND/OR

EUROPEAN MASTERS CHAMPIONSHIPS? I would love to compete in the World or European Masters Championships. It is something that I will have to look into at some point. There are some phenomenal Masters athletes out there,

and I think it is getting more competitive every year.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AWAY TRIP RELATED TO ATHLETICS? I

have travelled to the Berlin marathon a few times with a small group from the

club and have always enjoyed those trips. In 2017 I participated in the Boston

marathon and absolutely loved that experience. The crowds were incredibly loud and enthusiastic all the way along the course, especially as you passed

through each town on the way into Boston city centre. I got a PB that day too and finished well up the field, so that made the experience all the better.

HAVE YOU SUFFERED FROM ANY SERIOUS SPORTS RELATED INJURY? Yes, I

have had a few injuries that have resulted in layoffs. The first was many years ago, before I had joined the club. I put my back out a couple of days after the

Warriors Run in Sligo, which is run over a mountain. Not sure what exactly

happened, but perhaps the strain from running up and down hill, when I had little experience did something. I was in a lot of discomfort for about three weeks until I saw an Osteopath. He immediately recognised that I was out of

alignment and “straightened” me up, and the relief was immediate.

I had another serious enough injury a few years ago when I stopped running for a few weeks to complete a thesis. I was hunched over a laptop for many hours every day for about a month and didn’t run during this time. My body seems to have seized up during this time and when I tried to go running again I felt a lot of pain around the groin area. It took months before I could run properly again.

Also, after the 2018 and 2019 Dublin marathons, it has taken me two to three months to recover from them. I don’t know if changing from very high mileage to no mileage for a few weeks has made my body seize up, but I have found it

very hard to run at all for many weeks after those two marathons. My body

hurts and even running at a very slow pace seems like hard exertion.

HOW HAVE YOU COPED WITH TRAINING DURING THE LOCKDOWN PERIODS?

It is over a year now since I have competed in a race. I have continued to run pretty much every day, and twice a day often too. For the most part I have run

pretty high mileage and gone through long periods of just running easy or

steady miles and maybe doing a bit of a harder run, like a fartlek or progression run, a couple of times a week.

At one stage last year I followed a 5km training plan and did a couple of time

trials with that. I am just about to start repeating that 5km programme again,

so, have reduced my mileage over the past few weeks. I am going to keep it a

bit lower over the next few months. As I said, I want to focus on getting a bit

faster and fresher.

It is good to have something to focus on and bring some purpose to the

training. I just want to make sure that I am ticking over in decent enough shape, so that when racing does come back, I am already half-way up the

fitness mountain. I am just grateful that we can still get out and run during

lockdown. It is good to keep fit, get outdoors and helps with mental health.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPORTING REGRETS? No major regrets, but I remember

one experience that taught me a lesson. A few years ago, I came 2nd in the

Achill Half Marathon, and Gary O’Hanlon was 3rd. He was just coming back from an injury and was building back up. Just a few weeks later the National Half-Marathon championships (the Rock N’Roll event) was taking place and I didn’t participate. The group I was training with were not participating and I think that I let that influence my decision. Gary had obviously improved dramatically in the few short weeks and I think he came 2nd that day. I remember watching it and wondering why I was spectating instead of competing. The half-marathon would be one of my strong events, so I should have been doing it and putting myself in the mix for a national medal. I usually participate in all races now that interest me, so the fact that I remember this story may have influenced that.

WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? I would have said it would be nice to expand the track to 400m by taking over some of that parkland beside the club site. However, I see that has now been given over to plots (allotments).

It might be nice if there was an annual training trip each year (around January

perhaps) to somewhere like Club LaSanta. A week for a bit of warm weather

training, socialising and relaxing.

HAVE YOU EVEN COMPETED IN THE WATERHOUSE BYRNE BAIRD SHIELD AND

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST RESULT? I have competed several times, although have not done so for the past couple of years for various reasons, mainly because still not recovered from the Dublin marathon two months earlier. I am not sure of my best time, possibly 61 minutes. I want to break the hour on that course, so need to be in good shape and very motivated to do that.

Donal O’Sullivan was an exciting young talent back in the late 80s, early 90s. He first came to prominence when he won the All-Ireland Schools junior cross-country title in 1988, followed by victory in the Schools intermediate 3,000m title in 1990. He came 10^th in the British & Irish Schools cross-country in 1989 and was 1^st in the 3,000m and 3^rd in the 1,500m in the 1990 European FISEC Games.

 

<<NOTE – here is a link to Donal’s 1988 All-Ireland Schools victory – https://youtu.be/Gq3DB_5BFZ8>>

Donal was coached at Donore Harriers by Noel Redican, and in 1991 he was 2^nd junior in the BLE inter-county XC, 4^th in an international XC race at Limerick, and 5^th in the inter-clubs. In the following year Donal came 2^nd in the Celtic International junior XC race and took the National inter-clubs junior XC title.

<<NOTE: Here is a link to Donal’s win in the 1992 Inter-Clubs XC junior championships. The video clip also shows highlights of Gerry Curtis (see Interview No. 19) winning the senior men’s title – https://youtu.be/dNhQieZZpDI>>

Donal went on to represent Ireland in the 1992 World cross-country championships at Boston Massachusetts, placing 68^th. He was the 1^st scorer on the Irish team that placed 17^th.

The young Donore Harriers star then took up a scholarship at Brown University, Rhode Island, USA.

<<NOTE: Here is a link to Donal doing an interview on the Jo-Maxi TV show prior to taken up his scholarship. The interview also includes Mark Carroll, and thrower Nick Sweeney – https://youtu.be/wr7fouY1dtg>>

In 1995 he took a sabbatical from his studies to work in Spain and then returned home to Dublin for a spell at the end of 1995. He recorded a notable double by winning the 1995 Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield race by completing the 10-mile course in an actual time of 52.56. A few days later he won a dramatic Oman Cup race.

On returning to the USA Donal had wins over 3,000m and 5,000m in the Ivy League Indoor track and field championships, earning the Most Valuable Player award. He finished 2^nd individual in the NCAA North-East Regional XC championships, leading Brown University to a team win. He was also 36^th in the NCAA Division One XC championships.

Donal, who lives with his family at Northampton Massachusetts, is now competitive as a Master athlete.

Please note that Donal uploading the above listed videos to YouTube as part of this interview. They are historical treasures!

STANDARD QUESTIONS

PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? St James’s Hospital, Dublin, 1973

WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? We had a pub in Pimlico in the Liberties, so I went to C.B.S. James Street for primary and secondary school.

In 1992, I left for Brown University in Rhode Island, USA where I studied engineering and economics.

In 2014, I received a PhD in Energy and Mineral Economics from the Colorado School of Mines in Golden, Colorado.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH? Despite a lack of meaningful success, I focused on running until my early thirties. During this time, I worked primarily in engineering before putting the running aside and going to graduate school to get a doctorate in economics. After graduation, I worked in strategic management consulting for a couple of years. I then returned to the energy sector to work as an economist at ISO New England – the “EirGrid” of the region. These days, I ensure the New England electricity markets are efficient and competitive and also help with the development of market rules to keep up with an ever-changing technology-driven landscape.

IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? I joined the club as a ten-year-old in the summer of ‘84.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I always loved running from when I was very young. I often ran to school and back which was 1 km because I preferred running to walking. I’d run along the main road in the park from one park gate to the other and back with my dad when I was about seven. After I won a cross country race on a school trip to the park, my dad asked a young runner who used to come into the pub named Sean Carley if he’d take me down to see if I liked it.

WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No way. Donore Harriers for life baby!

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? I played hurling and gaelic football for my school and a team my dad helped to set up, the Liberty Gaels. I loved hurling and was pretty handy but I had to give it up when I was 14 because the twisting and turning was causing knee problems. I was frustrated with team sports because there was too much subjectivity selecting Dublin teams. I felt that there was favouritism in selecting who went to the trials and then, who made the Dublin panel. Running was just the opposite. To make the Dublin team to race Liverpool in 1985, it was the first eight lads across the line and that was it! That was my first county team.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? I love watching the 1,500m but the 3,000m is my favourite to run.

DO YOU STILL HAVE A CONNECTION WITH THE CLUB? We always talk about moving to Ireland, but I’m not sure if that will happen. If it did, I would certainly want to get involved with coaching. From the USA, my best contribution might be in helping young scholarship athletes navigate the American collegiate system if they come this way.

WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? When I was young I was inspired by Eamonn Coughlan, John Treacy, Marcus O’Sullivan, and Frank O’Mara. These days, I like the old guys who are still rocking, e.g., Tom Brady and Ronaldo – he’s not old but I admire his focus and determination.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? The Three-Body Problem series by Cixin Liu. It’s a great science fiction series from a Chinese author that covers history, physics, computer science, art, and more while telling a great tale.

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? It’s hard to get to shows with two little ones, but we saw our friend Wallis Bird play an amazing set in New Hampshire in the summer of 2019. My sister, Aoife, used to play in her band.

WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark – Han Solo against Nazi’s – can’t do better!

2. Young Frankenstein – Gene Wilder at his best.

3. Taxi Driver – I’m not sure it’s really top three but I love this movie because it reminds me of a time when I was living with Ian O’Riordan, and we would watch classic and cult movies. We agreed that Travis Bickle’s psychotic focus and determination was the sort of mind-set that a runner needed to get the most out of themselves. These days, I think that patience might be more important, but you need that fire.

FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? Spain. I love the variety of its culture and music. My wife is from Rhode Island but spent a year studying in Seville and she loves it there too. It was our main topic of conversation on our first date!

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Our girls are eight and five so there is not much time for anything else. When I have time, I enjoy woodworking – particularly making Spanish guitars – and ‘fiddling around with technology’ as my wife says. I also enjoy playing guitar and I’m looking forward to playing more with my oldest girl who is taking classical guitar lessons and quickly catching up to me.

IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

1. Girl From The North Country by Bob Dylan– I’ve a soft spot for this one. I suppose I’m a bit melancholic and this one reminds me of good times past, but also that you have to move forward.

2. Serve the Servants by Nirvana– This sounds like a Beatles’ song coming apart at the seams. This is my go-to song when I need something loud.

3. Step On by The Happy Mondays – Memories of the Summer of 1991 and seeing the Happy Mondays at the Trip to Tipp (Feile ’91) with other club members, Paul and John McGrattan. Till this day, as soon as I hear the opening riff, my shoulders drop, and I mellow out.

ATHLETICS QUESTIONS

WHO WERE YOUR COACHES? I’ve had three major coaches over the years, Noel Redican (Donore Harriers), Bob Rothenberg (Brown University), and Jim Harvey (post collegiate).

Noel coached me in running and in life from about the age of thirteen until I left for America. He is a great coach and always seemed to know exactly what was needed for progression. He understands the technical side but, most importantly, he is great at listening to and reading the athlete. In many ways, our relationship was more father-son than coach-athlete. Noel has had a profound influence on outlook on my life in general.

My college coach, “Berg”, is a great guy and has made a massive contribution to the development of athletics in the region. We had some good success together despite the volatility of my college years. It’s also hard to get the same attention than an individual coach would give when there are 50 other people on the track team!

I began working with Jim Harvey a few years after college. Jim was coaching Mark Carroll and Amy Rudolph and I asked him if he could help get me back on track at a time when I was continuing to struggle with repeated episodes of chronic fatigue which first started in college. We had one good fall of base training, and then I was struck down again. This was a very hard time and it was difficult to explain to people when I didn’t even know myself why I kept losing form. I was completely committed to running and it was frustrating watching guys I used to beat easily running fast times and wining Irish championships and vests. We spent the next few years trying to get to the bottom of the issue without success. These days, doctors pin chronic fatigue on reoccurring mononucleosis and this was suggested at the time by a viral expert in Boston. Whatever it was, it stopped affecting me when I started running again in my 40’s. I can train harder now at 47 than when I was 27!

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? My best athletics achievement wasn’t a win or a time, but a state of performance. I’ve experienced it only a few times, but mostly clearly when I won the Leinster Schools Cross Country in 1990. We knew I was at peak fitness and Noel Redican told me to go out hard, so I did. I clearly remember that I stopped feeling any pain and it was like I was watching it on TV as I flew through the very muddy course. I’ve always been trying to get back to that state.

In terms of medals – or pots and pans as the old guys would say, winning the National Junior Cross Country in 1992 might be top of the list because Noel and I had focused on winning this race for a number of years. It was very fulfilling to remain patient and follow a plan to its conclusion. My training and performance were incredibly consistent leading up to this win. I credit Noel with this 100%.

I also had some good wins in college. Top among them would be winning the 3km and 5km and the Indoor Ivy League Championships in 1996. My college career to that point had been a struggle and I had just returned from taking a year off during which I was living and training in Madrid. Both races had very strong runners and were tactical, but I had great wheels that weekend and was able to close in 55 seconds to take the wins. The 3km was the first final of the weekend, so, with a few laps to go, the crowd had moved onto the track so there were only two or three lanes open which really added to the intensity. My favourite memory was getting piled on by my teammates after the win because we all knew each other’s struggles, and I knew how happy they were to see me finally produce what I was capable of.

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)? 1500m – 3:52 (1992): 3,000m – 8:16 (1997): 5km road – 14:29 (1999): 10 Miles – 51:22 (1999) – Masters 5km -15:52 (2019).

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? As a youngster – Hills. We hit the Magazine every Saturday. I imagine we ran every possible type of hill session you could do up there. Often, we did the sessions in heavy running shoes to make the legs even heavier in the mud. You felt like a deer flying over the mud in races after that.

In College – Hills again. I was relatively stronger on the hills than other runners so I guess you enjoy the sessions where you are the one that can turn the screw.

After college – not hills! See next question.

DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? When I was a teenager, we did a Monday night gym session all winter long. It was normally about two hours long and very intensive. For the first few weeks I couldn’t walk down the stairs for a couple of days after as my quadriceps would just give out.

In college, our assistant coach John Gergorek – a 3.52 miler, Olympian, and father of Johnny Gregorek – and I would turn the “little snake” workout into a brutal contest. The workout took place on the East Side of Providence which has long parallel streets that run up and down a big hill. We ran these hills in a “snake” pattern, running up one hard and down the next easy. The hills got a little longer in the middle but were generally from 30s to 2 minutes and we ran a total of twenty. John and I would knock lumps out of each other until one of us broke the other. It was great fun! I definitely left way too much on the road in those sessions. I bumped into John recently at the Manchester Road Race, and we had a good laugh about these workouts.

But the hardest session of all is a little bit legendary. One of Mark Carroll’s staple winter workouts was 10 x ½ mile hill on the road. The problem with this type of workout is how do you keep the recovery short? Well, Jim Harvey had the answer. We’d cross the line at the top and jump in Jim’s car. He’d race to the bottom and we’d jump out and go again. Jim would drive up beside us giving feedback and, when the workout got tough, Mark would ask him to play some loud techno music to keep the rhythm going. There are many degrees of difficulty here, 1) the hill was nasty, 2) the recovery was intense, and 3) trying to hang with a guy who ran 3,000m in 7:30 is painful!

WHAT WAS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN?

Junior – Circuits (Monday), Intervals (Tues), Tempo (Thurs), Hills (Saturday), Long Run (Sunday) – about 30-50 miles a week.

College – 50-70 miles/week – Two sessions a week and a long run.

Post Collegiate – 90-120 miles/week – Two sessions a week and a long run.

Now – 80 miles/week – One session and a long run. I also bike to supplement the mileage.

DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? I have a few.

The first is bittersweet. Eddie Hogan had just passed away, so the starter asked everyone to stand in a minute’s silence on the line for the Novice Cross Country at the Magazine. While we were standing there, we first heard, and then saw a motorbike come flying across the course to the start line. Paul McGrattan jumped off, dumped his helmet and striped to his gear in about 10 seconds. Everyone watched dumbfounded as he struggled to pull on his spikes in an effort to get to the line before the minute’s silence was up. He made it and ran the race of his life – yes, warmups are overrated! He was the crucial fifth man on our Novice winning team that day!

Another Hospital Lane story comes to mind. A few good lads were training for the London Marathon and they started coming into conflict with a club member, “John”, who would told them they were all useless and that he would beat them. John was in his fifties and had a huge belly, so this was just ridiculous talk. A while later on the Tuesday after London, everyone was back in the clubhouse and John was proudly chastising those who did not believe that he was the better runner as he had hammered them all. The lads were steaming, but everyone held their tongues, but we all knew something was up. The story goes that John had a business near the finish of the marathon, and he was spotted throwing off a coat and jumping into the race near the finish line. I never saw him at the club after that. Who knows how he really pulled it off, but it was back in the day before shoes were chipped.

Another man I remember was Pat Mulally, he’d turn up in his trench coat after the running was done, and he’d have his notebook in hand as he was looking to see who hadn’t paid their dues. Guys would be hiding all over the place or literally running out the door. Fair play to him. That was a tough job but someone had to do it.

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?

1. Sonia O’Sullivan – She dominated during her prime. No other Irish athlete has ever done that. The first time I met her was a funny moment. I had just walked out of the shower in my hotel room at the World Cross Country when the door of the room opened, and Sonia was standing there with her bags. Not really how you want to meet one of your heroes! It turned out that when she checked in as ‘O’Sullivan’ on the Irish team they gave her my room key by mistake.

2. Eamonn Coghlan – Eamonn was my childhood sporting hero. He was from Drimnagh, and I was from the Liberties so it was easy to be inspired. He was such a proper star with star attitude. He was a world champion, world record holder, and even had a Kaliber beer advert on TV. The first time I met him was at the opening of the new clubhouse and, within 10 minutes, we were talking about Munich and Moscow. I was bit of a running geek as my dad had bought me a number of books on famous milers and running, so I knew all about these races. Hearing it first-hand blew me away. It’s easy to forget how good Coghlan was but a quick trip to YouTube will remind you pretty fast.

3. John Tracy/Sean Kelly/Stephen Roche/Roy Keane – All guys who did it at the top level so it’s hard to pick between them. I know Delany won gold and so did Katie Taylor and Michael Carruth, but I think the level of competition was not as high, so they don’t make the top spots.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

YOU WON THE NATIONAL JUNIOR XC TITLE IN 1992. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THAT DAY? I remember everything about that day in Santry – particularly my dad franticly chasing my little sister Aoife who ran off with one of my spikes as I was lacing up the other. Otherwise, I was completely dialled in and ready to go. There was only one other runner than I was concerned about, Alan O’Gorman from Limerick. He finished third the year before and was a fantastic runner in the mud. I was a little nervous during the first mile as the pace was strong and I was surprised to see everyone was together but, when I went to the front, I felt better and then the herd thinned out. I probably could have run much harder that day but instead I turned the screw slowly to drop people one by one. It was a conservative approach because I knew that throwing down the gauntlet to Alan could backfire if he was on form. I also knew Alan liked to run barefoot and, as conditions were firm but slippery into the finish, I knew I could outkick him. So, before the race, I picked a tree about 200m from the finish where I decided I would kick from.   I kept turning the screw and had already got away by the time I got to the tree, but I kicked it in anyway.

There was such a huge Donore Harriers turnout that day, and it was very special to be cheered on by club members I had known since I was ten years old, such as Jim Mc, Wille Dunne, Maurice Ahern, Noel Iremonger, Charlie O’Neil and many more. It was a bit of a small family back then.

YOU WON THE WBB SHIELD RACE IN 1995 WITH A SUB 53 MIN RUN AND A FEW DAYS LATER WON THE OMAN CUP RACE. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THOSE TWO RACES? These races brought me a little bit of redemption. My first two and half years of college were a rollercoaster ride, and I felt way off course. My college coaches were frustrated, too, and when it came to a head in the coaches’ office, I decided I needed to take a time-out. I’ll never forget the day I told the head coach I was leaving – it was a huge weight off my shoulders. Returning to Ireland, I tried to get in the groove with Noel (Redican), but I was still run down and my spirit was low. I needed to get away from everything familiar, so I went to Madrid to teach English. One of my old club mates, Tony McDonald, was living there doing just that and he helped me get settled. I also had some Spanish friends there that I had met in Dublin. Otherwise, I had time to slowly put the pieces back together. I taught English to business executives which paid well enough that I only needed to work 15 hours a week to support myself, so I trained hard and slept and ate well. I slowly built up to running 80 miles a week in six days with one long run of 18 miles in the massive Casa de Campo park and lots of strides. Thorough my stay in Spain, I only did two workouts. These were right before I came back to Ireland that Christmas, but many of my regular runs were very fast bordering on tempo pace.

When I came back to Ireland, I felt a bit like a caged monster. I was strong and fit and very hungry for competition. I approached the Waterhouse handicap race as hard tempo run and was happily surprised to be knocking off 5:10 to 5:15 miles on the soggy grass. I’m ran a time of 52.56. I did run the last 2-mile lap very hard. I thought I was winning with three miles to go when Noel Iremonger said, “Good lad, you can catch him!”, “Catch who?” I said as I saw nobody ahead. Noel pointed straight across the loop to the other side and there was an older club member plodding along slowly, nearly a mile ahead! I put the head down and managed to catch him <<Conor Lyons?>> with just under a mile to go. I felt a little bad for him as he had been out there so long and must have thought this was his year. Anyway, it was great to get my name on the Waterhouse shield, if only to stop Austin Lynch from having one over on me. He won it as a 17-year-old.

The Oman Cup was a few days later on New Year’s Day. There was a strong turnout with James Nolan and Nigel Brunton installed as favourites. I didn’t have a race plan. I sat in during the first mile, which was easy running. The pace picked up around the Phoenix Monument and then James Nolan made a move with about 1 km to go. When I saw that he looked to be slowing at about 600m to go, I went off the front hard for the line. Nigel Brunton kicked passed me with about 100m to go, but I still had another gear –with all the frustration of the past two years, that gear was driven by rage. I waited until we were close enough to the line so that he wouldn’t be able to respond, and then I kicked past him. It felt great to win again on home soil, and it set me up for different experience when I returned to college. I ran very well on returning to college but over time, the workload strain of academics and athletics eroded my fitness again.

<<NOTE: Top 6 in the 1995 WBB Shield race – 1^st Donal O’Sullivan 52.56; 2^nd Conor Lyons, 3^rd Richard Fitzgerald, 4^th Charlie O’Neill, 5^th Jim Clarke, 6^th Joe Rankin>>

TRACK, CROSS-COUNTRY OR ROAD RACING? Cross country for sure. It’s the purest form of racing. No clocks, no pacing, just running.

DID YOU WIN ANY IRISH VESTS? AND IN WHAT EVENTS? I only won Irish vests at underage level. International schools, Celtic Games, and the World Cross Country.

WHAT ARE YOUR MEMORIRES OF THE HOSPITAL LANE CLUB FACILITIES, TRAINING SESSIONS, CHARACTERS, ETC? I loved Hospital Lane. It was a classic old-school club house. I remember the first time I walked in and saw the old photographs all around the walls dating back to the late 1800’s and the huge shield with all the champions listed. There was a great buzz about the place and lots of banter. It used to be jammed on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Of course, much of the energy circulated around Eddie Hogan. He was always a very patient and sweet man with great stories – he told me much about the early days of the sport and personalities he knew such as Adi Dassler who started Adidas and his brother, Rudolf, who started Puma. Actually, the first session I ever did was an Eddie session. The whole club went up to the Polo Grounds. I was excited to run on the grass track but Eddie had Paul McGrattan and me run around in the tall grass outside the polo fence. Needless to say, we didn’t love this but looking back it was genius as he was trying to get us to run with high knee lift. I might have to use this on my own daughters!

The old club was very dusty, flips flops were required to shower, the youths used to change in a small trailer extension off to one side and the women’s facilities were even worse. So, we couldn’t wait to get into the new clubhouse. However, by the time we moved in, the numbers had dropped, and it seemed a bit empty. But, we had a good young training crew all the same to keep things rolling, such as Mark Redican, Austin Lynch, Paul McGrattan, Donal Iremonger, Tony McDonald, and Proinsias Ferguson. It’s great to see how well the club is doing now particularly the success with the young kids and John Travers flying the Donore Harriers flag at the pointy end of the races.

YOU WENT ON AN ATHLETICS SCHOLARSHIP TO THE U.S.A. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE FOR YOU? MAYBE TELL US ABOUT THE POSITIVES AND THE NEGATIVES OF THE AMERICAN COLLEGIATE SYSTEM? I could write a book about this. I chose to attend an Ivy League university and study one of the most challenging undergraduate majors, engineering. I was a decent student, but to put things in perspective, the engineering class was made up of some of the best students internationally. These guys were as good academically as I was on the track. The academic intensity made it difficult to train properly. For example, I would ‘pull an all-nighter’ finishing lab reports every Wednesday night during my first semester with all the other engineers. As a result, my first two years did not go well as I was setting goals that were too high given the circumstances. This was somewhat driven by watching Mark Carroll and Andy Keith across town at Providence running sub 4 and sub 7:50 for 3km. Half way through my third year I had had enough, so I went to Madrid to reset and focus on base fitness. I taught English and lived a little like a monk, putting together a good six months of base training work. When I returned to college, I was back to winning races again. Back then we didn’t really travel far to races, and New England was still too cold in the Spring to run fast outdoor times. So, outdoor track was always a bit of a bust. Nowadays, everyone flies to California for fast races.

Running on a large team was great. Most of my friends today are people I ran with at college. Outside of running, the experience was eye-opening. I was surrounded by interesting people each with their own dreams and plans grander than my own – my next door neighbour and friend was Andrew Yang who ran for the democratic nominee for US president. It was a big change from the Irish attitude at the time which was ‘keep your head down’.

A lot has changed both in the US education system and the Irish education system since I started college. If anything, the Irish system seems to more closely resemble the US system of continuous assessment now. But also, with the internet, it is much easier to stay in touch with family and friends then when I came over. I probably spent most of my money on phone calls back home during my first semester, and it was not uncommon to see Irish athletes return home quickly due to homesickness. To be honest, there are not many negatives to the US Collegiate system particularly if you know how to approach it. Most of the top running programs are at large Division I colleges that are well respected academic institutions. Even some of the colleges that are not as rigorous and might be seen as ‘party schools’ will always have a department or two that are very well respected. Before I came over, I would often hear that American universities are not at the same level as the Irish ones. But, this is not true. All you have to do is take a look at who is teaching at top Irish Universities, and you will see many of the professors received their doctorates from the same Division I schools that recruit Irish athletes.

Generally, the academics are too rigorous to train as hard as a professional runner might. For example, it is not uncommon for a pro runner to sleep 13 hours a day but there is no way a college runner could do that and stay on top of the academics. The key for a young athlete is to be patient and to use the collegiate system as an opportunity to slowly build base, to enjoy the experience, and to learn how to race well. The hard training should only start once the degree is in hand.

Another thing to consider is how we measure success for an athlete that choses the American scholarship path. Unfortunately, we often tend to look only at the times an athlete is posting rather than their development as a person overall. Running is an incredibly hard sport that, in addition to hard training, requires a fair amount of luck to stay healthy. Actually, staying healthy may be the most important “talent” trait for an athlete to be successful as it allows long-term consistent training. And that’s what produces results. So, it’s no surprise that most Irish athletes who take the scholarship route don’t become household names. However, most do benefit enormously from the experience and go on to have successful careers that they probably would not have had if they stayed in Ireland. This is important to keep in mind when speaking with young athletes when they return home. For many young athletes, their self-esteem is fragile and wrapped up in their athletic persona, and it can be very difficult for them to face people and to try to explain why they are not progressing as expected. I certainly felt judged (whether it was real or not) when I returned to Ireland at times. Nobody saw all of the hard work; only poor performances. It was almost embarrassing to try to explain yourself without sounding like you were making excuses. Helping the young athlete see and understand the big picture value of their experience and education would likely be the best thing a club mate, coach, or friend could do for a struggling athlete. It would also help them to have patience with their athletic development, which should increase their chance of having senior success.

ONE OF THE CRITICISMS OF THE U.S. COLLEGIATE SYSTEM IS THAT ATHLETES ARE EXPECTED TO RACE TOO HARD AND RACE TOO OFTEN. WHAT IS YOUR OWN OPINION OF THAT ASSESSMENT?

This is a myth. I heard the same thing before I came over and I imagine it may have been true at smaller colleges in the 1970s and 1980s.   It was certainly not true by the time I arrived. In fact, the NCAA has strict rules about participation and training that can land programs in hot water if they are not careful. For example, we were only officially supposed to train six days a week. The other day was ‘optional’ but the coach expected you to get a run in. Many of these rules were put in place to protect basketball players from exploitation (though I’m not sure how well that has worked). In fact, if anything, athletes may not get to race hard as often as they would like, particularly nowadays.

The standard of running has improved greatly in the US over the past decade, so an Irish athlete may find themselves competing with teammates, not to mention others, to get a spot in a fast race. And, there is a catch-22 here. The trick to running fast track times is to get ‘on the train’ in a fast race with a strong field. But how do you get into a fast race in the first place? Run fast times!

What you do observe, is that some athletes will ‘double’, run two events, at their conference championships. These meets are generally the most important for track teams, so the teams will try to optimize their participation for maximum points. A very strong distance runner may run a 3km/5km double indoors or 5km/10km outdoors, but this will only happen if that runner is likely to score high in both events. The events would be straight finals and separated by a day, so ‘doubling’ is similar to running heats and finals at any major championships. Not a bad experience for a runner that is close to the world stage.

Finally, there are three distinct seasons: cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track. The emphasis on each season is somewhat dependent on where the college is located. For example, because of the warmer climate, west coast and southern schools don’t put as much weight on indoor track as east coast colleges. Consequently, many athletes aim to peak for just two of the three seasons. It’s also on the athlete to advocate for their long-term development and, together with the coach, come up with a plan that serves both the coach’s shorter-term interests and the athlete’s longer-term goals. These days, most coaches are former runners and would understand that development takes time.

In addition, with social media, coaches and athletic programs need to be mindful of public opinion as any horror stories would severely impact their ability to recruit top runners.

WHAT WAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TRIP/OUTING ASSOCIATED WITH ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? AND WHY? I’ve had my fair share of great running trips. It was always a great motivator to try to make an international team as a youngster. The most fun was going with the large Irish Schools Track Team for the FISEC Games in Andorra. We were all sixteen or seventeen – just old enough for a little trouble!

After college, I had the opportunity to represent the Ivy League a few times at Ekiden relays in Japan. We were treated extremely well by our hosts and saw many parts of the country, Tokyo, Nagoya, Izumo, and Kyoto. I got to know Weldon and Robert Johnson on those trips and they wrote about it on their now famous website Letsrun.com – https://www.letsrun.com/japan.shtml. Japan is such a mix of the old and new, from the Shogun’s palace and the hot springs of Mt. Fugi, to mind-numbing downtown Tokyo. I definitely want to go back, but I’ll take my family there next time.

These days, I fly out to Montana at the end of July to run a three-day relay with my old college teammates. You run legs from about 6am to 3pm and then camp, swim, cook BBQ, drink beers, and catch up. It is the most beautiful landscape you’ll ever run across, but you have to keep your eye out for grizzly bears – on a couple of legs you carry bear spray! It is a low key and cultish event but an amazing experience overall. Donore Harriers should send over a team! https://www.headwatersrelay.com/

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPORTING REGRETS? No. I don’t believe in regrets. You make the best decision you can at the time given the information you have. I tried my best to make it as an elite runner and with hindsight I would have been more patient for sure. But, otherwise, I have so much to be thankful for, and I would not change a thing. Anyway, I’m not done yet! I’m still looking to run fast as a Masters athlete and perhaps get into triathlon in my 50’s.

One final thought. I have a box of medals sitting in a box in the bottom drawer of cabinet but what running really brought me over the years has been great friends and shared experiences. I look forward to seeing you all at Donore Harriers again in the not-too-distant future!

John Geoghegan’s greatest gift was that he always cared. It was a gift that he carried in both his personal life and in his role as an athletics coach. He had a unique rapport with his athletes and developed a formidable sprints and hurdles squad at Donore Harriers.

One of the last Track and Field meetings that John attended was the National League finals at Tullamore on the 20^th of July 2019. It was the first time that Donore Harriers had both a men’s and women’s team contest the premier division finals. The men’s team lost out on a podium place by one point, and the women’s team by just 3. Fifteen of the athletes who represented the club on that day were directly coached by John, many of whom he mentored from the juvenile grade. Another one of his charges, Jack Raftery, was competing in the European U20 championships in Sweden on the same day.

One of the remarkable facts about John is that he did not come from an athletics background, yet he became a coach who was very highly respected in the athletics community. His enthusiasm for learning, upskilling and being innovative made John a stand-out coach. John reached to an accredited IAAF Level 4 standard.

John was also a great clubman! His vision was for Donore Harriers to have better facilities and to achieve at a higher level. He used his engineering skills to help with the upgrade and maintenance of the track; and he fully endorsed the coaching structure proposal back in 2012. John was a past member of the club’s general committee and was a strong supporter of the coaching sub-committee.

As a part of his club ethos John was always supportive and respectful of other squads/athletes at the club. My juvenile distance squad used to share the track with John’s sprinters on Tuesday and Thursday evenings. Our conversation was never more than 30-seconds regarding the use of lanes, warm-up areas, etc, such was John’s willingness to facilitate others.

John was also generous with his knowledge and know-how. I remember than when the squads combined for warm-up routines on Saturday mornings John would describe the benefits of each drill with great expertise, enthusiasm, and sincerity.

One of the most relevant conversations that I had with John centred on Jack Raftery’s move from the junior distance squad to his sprints group. Again, it was a short conversation. John was curious as to how a young athlete who was training for cross-country and distance races could run 49 seconds for the 400m. To his amusement I replied: “Hills” and after a short pause “and training with Louis O’Loughlin”. He smiled approvingly. I knew that for Jack’s development as a top-class 400m athlete he needed John’s technical expertise and attention to detail.

The great pity is that John will never get the chance to see the fruits of his coaching commitment by way of national senior champions. He was taken from us far too early! What I will say is that any list of great coaches at Donore Harriers must include the name of John Geoghegan. His knowledge, his commitment, his people skills, and his reliability put him in a special category of coaches who made athletes to believe and achieve no matter their natural ability.

Every good coach has landmark days when they share in the achievements and honours attained by their athletes. John had many such days with the development and successes of athletes such as Aoife Lynch, Paul McDermott, Alex Clarkin, Jack Raftery, Zak Higgins, Lucy Hurley, Lara O’Byrne, Ciara O’Donnell, David Campbell, David Slupko, Daragh McAuley, Eva McPartlan, Sarah Lahiff, Adam Halpin, Eva Kelly, and many others.

One of the proudest days in his coaching journey was the 9^th of August 2014 when Sean Lawlor (200m & relay) and Jack Rudden-Kelly (100m H) represented Ireland in the Celtic Games at Santry. Here is a link to Sean’s (inside lane) 200m race – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZXLJXxcbpc and here is a link to Jack’s (white singlet in middle) 100m Hurdles race – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vwd-YjadIyQ

The last time I spoke to John was on the 3^rd of October 2020. Emily brought him to the club, and he was sitting in the passenger seat of the car. One of the things that he said to me was: “I love this place, and I just want to get back”. At that time, I knew that John was going to lose his ultimate battle with the big C. It was a heart-wrenching moment. I just told John to keep being positive. The conversation reflected the fact that John endeared himself to Donore Harriers, to his friends at the club, and to the family of athletes in his sprints squad.

I briefly saw John twice more before his sad passing. On both occasions he was sitting in his wheelchair down on the track. He was surrounded by his athletes and fellow coaches. Everybody showed so much affinity for John; so much respect; yet there was a collective sense of emotional hurt. We all knew that John was where he wanted to be; on his field of dreams and longing to get back to continue his coaching mission. Unfortunately, his maker had a different plan.

John died peacefully at his home on the 14^th of November 2020, surrounding by his family. He was married to Oonagh, and had 3 daughters Charlotte, Emily, and Alice.

A big thanks to all who contributed to this tribute to John.

Gerry Naughton (middle-distance coach)

POSTSCRIPT: Two of John’s family members Paul and Gerry Maher are doing a fundraiser in aid of BRAIN TUMOUR IRELAND in memory of John. Here is the link – https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/100kin1day?fbclid=IwAR0jGa37RMHfLyFVlT2PtaihmDVYcVug-kazSVvwSRZqovYjLAKuRDjYihs

 

EMILY GEOGHEGAN, JOHN’S DAUGHTER, ANSWERS QUESTIONS ABOUT HER FATHER

JOHN’S PLACE AND DATE OF BIRTH? October 14^th, 1963, Dublin, Drumcondra

WHERE WAS JOHN EDUCATED? O’Connell’s School in Drumcondra; UCD- Engineering; Masters was done in Lean Sigma Systems in Limerick University

WHAT WAS JOHN’S MAIN CAREER PATH? Mechanical engineering

IN WHAT YEAR DID JOHN JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2006/2007

WHY DID HE CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? That credit goes to my mum, who had been looking for a running club for me. Donore Harriers had a clubhouse, and the rest is history.

WHEN AND WHY DID HE START HIS COACHING JOURNEY? I had been running at the club for a couple of years and my Dad was helping out with paperwork and entries. Then Maurice (Ahern) put out the idea of helping out with coaching…

DID JOHN PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORTS? When he was young, he played football. He also played golf.

JOHN’S FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? Hurdles! He loved the technical side of sprints and hurdles.

WHO WERE JOHN’S COACHING AND ATHLETICS INFLUENCES? Jessica Ennis, Usain Bolt, Michael Jordan, Glen Mills.

SOCIAL

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE WERE JOHN’S COACHING PHILOSOPHIES? Coach the person and then the athlete was a major one. Also, that you’re running against your past self as a focus to beat your PB.

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK JOHN READ? The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafron

WHAT WAS HIS FAVOURITE CONCERT? Michael Jackson

WHAT WERE JOHN’S FAVOURITE FILMS?

1. Gladiator
2. The Jason Bourne Trilogy
3. Coach Carter

 

WHAT WAS JOHN’S FAVOURITE HOLIDAY DISTINATION? Collioure in the South of France

 

WHAT WERE HIS INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS?

Supporting Rugby

Driving and listening to music

His dog Pele

Telling stories

Family and Friends

DIY … always making the job bigger than it was!

IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED JOHN TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

1. Thin Lizzy – Dancing in the Moonlight
2. ACDC – Thunderstruck
3. Christy Moore – Joxer Goes to Stuttgart

HERE ARE SOME TRIBUTES FROM CLUB MEMBERS AND FRIENDS:

CHARLIE O’NEILL, CLUB PRESIDENT: I first got to know John when I became Donore Harriers President for the first time in 2008.  I worked with him for three years. During that time John was a passionate representative of the junior and juvenile members of Donore Harriers.

As I was also Charman of the Dublin Athletic Board at the time, he regularly brought up suggestions and initiatives for the Board to act on too. For example, he often championed the cause of the Dublin Board organising indoor competition for junior and juvenile athletes who had no interest in competing in cross country.

Although I could see his point, the nearest indoor facility was Athlone. It proved to be too costly an undertaking, but John was having none of that and we regularly discussed the possibility. Some years later with the opening of Abbotstown, his dream was realised. Many a young Donore Harrier has now had a taste of inter-club competition indoors.

At club level, he was also of the strong opinion that our youngsters, particularly sprinters, were an untapped resource. He set about setting up a coaching structure with different coaches engaged with their specific groups but sharing knowledge and information. In my humble opinion, he was the architect of our present coaching structure. He did all this in his own quiet way and disarming smile. He made his case by reasoned argument and never lost his temper. He treated everyone he met with utmost respect. He therefore earned the respect and admiration of others. But he was also very persuasive especially at club committee meetings.

I spoke with John one Saturday morning shortly before his untimely passing, trackside at Donore. He expressed his admiration for the Dublin Board and the A.A.I. in organising track meets quickly under revised Covid-19 guidelines and he hoped that would be the beginning of things returning to normal. Before we parted company, he said to me with a broad smile “Charlie, I really miss this, watching everyone working so hard while I do feck all”

He really did miss Donore Harriers and we will miss him.

BRID GOLDEN, CHAIRPERSON OF COACHING & DEVELOPMENT AT ATHLETICS IRELAND: I had the great pleasure of getting to know John when he attended many coaching sessions, clinics, and seminars over the years. We both completed the IAAF level IV coaching course over a two-year period just a few years ago. During that time, I had the pleasure of working closely with John and a small number of other Irish coaches.  We all became great friends and I write this on behalf of that wonderful IAAF Level 4 Sprints Hurdles Class of 2014.

First and foremost, John was a lovely person. He was a kind and caring man. John brought out the best in people he met. His gentle temperament and compassionate nature endeared him to all those he engaged with. His sharp intelligence and curious mind made his company enjoyable. He enriched conversations without ever dominating. A good listener, John was a good friend to all who knew him.

John’s work coaching with his beloved club Donore Harriers was inspiring. He was ambitious and wanted those athletes in his group who put their faith in him to develop to their potential. He wanted his athletes to be the best they could be. To achieve this, John continually upskilled, always striving to learn more and always endeavouring to do things as good as he possibly could. John always coached his athletes mindful of what was best for them as young people as his top priority. Nurturing the wellbeing of his athletes was equally important to John as delivering medals or pbs on the athletics circuit. John was justifiably proud of his athlete’s achievements, many going on to be successful at Leinster, national and international level.

John was a skilled and knowledgeable coach. He gave of his expertise and time generously and made a real and tangible difference to the athletics journey of so many young athletes in Donore Harriers. He was a wonderful servant to athletics who kept on giving. He never sought the limelight for himself. John inspired many athletes to follow their dreams and achieve more than they may ever have dreamed of initially.

Donore Harriers was blessed to have John as a coach. His athletes were blessed to have John as a coach. Athletics Ireland was blessed to have John as a coach.

Thanks John for your friendship and support over many years.

John will be fondly remembered and sadly missed by all of us who were blessed to have known him. Rest in peace John.

DIANNE NUNAN, PARENT, JUVENILE COACH & ADMINISTRATOR: I do remember Laura, my daughter, attending a Saturday morning session where we turned up a little too early & John welcomed us both and spent time chatting to Laura. His love for the sport and his commitment with his time & energy were so obvious.

I also recollect that in the weeks before his death when he came down to the club on Saturday mornings and always had a smile and a friendly wave for everyone.

I attended the funeral in Laurel Lodge and was struck by all the young athletes sharing their memories of John. It was really evident the influence and impact John had on all the athletes and the coaches at the club.

CIARAN O’FLAHERTY, MIDDLE-DISTANCE COACH:Although John didn’t come from an athletics background, he seemed to fit into the role of sprints coach with ease and together with his technical skills and easy-going manner he always got the best from his athletes who enjoyed big successes in championships and on the international front.

Quietly spoken but assertive John was highly respected by his athletes and peers. The big success his athletes have enjoyed in the relative short time he was coach is testament to how good John was in the role. His legacy lives on!

LARA O’BYRNE, MULTI-EVENTS ATHLETE: I always thought he was a lovely man because he would always stop for a chat and would tell me how well I was doing at competitions as he would with lots of other athletes. I came to John’s group in 2017 and he was my hurdles and sprints coach. He took me under his wing even though I was a Heptathlete. I really enjoyed training with John as we got on so well and clicked straight away. He done his best for me and even with Shot Put he used his knowledge of maths to figure out the angles I should be at. He was such an intelligent man and was very witty too! I was the first Heptathlete that he trained, and he went out of his way to help me. John will be missed so much by athletes, coaches, and parents.

FLORENCE CURLEY, WOMEN’S XC & ROAD CAPTAIN & CLUB CAPTAIN: I first encountered John when he came on to the club committee years ago. He started off as a parent who got into coaching kind of by accident, but he quickly became a really important part of a sprint group which was just developing.  At many a Monday night meeting I came to be very impressed with John’s calm and considered contribution. He was always a rock of sense at those meetings and you always need people like that in a club.  The whole excellence of that sprint group grew thanks in big part of John’s flair and insight as a coach.

The success of his sprinters was one of the big reasons the Donore Harriers women team became such a force in the National League as the years went on. I remember the bad old days when we were so thin on sprinters, but that all changed, and John was a big part of that progression.  I have memories of him at the various league rounds and finals with his athletes and being very proud when they performed well!

Every Tuesday night in wintertime while the endurance group were training laps of track, John was always there without fail in all weathers. He became such a familiar presence, part of the fabric of the club. His quiet and assured presence is still so missed! I hope his great coaching legacy will live on.

LEONIE NEWMAN (JUVENILE SECRETARY), RAY O’KEEFFE (SPRINTS & HURDLES COACH) & ROBYN O’KEEFFE (ATHLETE): We first met John when we joined Donore Harriers 13 years ago. We have such great memories that will stay with us! From the long cold nights down on the track, to sunnier times at competitions up and down the country. And from juvenile competitions, to progressing to national league finals.

His vision for his athletes was matched by his vision for the club and its facilities. It was a dream of his that Donore Harriers would become a powerhouse of Irish track and field athletics. Whether it was a first final, a Dublin medal, a National medal, or an Irish vest John always greeted his athletes with the great enthusiasm and was always on hand with expert advice.

We remember well John’s last time to spectate an event. It was in Tullamore for the National League final in 2019. Both men and women finished just outside the medals, but that did not matter. John got a front row seat upstairs and really enjoyed watching his athletes doing so well. He joked that he was in the VIP seats.

JACK RAFTERY, 400m ATHLETE: Multiple memories stand out to me from John. From his dislike to any form of “modern” music I played down on the track, to claiming my PB of 48.71 in Belgium. That was the result of his expert coaching exactly one week after I left the middle-distance squad.

I made an ecstatic call to John minutes after winning the National Junior 400m title in 2019. Whilst John himself was beyond congratulatory at the result and the confirmation that I would be going to the U20 Europeans in Sweden.

John always kept a steady head. A quiet reassuring presence always thinking long term, never stressing about an athlete having themselves a poor session or a poor race. All was seen as a steppingstone. John knew how to both coach and communicate with us phenomenally. No matter the problem John knew how to fix it and find the upside. The future was always going to be bigger and brighter with him, and I hope to carry that on for him.

DECLAN RAFTERY, PARENT & SPRINTS COACH: I didn’t know John that well – I also remember the first time I think I actually talked to him when he did say to me that “Jack was a great runner…but had s@%t taste in music”!  He created an amazing group of sprinters in Donore Harriers that are a great group of friends that support and joke with each other while also putting in the hard training sessions.  The respect all of the sprints group have for John speaks volumes of the type of person John was and how much they trusted him.

ANNE CURLEY, ATHLETE AND FORMER CLUB TREASURER & DIRECTOR: John joined us and got involved in the juvenile group when I was based in London. I returned in 2008 when the track was not long built. There was great excitement and real sense of good things to come at that time. John had a huge input in getting the project to completion with Maurice Ahern. I knew that John got initially involved with our developing juvenile group in the mid 2000’s as a parent volunteer. I wasn’t too aware of what was going on with the juveniles at the time as I was too immersed in my own training with Jim Mc’s senior women’s group. The first time I became aware of John was at an AGM in 2009. He had established himself as a coach and I was struck by how genuine and serious he was about his plans and visions for the younger group. It was a particularly nasty AGM, but he brought an air of calm to the proceedings. He had no agenda to score points against people only a plan of action. He made an impression on me that night and you knew you were listening to a good and genuine man. People like John are what any club needs. No personal agendas, no favouritism, only committed to the success of the club and the wellbeing of the athletes. I just don’t know why the good people like John get taken from us when they are so badly needed. I didn’t know John well, but I knew enough to know he was a special man. He will be a huge loss to our Donore family, but like all great mentors he has left a great legacy behind him and a place in our history books.

SEAN LAWLOR, FORMER CLUB ATHLETE: I was first introduced to John around September of 2009, having moved from a primarily juvenile / beginners training group. One of my earliest and fondest memories with John was at the All-Ireland juvenile indoor championships, Nenagh, 2010. Unfortunately, due to work commitments, John could not make it on the day. However, following a brief phone call with John before the heats in the ‘warm-up area’ of Nenagh, I was reassured of my ability and reminded of the months of hard work put in prior to getting there. From then on, the rest was history. I went on to win All Ireland Gold in the U.13 boys 60m, beating the reigning 2-year champion at the time. What made this a particularly memorable moment is the fact that, for me, it was my first time winning a national title, whilst for John, it was the first time one of his athletes had won an All-Ireland gold medal. When my mother rang John in elation saying: “he won, he won, he won!”. John, in true John style, simply asked “What was the time?!”, – a response which was testament to John’s keen eye for detail and inherently cool, calm and collected manner. This was a trait in John that not only made the good days better, but also the bad days more manageable.

JACK RUDDEN-KELLY, FORMER CLUB ATHLETE: There is no way to accurately articulate the impact John had on me as a young boy. John was a great man. He cared so much for all his athletes reaching far beyond just athletics. He had an incredibly formative influence on both my sporting and academic life. From a young age he instilled the discipline in me to work hard towards my athletic goals, as well as inspiring me to study mechanical engineering. He always gave so generously of his time and his dedication to the club went leaps and bounds beyond what was asked of him. He was a massive inspiration in my life, and I will always cherish the times I spent with him as both a mentor and my dear friend.

IN THIS PART OF THE TRIBUTE SPRINTS SQUAD ATHLETES – DAVID CAMPBELL, AOIFE LYNCH, PAUL McDERMOTT, AND ADAM HALPIN – ANSWER SPECIFIC QUESTIONS ABOUT COACH JOHN.

WHAT DO YOU BELIEVE WERE JOHN’S COACHING PHILOSOPHIES?

DAVID CAMPBELL:The best thing about John was the fact that he knew a one size fits all approach doesn’t work for athletes. He dedicated time and energy both on and off the track to help get the very best out of his athletes. This also related to aspects outside of athletics such as their education in secondary school and college.

John always strived to get the best out of a person, to help them grow as an individual and the only thing he asked in return was that they give it their all come race day.

AOIFE LYNCH: If I could choose one quote to summarise John’s coaching philosophy, it would be “control the controllables”. By that I mean he would constantly remind us to run our own best race and not worry about anyone else’s. Whenever I’d be flustered by my competitors posting fast times or

entering a certain competition, he’d be there to tell me that I can’t

control what others do, so just to focus on myself and what I know.

PAUL McDERMOTT: I feel as though john instilled many philosophies throughout the years that I knew him. The one main core element was the work ethic. He wanted every session that was done to be given 100 percent effort or it was not worth doing.

WHAT WAS YOUR BEST ACHIEVEMENT(S) WHILST UNDER THE COACHING TUTELAGE OF JOHN?

DAVID CAMPBELL: I still class John as my coach right now and I’m confident the best is still yet to come in terms of my athletics achievements. The 2021 season will be our groups special way of thanking John for all his dedication over the years by delivering plenty of memorable performances. We’ll be wearing a ribbon for John on our singlets, and I guarantee it will give us all the extra boost to exceed all expectations!

AOIFE LYNCH: Lausanne Diamond League 4x100m relay team member 2018.

PAUL McDERMOTT: Funny enough my best achievement under John was not my PB run or even becoming a national champion. My biggest achievement was when I first came down and we both made a plan that I would try break 22 seconds for the 200m. When it finally came after months of work, I think we both cherished that achievement the most out of all.

WHAT ADVICE DID JOHN GIVE YOU BEFORE A PARTICULAR COMPETITION? DAVID CAMPBELL:The message was always to go out there and have fun. John would have you filled with confidence the final session before race day knowing that you’ve worked extremely hard throughout the year and it’s your time to shine on race day!

AOIFE LYNCH: “Control the controllables”. By that I mean he would constantly remind us to run our own best race and not worry about anyone else’s.

Whenever I’d be flustered by my competitors posting fast times or entering a certain competition, he’d be there to tell me that I can’t control what others do, so just to focus on myself and what I know.

PAUL McDERMOTT: John never had many words before a competition as he felt the work was done and there was nothing left to do. Except in one race in which I had an awful run in my heat but managed to make it to the final. Somehow, I was so nervous to run bad again, so John took me aside and said to “Just run, it’s not that hard” and funny enough after this my nerves settled, and I went out and ran one of my best races.

DO YOU HAVE ANY FUNNY OR INTERESTING STORY RELATING TO JOHN?

DAVID CAMPBELL: The week Jack Raftery joined John’s group he got one block session in before he headed off with the Irish Junior team to compete in a 400m and 4x400m relay at Mannheim, Germany. Jack ended up running a huge PB in the 400m flat and on the following Tuesday night John shook his hand and said, “Just remember that was only after one session with me, imagine how fast I’ll make you run after a full week’s training”.

AOIFE LYNCH: When I was in my Leaving Cert year, I had to take on extra Maths grinds which occurred on a Saturday morning as it was the only time that suited my teacher. I hated missing training and in order to resolve this,

John offered to read and correct my maths homework whenever I needed as an alternative to the extra grinds. It really showed me how much time he was willing to put into his athletes on and off the track.

DO YOU REMEMBER SOMETHING FUNNY THAT JOHN TOLD YOU? HE WAS A VERY WITTY PERSON!

DAVID CAMPBELL: One Saturday morning I was jogging back to the Donore Harriers clubhouse after a session in the park with Gerry Naughton’s group and I spotted John in the car park. He shouts over to me saying “Want to see something funny?” I jogged over to John and he told me to look left. All I could see were athletes sprawled out across the track with no movement but plenty of groans. When I asked what happened to them, he replied “The Lactic Sniper”.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE SESSION COACHED BY JOHN?

DAVID CAMPBELL: Blocks off the bend on a hot Summer night, you can’t beat it!

AOIFE LYNCH: Flying 30’s – if I clocked a fast time, he’d stand there silent and hold it up for me to read the time myself (which meant I’d done a good job).

PAUL McDERMOTT: My favourite session coached by John would be the time that it was just me and him on the track and we were doing 3 x 150s flat out. He was hoping I could dip into the 16 seconds – and on the final one we hit it, which just made it a great day!

ADAM HALPIN: This is an interesting question! Some of my favourite sessions given by John were some of the hardest sessions. One session I love doing is 350m, 400m and 425m session with a long recovery in between.  I love this session because I always get anxious the same way I would before a race. One of my favourite feelings is getting ready to race. The feeling of the adrenaline rush when you’re at the start line and ready to go just puts me in great form. Another reason why I love this session is the group I have around me. Everyone just wants the best for each other and to push each other past our limits, which is an ethos instilled by John. I feel so lucky to have made friends and be involved in such a friendly atmosphere, which is down to John.

HOW MUCH DID JOHN IMPACT YOUR INVOLVMENT IN ATHLETICS?

DAVID CAMPBELL:John always played a huge role especially with the National League Squads. He’s coached athletes that won Gold, Silver and Bronze in this competition over the years and always was extremely supportive to me when trying to get the best squad out on the day. One thing I really liked about John was the fact he always put the athletes first. He treated everyone with respect and any decisions he made were always in their best interest at heart. Aoife Lynch is a prime example of this. John coached Aoife for years where she won multiple National titles, represented Ireland at the European Championships and she even got to compete at a prestigious Diamond League meet.

AOIFE LYNCH: Oftentimes John would give me a lift to training or competitions or meet me at the track to do a 1-on-1 session at a time that suited me if I couldn’t make the usual evening slot due to school or work. If I ever apologised for this or thanked him for being there without fail, he’d just say “Don’t thank me, you’re the one that’s done the work, I just write the sessions” or “Don’t apologise, I love this!” It’s only hit me recently how much he genuinely loved the sport and how much joy it brought him in return, so I hope to embody this in my future pursuits – to compete and participate in athletics for enjoyment first and medals second.

PAUL McDERMOTT: I think John impacted my involvement in athletics so much. Indeed, he impacted my life as a whole. When I first started athletics, I did not put in the work as I was naturally fast. However, John made me put in the work and taught me that you got to work for success – and that no one hands you out anything on a plate. I have taken this ethos, even in my personal life.

WHAT SONG REMINDS YOU OF JOHN?

DAVID CAMPBELL: It would have to be Elvis Presley – A Little Less Conversation. John was always up for athletes having a laugh on the track but when warm up and drills were finished it was showtime. As the song goes “A Little Less Conversation, A Little More Action”.

WHAT WAS THE HARDEST SESSION THAT JOHN GAVE YOU TO DO?

DAVID CAMPBELL: The dreaded 375m – 400m – 425m. It’s horrendous, even just thinking about it now. I can safely say that every athlete fears this one. If you go out too fast on the first rep you’re done! It is one of those sessions that you need to make sure you’ve had your Weetabix that morning!

AOIFE LYNCH: 100m, 200m, 300m, 200m, 100m

PAUL McDERMOTT: John always had some tough sessions but one day I think he was trying to be funny when he gave us 3 x 150m 3 times and then a 250m. I don’t think anyone could finish it, and at the end he smirked and said it might have been a little much.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE AWAY TRIP WITH JOHN, EITHER TO A RACE, DAY TRIP OR TRAINING CAMP? PLEASE EXPLAIN WHY?

DAVID CAMPBELL: Our warm weather training camp to Monte Gordo, Portugal a few years ago. It was honestly one of the best weeks we’ve ever had with the group and it genuinely made us feel like one big family. Whether it was putting in fast track sessions in the hot sun, jumping off a waterfall in a tropical paradise we discovered or the group going out for those famous “Waffles” in the Burger Ranch each night…we had a blast! We were living the high life and it gave us a great insight into the lifestyle of professional track & field athletes.

PAUL McDERMOTT: We once went to this training day thing that was on in Athlone. It was just three athletes and John. We realised very quickly that it was very basic course on how to use blocks and wasn’t really for us. Afterwards we stopped for food and we just got to talk to John. As I was new to athletics at that time and appreciated learning so much from John on that day.

ADAM HALPIN: My favourite trip would definitely have to be our training camp to Portugal. I’ve very fond memories of when we went in 2018. It was all the laughs we had, but then there was some amount of hard work put in by all the athletes. One night that sticks out the most is the game night. His daughter Emily had this game called fishbowl and all that comes to mind is how competitive David Campbell is to the point where it was hilarious. A lot of laughs were shared that night with the crew. I’m happy to have a memory like that with John and the amazing family of athletes that he blended.

DID JOHN EVER TALK TO YOU ABOUT HIS FAVOURITES, AND WHAT

WERE THEY?

AOIFE LYNCH: Yes, his favourite athletes were Dina Asher Smith and Jessica Ennis.

PAUL McDERMOTT: I don’t know of any coaches that John admired, but he was always trying to learn new methods of training on how he could help his athletes to get better. He studied the sport to the finest detail and took inspiration from many different sources to create his own coaching style.

ADAM HALPIN: He never told me his favourite team, but he did make it obvious. It was Chelsea FC!

WHAT WOULD HAVE BEEN YOUR FINAL FAREWELL TO JOHN?

DAVID CAMPBELL: We were very lucky to have John down with us on the track for Saturday morning sessions late last year. It lit up everyone’s face seeing John and I gave it 110% at all sessions when he was down. I loved the fact that he was still well able to give me pointers to work on and he was always so positive. We’re all so motivated to do John proud this year more than ever and it’s been something I’ve used to keep me going throughout lockdown training. We’ll get a chance to race later this year, we don’t know when exactly but when we do, we’ll do everything we can to end up on that podium and bring home National medals for John!

AOIFE LYNCH: The last proper athletics-related conversation we had was during the summer, after I’d run the national senior 200m final and won a medal. He rang me on the phone and sounded so happy, and it was the first

time in ages that he’d been able to see me race and give me feedback. I

spoke to him once or twice after that conversation but that particular

phone call will always stay fresh in my mind.

PAUL McDERMOTT: I thought about this question for a while, and I think my final farewell would have been to just sit with him and talk about everything and anything and remember some of the memories that I shared with him. To just be able to go on for hours about athletics and his life would be the best farewell I think I could give him.

ADAM HALPIN: My final farewell would be just to let John know how much he meant to me. I got into athletics on a bit of a fluke and I never thought it’d be a sport I’d take to. But with that said, it was the best fluke that ever happened to me. I got to meet someone who was one of the best mentors. I still struggle with my confidence from time to time, but John has done so much for me as a person growing up through my childhood since I was 13 years of age.

The best lesson I gained from John is the value of hard work and discipline. I’m currently in my 2^nd Year of College to become an Athletic Therapist and it’s a course where a lot of hard work needs to be put in. I hope someday I can give something back to Donore Harriers and to help people in the same way that John helped me.

REST IN PEACE JOHN.

Here’s another interesting trip down Hospital Lane! Iris Burke joined Donore Harriers in 1983 and was an integral member during the formative years of the Women’s section (formed 1982). She has the distinction of being the first female officer in the club as she fulfilled the Honorary Secretary role in the 1989/90 season. Iris was also a fine athlete who competed on the track, road and cross-country.

Here’s some words from her coach Gerry Ronan: “Iris Burke was one of the first non-distance running members of the Donore Harriers women’s section, along with Gillian Diffley – the famous Irish model, Anne-Marie Fagan and Margaret O’Halloran – the first national champion in the Pole Vault. Iris was a tough and brave 400/800m competitor who was never afraid of hard work or of expressing her opinion. I remember, in particular, the courage it took to change schools to further her education.’

‘She was very much a leader amongst her peers, and a young woman who always knew her own mind. She was in many respects the Lara O’Byrne of her day, in that every training session was brighter and easier for her presence. She would have made an excellent Ladies captain…”

Maurice Ahern, Club Director, said this about Iris: “Iris was a great club person, very enthusiastic, and a good runner also. She was part of a very good group, back in the early days of women in the club. She was a leader in her day”.

STANDARD QUESTIONS

PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? Dublin, 1969

WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED? St. Patrick’s Cathedral Grammar School, Dublin 8

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH? I started my career with Bank of Ireland, Lifetime Assurance in 1989 I held several roles over a fifteen-year period from customer services to I.T. I then moved to county Wexford and was a stay-at-home mother for a few years with my son Wesley. I completed a degree with I.T Carlow, Wexford Campus in 2012 and then moved back to Dublin. I now work as a QA Engineer in Workday, a US cloud computing company.

IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? One year after the ladies’ section was opened in 1983, I joined Donore Harriers.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? In the summer of 1983, I ran in the community games in Maryland where my grandparents Patrick and Catherine Keegan lived. I won a few races and my grandad’s brother-in-law Alfie, seen me run. He suggested I join Donore Harriers as I lived 850 metres from the clubhouse in Hospital Lane. My mother, Carmel brought me down to the clubhouse. I was thirteen and we met with Gerry Ronan. Gerry told me to come back in the September when I turned fourteen, so I did.

WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? No

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? No

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? 800m

WHAT WERE YOUR ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? Besides athlete, I was Honorary Secretary in 1989

WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? There was not any one person, but I really enjoyed watching the Olympics, track and field.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Bite Me – Ally Hilfiger

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Madness, 3 Arena

WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?

1. The Great Escape

2. Lord of the Rings

3. Pulp Fiction

FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? China, especially X’ian the home of the Terracotta Warriors.

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Visual Arts (photography and painting)

IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

1. Cry to Me – Solomon Burke

2. Dance Monkey – Tones and I

3. Love Shack – B-52s

ATHLETICS QUESTIONS

WHO WERE YOUR COACH(ES)? Gerry Ronan and Eddie Hogan (for a short time)

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT?

Eastern Region U21 400m 1^st, 1987

The team also won the U21 4 x 400m.^, Helen Saunders, Tracey Ryan, Patricia English and me

Mardyke, Cork, 1985 – National Senior 4 x 800m the team was 3^rd, Valerie McGovern, Helen Saunders, Lisa Sheridan and me, I was sixteen.

WHAT WERE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)? 1987, 2:24 for 800m; 61 for 400m and

69.3 for the 400m hurdles

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? Training at the Polo Grounds, sprints. Gerry had thumbtacks in the railings marking the various distances.

WHERE DID YOU DO THE SPRINTS SESSIONS? We trained in various locations more so on a Sunday at UCD, Belfield track, Sundrive Park had a dirt track, Trinity College on the grass in the summer evenings and the Cricket and Polo grounds in the Phoenix Park.

DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? Gerry was a stopwatch fanatic and timed absolutely everything, so running 1 mile x 4 as fast as possible with 5 min rest it was gruelling.

DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? The senior ladies Valerie McGovern, Pamela O’Connor, Lisa Sheridan went to see Queen in Slane. They showed me a singlet and said it was Freddie Mercury’s. I could not believe it, they said smell it, so I did. They roared laughing and then they told me it was not his and instead belonged to one of the men from the club.

Another day in the men’s clubhouse, Hospital Lane they had a boxing ball attached to the ceiling for upper body training. Not sure if this was Gerry’s but we were practicing and when punched continually it sounded like a gun. Because we were beside the barracks the soldiers would check the perimeter walls down the lane. So, on this occasion they were doing the rounds had their guns, they got a such a shock and fright at the noise coming from the clubhouse. It seemed funny at the time.

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

YOU MUST HAVE BEEN ONE OF THE FIRST WOMEN TO JOIN DONORE HARRIERS. DID YOU FEEL DAUNTED JOINING A TRADITIONAL CLUB THAT WAS DOMINATED BY MEN’S ATHLETICS? Yes, I was one of the first junior women to join. Because I was coached by Gerry Ronan, we were a separate group from Eddie Hogan’s athlete’s we only really met the senior men at events, meets or AGM’s. It was a very male orientated club back then, and it took time to build on the women’s success. At the time Donore Harriers only had singlets specifically for men, unfortunately under the arms had to be sewn if you did not wear a T-Shirt. So, I sourced club lady singlets with the help of Maurice Ahern. It took time, but we got them. The principal of my secondary school Mr. Weir would read the Irish Times on a Monday morning and he would see my name from the races at the weekend. He would tell me to concentrate on my schoolwork more.

WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? Community Games

TELL US ABOUT THE FACILITIES AND GENERAL MOOD AT THE HOSPITAL LANE CLUB HEADQUARTERS? The lady’s facilities consisted of a portacabin/ container. Because I lived 850m away from the club I ran there as a warm-up and ran home as cooldown. I showered at home. When we met on Tuesday Thursday evening and Saturday mornings the ladies had a chat and laugh, especially when Pamela O’Connor, Lisa Sheridan, Helen Saunders, Roisin and Mary O’Doherty were there. The junior section grew then, with Gillian Diffley, Anne-Marie Fagan, Patricia English, Tracey Ryan, John McGrattan, Liam Brennan and Austin Lynch – who were my good friends too. We trained with Charlie and Ali from Liffey Valley. Ali was an 800m runner and she was a great training partner and friend. She moved to California in the late 80s.

WHO WERE THE BIG CHARACTERS AT THE CLUB BACK THEN? David Lynch, Tony O’Reilly, Tony Murphy, Jim McNamara, Charlie, Herbie McClelland to name but a few. David Lynch was always very kind too and brought me in his car to races on many occasions.

WHAT WAS A TYPICAL TRAINING SESSION LIKE? Typical sessions were tough, but great at the same time. Brilliant satisfaction when you finished the sessions. Gerry Ronan was a great coach and I achieved so much over the years with him coaching me. We did a lot of hill running, fartlek, stamina training and we did weights over in Templeogue College at the time. We practised a lot with the hurdles and perfecting our technique. Training was varied, Gerry was truly knowledgeable. Looking back no doubt he studied his craft.

Every year he would plan out an extensive training program setting out competition, performance, conditioning, and technical objectives. He was just brilliant.

He was a joker too, playing tricks on us all the time. One time we were on the bus and he showed me a scratch card ticket. It looked like he had won a lot of money as he had the figure three times. I was so gullible (back then) I believed it and was shocked and delighted for him. But sure, it turned out he had filled the figures in from a computer. I am very grateful for the work, effort and kindness that Gerry gave me in my formative years. He was so encouraging and supportive and entered me into so many events. I have a bronze Dublin Championship medal for the Shot Putt. There were only three competing! Looking back, I wonder how he did it all as he worked full time.

I won many races over that time and I had the opportunity to run for Ireland in the cross-country at Liverpool, and on the fantastic indoor track in Birmingham.

YOU WERE THE CLUB HONORARY SECRETARY IN 1989, WHEN AGED ONLY 20, HOW DID THAT COME ABOUT AND WHAT WAS THAT EXPERIENCE LIKE FOR YOU? THAT PROBABLY MADE YOU THE FIRST WOMAN OFFICER IN THE CLUB ALSO? I attended the A.G. M’s every year, advocating for the ladies’ section and if I am recalling properly in 1989 it was held in the men’s clubhouse in Hospital Lane. I think I put myself forward – maybe with some encouragement. I knew at the time it was a responsible role to have, gosh I must have been the first woman officer now that you say that. Back then it was just natural for me to participate and collaborate. I helped Maurice Ahern with the administration side of the club. I always put myself forward, fearless in a way, as I was also a member of the Legion of Mary on the South Circular Road since I was about thirteen and I held the role of treasurer there. From an early age I did a lot of voluntary work in the Little Sisters of the Poor, SCR, feeding the elderly ladies in palliative care and helping in the kitchen at lunch and dinner. I did this alongside my running. Being a member of Donore Harriers and my voluntary work gave me a great foundation in life. It shaped my life in so many ways and I have always spoken fondly of my days at the club. I loved running and the club.

DID YOU PREFER TRACK, CROSS-COUNTRY OR ROAD RACING? Track was my favourite. Even though looking back now I ran a lot of cross country too. I was slim and light so cross-country was extremely tough especially when they ploughed up the fields. I could barely lift my legs at times and lost many a shoe.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR WATERHOUSE BYRNE BAIRD SHIELD EXPERIENCES? DO YOU KNOW IF YOU WERE THE FIRST WOMEN TO COMPETE IN THE WBB WHEN YOU TOOK PARK IN 1986? AND HOW WAS YOUR EXPERIENCE IN AN OFFICIAL CAPACITY IN 1989? Valerie McGovern was the first woman to run and win the Waterhouse Byrne Bard Shield. That was in 1985. She won in an amazing time 68.52. I reckon Gerry Ronan encouraged me to go for it the following year 1986. This race is based on handicaps of course. I ran from the front on my own for most of it, then I recall just before the last lap Jim McNamara caught me, then more passed me after that. That was an experience too, as it was the longest race I ever ran and to top it off running against the senior men was no mean feat either but delighted I did. I think Valerie McGovern went onto win the title a few times after that. Irish Life sponsored the race in 1989. I was honorary secretary then and Herbert McClelland was the Captain.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TRIP/OUTING ASSOCIATED WITH ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? AND WHY? I had so many great trips with the club, such as going to Tullamore and so many other events around the country. We had sing songs on the bus, and I remember David Lynch singing ‘Monto’. The club parties were fun too, lots of great memories. I went to Cork in 1985 with the Senior Ladies and we ran in the Mardyke we came 3^rd in the 800m relay. We celebrated by going nightclubbing and I had to pretend I was 18 to get in. I had a great time.

PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOUR TRIPS TO LIVERPOOL AND BIRMINGHAM? DID YOU REPRESENT IRELAND IN ANY OF THOSE EVENTS? Unfortunately, I never got to represent Ireland. I ran for the club in Liverpool not sure where I came. It was a cross-country race. How simple things were then! I received a lovely badge and had it sewn onto my hoodie. The host family were lovely, a father and daughter. The young girl brought me to the cinema, Mad Max Beyond The Thunderdome (1985) was on at the time. Lovely experience going there. In 1988 Gerry Ronan planned our trip to Birmingham, a superb indoor track, suited me very well as I had a very short stride that was perfect for the tight bends in the 400m. I’m not sure where I came in that either. We stayed overnight and had a fun night of celebrations.

DO YOU HAVE ANY SPORTING REGRETS? Yes, I regret that I stopped running when I did. The club moved from Island bridge, and I moved away from Kilmainham, so between building a career and re-locating I did not get to run for the club anymore. Even though I wanted to run the momentum just was not there. I played women’s soccer and five aside at work. Looking back now I missed out on the lovely facilities and track in Chapelizod. But running has stayed in my blood. In my early years I would have really liked to go to the USA, but my mother, Carmel, did not want me to leave Ireland as I was the only child at home.

DO YOU STILL KEEP A CONNECTION WITH THE CLUB AND WITH ANY OF THE ATHLETES FROM BACK IN YOUR TIME AT THE CLUB? Unfortunately, no! I lost contact with everyone when I left. In 1989 we did not have the social media platforms or mobile phones that we have today. I joined the Donore Harriers Facebook page some time back as I never forgot my time with the club especially in Hospital Lane. I have met one person since Senan O’Reilly in Wexford town on lots of occasions. Having lived in several other counties in Ireland over a thirty-year period I moved back to Kilmainham three years ago, to where the Rowntree Mackintosh factory stood – and to be precise 700m from Hospital Lane. I frequently walk in the Phoenix Park and recall all the good times that I had training and competing. I look at Hospital Lane today with all the changes and the recently demolished Black and Amber pub where there was an occasional glass of orange.

Fit-4-Life is a programme for all runners whether a beginner or just a regular jogger/runner. It helps people to achieve an improved level of fitness and wellness within a club structure in a fun and sociable environment.

 

 

 

The Fit-4-Life squad at Donore Harriers has been mentored by coach Barry Potts (see Interview No. 23) since 2008. The squad has always maintained the Fit-4-Life principles of training together at the appropriate fitness levels and making/building new friendships.

In this interview we meet two of the Donore Harriers Fit-4-Life long-term members. Both Deirdre Healy and Jo Hughes joined the club in circa 2009 and have been mainstays in the FFL squad since then. Their rapport epitomizes a squad that is united, sociable, and vigorous … Long may they run!

STANDARD QUESTIONS

PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH?

DEIRDRE: Castlebar, 1970

JO: Born in Holles Street to Wicklow and Wexford parents in 1970. Yes, that makes me 50+

WHERE WERE YOU EDUCATED?

DEIRDRE: Convent of Mercy, Castlebar

JO: St. Mary’s College, Arklow

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH?

DEIRDRE: Varied and interesting. From European to Health to Telecoms to FMCG <<fast moving consumer goods>>

JO: Not as varied and certainly not as interesting as Deirdre. Started off in Scotland as a school leaver, met my now husband in an accountant’s office typing up his letters and moving on to bookkeeping, quit work then to raise 3 mannerly and very tall and athletic (ish) boys who are now all grown up, dabble in and out of a part time office job now in local primary school.

IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS?

DEIRDRE: Probably about 2009

JO: Probably around the same time

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS?

DEIRDRE: Close to work, uses the Park and I love Barry <<Potts>>!

JO: My eldest boy used to go to karate in the Club and I used to run into O’Connell Street and back while waiting for him (I’m a great time manager). Noticed FFL gang running at same time and one night I plucked up to courage to say hello to Barry…. the rest is history!

WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS?

DEIRDRE: Athletics club in Castlebar as a kid. Have a silver 100m relay medal from Community games, u15s I think!

JO: No, but I always ran a little since school

DID/DO YOU PARTICIAPTE IN ANY OTHER SPORT?

DEIRDRE: I used to play basketball

JO: Serious camogie player in my day. Won an All-Ireland U14 medal for Feile. Played (once, I think) for Wicklow.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT?

DEIRDRE: Marathon to watch, half to participate in

JO: Same as Deirdre. I stayed in bed last year for 4 hours watching the London marathon. I also sat by a pool in Marbella for about 4 hours watching little black dots on a phone which translated as Barry Pots and a few others from FFL – I won’t name as I surely will leave someone out! I had trained for same marathon but was injured so got myself off to the sun instead but couldn’t resist the little black dots…

WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE AT THE CLUB?

DEIRDRE: FFLer

JO: Same! Turner upper during covid and making sure our little bubble doesn’t get lazy on me coz without them I’m in big trouble…

WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATION/INFLUENCES?

DEIRDRE: My second cousin is Sinead Diver who runs for Australia. Her Mam and my Dad are first cousins from Mayo. I think she took all the running blood in the family! Sonia and Catriona of course also.

JO: Caterina and Sonia. Can I just say Deirdre never met Sinead Diver in her life.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ?

DEIRDRE: AKIN by Emma Donohue

JO: Vicky Phelan’s book Overcoming. Very inspirational!

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED?

DEIRDRE: Fleetwood Mac RDS September 2019

JO: Gosh can’t remember. Not really a groupie. I did love Imelda May in Vicar Street and Take That and loved loved loved the Bee Gees in concert.

WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?

DEIRDRE:

1. True Romance

2. Three Billboards

3. Goodfellas

JO:

1. Love Actually
2. Bridge over Madison County
3. Pretty Woman

FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED?

DEIRDRE: Toss-up between USA – NYC, Grand Canyon and Santa Monica and Kenya for safari

JO: USA, particularly Boston

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT?

JO: Bit of a Jack of all Trades, Master of None. I dabble in painting, love houses and interior design, love decorating and DIY, gardening on sunny days, sewing on wet days, wannabe carpenter…. All in the FFL squad would say I’m a great poet too… hahaha!

<<NOTE: Here is the opening two verses of Jo’s poem, written to mark coach Barry Potts 70^th birthday.

>>Barry has a little group

>>Its name is Fit-4-Life

>>30 odd members 2019

>>No arguments rifts or strife

——————————

>>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

The full poem is included in Club Interview No. 23 – Barry Potts>>

IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

DEIRDRE:

1. Is it wrong to like O Holy Night!

2. Anything by Killers

3. Take a Load of Annie

JO:

Oh, I’m a bit of a Sunshine FM fan. Too embarrassed to say what songs I turn up on the car radio.

ATHLETICS QUESTION

WHO IS YOUR COACH(ES)?

DEIRDRE: The Great Barry Potts!

JO: What she said, he’s a legend!!!

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT?

JO: My husband would say my 4.59.57 marathon a couple of years ago. The iron tank was at rock bottom, marathon a few days after a 6-hour infusion in hospital. I hit the wall at 9 miles and set myself a new target at 20 miles (4hrs) to get home under 5 hours. And I did it with 3 seconds to spare!

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)?

DEIRDRE: 53m in Kinvara 10k, 1.56m Kinvara half, 4.21 in NYC marathon

JO: Think I did 1.56 in Kinvara on Deirdre’s heels, 4.22 marathon, no idea of any others. I’m not a noter of times but Anne Rush tells me I did a few good 10k’s over the years. We’ll say I did a 52-minute 10k anyway!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION?

DEIRDRE: Hills

JO: I used to like the pyramid session on the track.

DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE?

JO: Two weeksago, on the hill with 2 sore knees

WHAT IS A TYPRICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN?

DEIRDRE: 3/4m on Monday, 5m on Wednesday, 8/9/10m on Fri and sometimes 5m on Sunday

JO: 4 miles Monday (hills or speed), 6/8/10m Wednesday, 5m Friday and Sunday

DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY OR UNUSUAL STORY RELATED TO THE CLUB/ATHLETICS?

DEIRDRE: None that I can think off.

JO: Human singing archway outside the loos in Achill after the half marathon

WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS?

DEIRDRE: That we should all have fobs to get into building as part of membership fee automatically. Better loos

JO: Mmm ye I try to go to the loo before I turn up. I’ve never seen the gym actually – prob because of the loos. I should really check that out and save myself another fee.

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?

DEIRDRE:

1. Sonia O’Sullivan

2. Catriona McKiernan

3. Jo Hughes

JO:

1. Cateriona McKiernan
2. Sonia O’Sullivan
3. Deirdre Healy

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

YOU ARE A LONG-TERM MEMBER OF THE FIT-4-LIFE SQUAD, HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE THE CAMARADERIE WITHIN THE GROUP?

DEIRDRE: We have a wonderful crowd of people in the FFL. Jo Hughes keeps it all together by managing the WhatsApp and organising the social events and Barry is the glue of course. We have had lots of nights out and trips away over the years and we have all made Friends for Life as much as Fit for Life.

JO: The camaraderie in our group is top class. We go out of our way to welcome and include new people all the time. The WhatsApp group works great for this as we do extra runs outside club times and everyone is invited. Barry is the key, and he comes away on our weekend trips to keep us looking pro.

WHAT WAS YOUR MOST MEMORABLE AWAY TRIP WITH DONORE HARRIERS? AND WHY?

DEIRDRE: Achill Half a few years ago. Think we got to bed at 5am.

JO: Yes, Achill and Kinvara annual trips. No idea which one or where… I keep missing my husband’s birthday for Kinvara, so there’s your proof. He had a happy birthday home with me and the lads this year.

HAVE YOU EVER COMPLETED A MARATHON? GIVE DETAILS…

DEIRDRE: NYC in 2013. Loved it. The crowds, the scenery, the feeling, the prosecco immediately afterwards in the Plaza Hotel though it took me 45mins to walk there from the finish line…

JO: Dublin all the way! 2006 with my brother and now fellow FFLifer Deirdre Coyle. My first and fastest 4.22, 4 more Dublin in recent years, 4.24, 4.28, my iron deficient one of 4.59.57 and the virtual last year, walked it with my sisters and brothers, 30 miles, spent the day at it, was fab, in Wicklow from sea to summit Croghan Mountain, but the “friendly marathon” is my real highlight.

HAVE YOU EVER DONE A CROSS-COUNTRY RACE?

DEIRDRE: No

JO: Only when Andrew and Sean want to take a short cut back to the club

HOW ARE YOU COPING WITH TRAINING DURING THE LOCKDOWNS?

DEIRDRE: Doing my own thing as I live more that 5km from the club, but miss the camaraderie

JO: Thankfully, I am close by to the club and we have our little 5km bubble. It’s been great, 4 times a week and quite consistent. My sanity!

HAVE YOU HAD TO DEAL WITH A SERIOUS RUNNING INJURY? WHAT WAS THE NATURE OF THE INJURY? AND WHAT WAS THE REHAB PROCESS?

DEIRDRE: Luckily no

JO: Don’t get me started… Knees! My little 5k bubble group will stop reading if I say anymore…

DO YOU HAVE ANY RUNNING TARGETS ONCE WE GET BACK TO REAL RACES? DEIRDRE: No!

JO: Yes, the Achill and Kinvara half marathons and there’s a Dublin marathon slot all paid up for.

Elliot Slade was introduced to Donore Harriers by John Travers about 3 or 4 years ago. The Wales international athlete made an immediate impact with his friendly personality and front running racing style. He quickly became a key member of the club’s national track and field league team, taking the reins in the 800m and 4 x 400m relay.

 

Elliot began running as a 14 years-old lad doing Cardiff parkruns with his father Stephen. He quickly established himself as a talented runner in schools’ competitions. He won the Welsh Schools U/15 800m in 2009, came 3^rd in the U/17 800m in 2010, and then won the U/17 800m in 2011. Elsewhere, his athletic endeavours included victories in the Welsh Schools cross-country championships in 2009, the Wales Junior Cup 800m final in 2010, and the Welsh Schools XC and Celtic Games 800m at Antrim in 2011.

Elliot also competed in the World Youth Games at Lille, France in 2011, finishing 5^th in the semi-final.

Elliot had a break-through season in 2012. He won the Wales U/20 indoor championship in the 1,500m; came 2^nd in the 800m in the Schools indoor International at Cardiff, before winning the Welsh U/20 championship over 800m in 1.52.36. Soon after, he won the Wales national schools 800m in 1.51.66. He also went sub-1.50 four times, including a 1.49.85 and a 1.49.14 at BMC Meets at Watford and Solihull respectively. To cap a fine season, he ran a 49.09 to win the 400m at a Cardiff Open Meeting.

The talented young Welsh athlete began 2013 with 3^rd place in the 1,500m at the Vienna Indoor Classic in 3.52.39 and then came 5^th in the Gugl Indoor Meet at Linz in 1.50.11. He lowered his 800m PB to 1.48.93 at the Solihull BMC Meet, but then ran a disappointing 7^th in the qualifying round of the European U/20 Championships at Rieti, Italy.

In 2014, Elliot won the Antwerp Athletiek Gala 800m in 1.50.61, and came 2^nd in the Welsh International Meet at Cardiff in 1.50.32. His 2015 season centred around the USA Big-East championships when he took up a sports scholarship at Villanova University. His best performances came when winning indoors at New York in 1.48.91 and in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton in 1.49.75.

Elliot began 2016 by representing Wales in the Edinburgh International XC in the mixed relay, before returning to focus on the Big-East championships. He won the Big-East 1,000m indoors in 2.26.65 and also recorded wins in the Villanova Invitational indoors 800m in 1.49.90 and in the Hurricane Alumni Invitational 1,500m in Florida in a time of 3.48.91. He ran 3 races in Ireland in the summer of 2016, winning the Morton Games 800m A race in 1.47.70.

Elliot represented Wales at the 2017 Edinburgh Cross Meet relay, and ran 8.25.75 indoors when winning the 3,000m at a Grand Prix Meet at Cardiff. He won the Welsh 800m senior championship in 2018 in 1.50.48 – and ran 1.49.41 in the colours of Donore Harriers when winning a National League match in Belfast.

Elliot was part of the Donore Harriers 4 x 400m team that set a club record 3.18.92 at the National Championships in July 2019. Last autumn he teamed up with Louis O’Loughlin, Josh O’Sullivan-Hourihan and Abdel Laadjel in what proved a failed attempt to break the club’s 4 x 1-Mile relay record.

Elliot is presently based at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco.

STANDARD QUESTIONS

PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? The ‘Diff (Cardiff) 1994. 5th of November which is great because everyone celebrates my Birthday with fireworks in the UK.

<<NOTE: Guy Fawkes Night is annually held on November 5. It is sometimes known as Bonfire Night and marks the anniversary of the discovery of a plot organized by Catholic conspirators to blow up the Houses of Parliament in London in 1605. Many people light bonfires and set off fireworks>>

WHERE WERE/ARE YOU BEING EDUCATED? I’ve been all over the place, I was ‘educated’ in Bishop Of Llandaff High school but I don’t think Educated is a good word as I learnt absolutely NOTHING due to never studying and wanting to play Mass Effect 2, Dark Souls and have a good time.

Then, after resitting my A Levels I made it to the prestigious VILLANOVA. The ol’ Irish pipeline where I lasted 3 and a half years before getting kicked off the team… – a long story! I managed to get my degree in Political Science.

Now I am at Academy Of Art in San Francisco with a fantastic team, coach and environment doing my masters in Screenwriting + Directing – a big flip from Political Science, I know!

I’m just trying to ride the NCAA scholarship wave and prove a few things to a few people. The hermit of the NCAA.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR CAREER PATH? Careers wise it’s been absolutely wacky. I got my first job in Digital Marketing with absolutely zero experience as I blagged my way through the interview. I managed to then pick-up valuable and incredible skills over the year, going to seminars across the country and even to Texas to an exclusive marketing conference. From these skills I feel fully capable in the Digital Marketing field and have worked mostly freelance, consulting with small/big businesses and helping build that digital profile. During this I have picked up Videography and Photography to add to my arsenal where I do events, locations and more.

Ultimately though, this means very little to me as I want to make movies. Which I try to do in my spare time. I feel this field of work is very helpful as I have full creative control, which translates well to filmmaking and especially Directing.

In 2020 I was also teaching kids Youtube/Filmmaking across the country during Covid-19. I have NO idea how I was allowed to do it, but it was incredible to help the youth of today get some creative education during the hard times.

IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? Long ago now! I have no idea of the date, but it must be about 4 years at least.

WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? You can thank your man John Travers for that. We met at a race in Sligo and became really good friends. I have stayed with John on many occasions for extended periods of time where we would train with Jerry Kiernan and mope around Dublin/Sligo.

Then, John introduced me to Iain and the club, and the rest was history. I was soon familiar with all the lads and absolutely loved the atmosphere, kindness, and authenticity of the club. A club that promotes everything I love.

WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? Cardiff AAC in the UK – None other in Ireland.

DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? Absolutely not, I’m the least talented athlete you’d ever meet. I’d probably fall over and die if I did anything else.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? The 4 x 400m, nothing better than RIPPING a fast leg with the lads.

WHAT IS YOUR PRESENT ROLE(S) AT THE CLUB? I’m an athlete at the club. I live in Ireland most months, when I’m not in America, and compete for them when I can.

WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INSPIRATIONS/INFLUENCES? Jerry Kiernan.

SOCIAL QUESTIONS

WHAT WAS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? I’m currently smashing Hyperion by Dan Simmons. A great Sci Fi about a group of people going to see what’s up on a planet with an Alien lifeform that can grant wishes but also destroy everything it encounters.

WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? My last concert was Saint Motel in San Francisco, an absolute BELTER of a show. It was an all-ages concert and there were kids and mothers at the front, but you bet I was yelling louder than any of them. They are a performative band that tell self-contained stories in their songs, they crowd surfed in a plastic rocket, made a dance floor and belted every last tune. The most I’ve ever sweat. San Francisco shut down a week later due to Covid-19.

WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?

1. Through A Glass Darkly (Bergman)

2. Manchester By The Sea (Lonergan)

3. Ikiru (Kurosawa)

Honourable mentions: Assassination Of Jesse James; Interstellar; Anything Paul Thomas Anderson and The Before Trilogy, and Everybody Wants Some by Richard Linklater.

FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? The USA hands down. The most generous, compassionate, and loving people I have ever met. Apart from the glaring issues, the USA has an atmosphere like no other place on Earth.

WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? Filmmaking. Photography. Music Discovery. Meeting People. All of these things factor into my life more than running. I am constantly trying to write new material to shoot, find people to collaborate with and develop my technical skills with Photography.

My day centres around planning each of these things alongside my athletics. Therefore school can sometimes suffer because that can take a back seat for me.

IF DISERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?

1. Sleep Forever – Portugal The Man
2. Pink Floyd – Shine On You Crazy Diamond
3. Goodbye – Bleachers

ATHLETICS QUESTIONS

WHO IS/ARE YOUR COACH(ES)? I’ve had many and continue to work with different ones. The late Jerry Kiernan was one of my most regular coaches and would train me in Ireland and help me improve in every single way.

Darrel Maynard coached me for years before and during Villanova when I was back. He helped bring out the best in my skill set and made me want to stay in the sport.

Matt Elias in Cardiff took me under his wing when I was back in Wales, a new way of training which is paying off.

Steve Fuelling is my coach in America who is fantastic. He’s going to help me run my fastest whilst I am here.

WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENT? Probably my PB race in Santry <<a win in 1.47.70 PB>>. I had no idea what was going on and ran a respectable time. Was an absolute blast to see my PB on the clock and am still chasing that feeling to this day!

WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES (PBs)? Hah. I hate bragging.

<<NOTE: from research – 400m – 49.09; 800m – 1.47.70; 1,000m – 2.26.65 indoors; 1,500m – 3.48.26, 3,000m – 8.25.75 indoors>>

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHED SESSION? One that absolutely SMASHES my legs and puts me in a hole. 800m paced sessions usually do the trick. I absolutely LOVE the gym though, could be in there every day if need be.

DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? 3 x 400m with 5 minutes recovery in 49/50. I threw up and couldn’t think straight for days.

WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN? About 20 – 25 miles a week with 3 training sessions (4, 8, 5k) with the Gym 3 times a week lifting heavy. Slow running after or on the off days. Anything over 40 minutes makes me want to quit running all together, so I try to focus on short and sweet.

DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? My funniest story is having the Irish flag next to my name in the Morton Games IMC because I had been there for so long and couldn’t get rid of me.

WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? Nothing! Keep it up!

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 4 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?

1. Jerry Kiernan
2. John Travers
3. Cillian Kirwan

Special mention – Frank O’Mara

WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 WELSH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?

1. Sam Gordon <<sprinter>>
2. Sam Gordon
3. Sam Gordon

SPECIFIC QUESTIONS

WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? When I kept losing XC races then my dad made me run with him and I started winning. From this it gave me a lot of respect, I don’t have interest much in the sport itself, but I love what it can give to people and the self-improvement.

DID YOU COMPETE AS A SCHOOLBOY OR YOUTH ATHLETE? Yeah, I was one of those really good kidsthat struggle to get back to those times as a senior. I think it’s because I really didn’t care at all back then and just ran without the fear of pain because I wanted to get home and eat cake or watch Naruto.

IS IT TRUE THAT YOU WERE ORIGINALLY DOING PARKRUNS BEFORE CONCENTRATING TO MIDDLE DISTANCE? I think Parkruns were vital in my development. Basically a 20-minute tempo run every Saturday. I used to do them with my dad.

HAVE YOU WON ANY WELSH OR U.K. CHAMPIONSHIPS MEDALS? I have won a few Welsh Champs and I think I got top 3 in the UK twice. It’s been a long time as I’ve been away from the UK for so long!

TELL US ABOUT THE FIRST TIME YOU GOT TO REPRESENT WALES? Funny thing is that I competed for GB before I did Wales. I was never selected for a Welsh vest because I was a nobody. I then went and smashed some good times at a British Milers Club meet and ended up at the World Youth Champs. You best believe my Welsh kit arrived then!

But, for Wales! I think it was Vienna indoors with my best mates Sam Gordon, Joe Thomas and Dewi Hammond. It was absolutely hilarious! Sam, Dewi and I caused havoc, had a laugh and did stupid stuff the entire time but the coaches couldn’t be mad because we still ran extremely well. Sam Gordon overdosed on caffeine and couldn’t sleep / almost died. We played darts in the dark and had late night snacks at the McCafe. Those were the days!

YOU COMPETED IN THE WORLD YOUTH GAMES IN LILLE, FRANCE IN 2011. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE? It was fun. I was just some kid who had absolutely no experience in sport. I just ran. Everyone else was already a young superstar and knew what to do, so a lot of it was just having a laugh with a few of the athletes and not thinking about the race. It was a lot of laughs and jokes. I remember trying to sneak out with the sprinters because we weren’t allowed out to get food. So, we dressed up trying to look ‘French’ and leave. We got caught and sent back instantly.

YOU GOT A SPORTS SCHOLARSHIP TO VILLANOVA UNIVERSITY. TELL US ABOUT THAT? PERHAPS LIST THE POSITIVES AND NEGATIVES – AND PLEASE GIVE US AN INSIGHT INTO COMPETING IN THE ‘BIG EAST’ CHAMPIONSHIPS?

This is a tasty one. I will try to make it brief and in two parts.

I did get a scholarship to Villanova and stayed to complete my degree. I reached out to them, worked to re-sit my exams and eventually got in. I was 20. It’s no secret that it did not go well for me. The coach and I did not get on at all toward the end due to injury, hobbies and social life.

A lot of it came to mindset. I was young, naive and unsure of myself going in. The environment, when I arrived, contained a lot of homophobia, bigotry and racism which thrust me into a really negative headspace that took a toll on every aspect of my life.

Regardless of that it was still the best experience of my life. I made some fantastic friends. I had some incredible experiences, and it changed my life for the better. I wouldn’t be who I am today without the experience. The racing was great. You’d get solid competition every time. However, if you run bad a few times – prepare to get slaughtered…

I will make a general statement about the pros and cons, in my experience, of the D1 experience. This may have changed but is my perspective.

I should preface that I am a social person with many interests outside of athletics. I like to explore, create, and do a lot of things outside of sport which is not even in my mind when I’m not training or competing.

PROS –

• A team. You will make lifelong friends and have a rare bond with people that is hard to find anywhere else.
• Racing. You will be racing absolute beasts pretty much every race.
• Social Life. You can make it as fun as you want. If you like parties, they are there. You can meet so many different and wonderful people.
• Easy life. Everything is catered for you. Apartment, food and training – You don’t really live as an adult, but everything is streamlined and simple for you.
• Access to facilities and training rooms.

CONS –

• Cookie cutter training. Often not individualised, so if you don’t respond well to the training you’re screwed- and the blame will be placed on you.
• Injury danger. You have a big meet coming up and are injured? You might be forced into racing to further damage yourself.
• Less individual focus. Your other passions/hobbies will get pushed/ discouraged if you are on scholarship. You are seen as a business interaction at times which can take hold of your whole life.

I could list 100,000 of each but ultimately: It was great if you were a distance runner who wanted to run well and focus SOLELY on that. The training was extremely catered toward building that aerobic base by using lactate testing in most sessions. If you are interested in being more social, pursuing other hobbies alongside running fast and living a more independent life then I don’t think this would be the right option for you.

YOU ARE NOW BACK IN THE UNITED STATES AT THE ACADEMY OF ART UNIVERSITY. MAYBE TELL US ABOUT YOUR NORMAL DAY WITHIN THAT ENVIRONMENT? I love the Academy Of ART. It’s not a traditional campus and we live in the city of San Francisco. You feel like an adult, balancing your time between training and any other hobbies you have. You are encouraged to be creative and take running/training seriously. All of the training is individualised.

The coaches are extremely communicative and support you on and off the track, but they still expect you to do your absolute best for the team, which is what I always want.

A normal day: I wake up and eat my Marmite on toast about 9am and then get to catching up on news. Reading or writing a screenplay, then we take a bus and mosey over to practice where the entire team meets, and we do our separate sessions. We finish around 2 or 3 o’clock, and I either go proactive roller-skating at 6th Avenue in Golden Gate Park or go home and sleep/write/watch a movie. In the evenings I get up to all sorts of adventures exploring the city or planning my next day. We also have classes, so I attend those on Zoom at the moment.

WHAT WAS YOUR FAVOURITE EVENT WHILST COMPETING FOR DONORE HARRIERS? 4 x 400m at the Nationals where we won.

WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE TRIP ASSOCIATED WITH ATHLETICS/THE CLUB? AND WHY? In athletics it was after the Miami meet where me and the lads took an Uber to Miami city, had a great night out, and went for a long run at 3am in the Miami heat. We ended up in a huge hotel, took the elevator to the top floor, and ended up at a wedding reception in our short shorts. We took some food and high tailed it out of there.

WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO ASPIRING YOUNG ATHLETES? There is no right way to do it. Don’t be afraid to prepare and act yourself at any time. There is such a weird culture in athletics where being serious is the right way to be. SCRAP THAT. The sport is whatever you want it to be, you can make it many different ways. Don’t feel like you have to fit in or be anyone else just be you and remember – Nothing really matters until you’re a senior athlete anyway so don’t sacrifice too much as a kid, it’s the only time you can be goofy, have no expectations of the world and grow as a person so don’t stunt that by overwhelming yourself with one thing.

You only get those years once in your life so go out and have fun, train hard and win easy.