Eric Keogh enjoys running! It’s a part of who he is! It’s his relaxation away from all the digital screens and is the pathway along his sporting journey. Eric is a quiet, but steely person who has developed his athletics profile through careful strategy and sheer hard work.
Now plying his academic and athletics career at the Queen’s University in Charlotte, North Carolina he can reflect on many successes in the colours of Donore Harriers between 2007 and 2021. Most of the Donore Harriers senior and junior team glory days in the past decade and more have included the name Eric Keogh on the scoring sheet. The list includes – team silver in the National Junior XC in 2010, team gold in the National Novice XC in 2013, team bronze in National Senior Inter-Clubs in 2014 and 2015, team gold in the National Senior Road Relay in 2015 and team silver in the Road Relay in both 2017 and 2019.
Among his best individual performances were National 10,000m (30.18.85) track bronze in 2019 and silver in the National 10,000m (29.36.21) in 2020 – when he finished just one second behind leading Irish international Sean Tobin. He ran a personal best of 29.20.30 to win the Dublin 10k Championship in 2020, ranking him 5th in Ireland last year.
Arguably his best performance was his 2.18.24 run in the Frankfurt Marathon in October 2019, ranking Eric just outside the top 60 on the all-time Irish marathon list. That time ranks him equal 4th <subject to correction> in the Donore Harriers rankings behind Jim McNamara (2.14.54 at Limerick 1976), Brendan O’Shea (2.16.50 at Berchem 1972), and Willie Dunne (2.17.54 also at Berchem 1972) – and equal to Jim McGlynn’s 2.18.24 set in Glasgow in 1981. With lofty marathon ambitions there can be no doubt that Eric Keogh’s name will sit higher in the rankings.
Eric was a regular on the Irish road racing scene and was a key member of the Donore Harriers track and field league team. He represented Ireland in the Celtic International Cross-Country at Cardiff in January 2017.
Eric represented UCD between 2013 and 2015 winning the Intervarsities 3,000m Indoors gold in 2014 (8.36.53) and team cross-country gold at Jordanstown in 2013.
We salute and thank Eric for his outstanding contribution to our sport and to Donore Harriers. Hopefully we will see Eric back in the black and white of Donore Harriers in 2022.
STANDARDS QUESTIONS
PLACE AND YEAR OF BIRTH? The Coombe Hospital, Dublin. 1991
IN WHAT YEAR DID YOU JOIN DONORE HARRIERS? 2007
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE DONORE HARRIERS? I was recruited by Lee Van Haeften when we ran together on the Salesian College Celbridge cross country team. I also met with Maurice Ahern at DCU Invitational in like 2006, I think.
WERE YOU A MEMBER OF ANY OTHER CLUB BEFORE JOINING DONORE HARRIERS? I was a member of Celbridge Athletics Club when I was in my early teens. I tried my hand at sprinting as my brother had been sprinting competitively with them. I wasn’t very good and didn’t stick around long.
DID YOU PARTICIPATE IN ANY OTHER SPORT? Yes, soccer and rugby were my passions growing up. I’m a keen Manchester United fan. I played soccer with Ballyoulster United for several years. I was a left winger, always prided myself on my industry rather than technical ability! I also played Rugby with Barnhall RFC in Leixilp as an Out-Half and Centre. I really loved playing Rugby alongside my athletics career, however decided to pack it in after a bad injury ruled me out of my whole athletics season in 5th year.
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ATHLETICS EVENT? It’s extremely difficult to pick just one. I think each event has its own unique quality and energy. I really enjoy a good track meet on a summer evening, particularly in Belgium. I also love a fresh autumn morning for a big city marathon. In terms of spectating, I love the 1500m, it is always such a fascinating tactical battle in championship races. As a participant, nothing beats the occasion of a big city marathon. I’ve only done one, but I was captivated by the whole event. The build-up, the atmosphere with the expo all weekend beforehand and then of course taking on the challenge of the race itself. And making up for the calories burned afterwards!
WHO WERE/ARE YOUR SPORTING INFLUENCES? I take influence from a broad array of people across many sports. I’m a huge NBA fan and I’m really inspired by the late Kobe Bryant and his “Mamba Mentality”. His work ethic was unrivalled and really reinforced the idea to me that you don’t need to be the most talented guy to be successful. A good work ethic and love of the ‘day in, day out’ process will get you much further than just talent. Obviously, Michael Jordan is also a huge inspiration. I think anyone who has recently seen his ‘The Last Dance’ documentary on Netflix will appreciate how inspirational his competitive mindset was. Closer to athletics, I was always a huge fan of Craig Mottram growing up. His mantra of it “takes weeks to build speed and years to build strength” has been a philosophy of mine throughout my athletics career. I also really looked up to my coach Mark Kenneally, who grew up and trained on the same roads I did. Seeing him make it to the Olympics in 2012 reinforced the idea that you didn’t need special circumstances to be successful.
SOCIAL QUESTIONS
WHAT IS THE LAST BOOK YOU READ? Dune by Frank Herbert
WHAT WAS THE LAST CONCERT YOU ATTENDED? Milky Chance at the Fillmore in Charlotte, my first concert in almost 2 years. Before that it was David Keenan at The Olympia in Jan 2020, right before Covid decimated that industry.
WHAT ARE YOUR 3 FAVOURITE FILMS?
1. Apocalypse Now (1979)
2. Beautiful Boy (2018)
3. Good Will Hunting (1997)
FAVOURITE COUNTRY VISITED? The U.S. I love spending time in NYC when I can, I’ve been quite a few times now. It’s such a diverse city with so much to see and do. I’m still discovering new places to visit every time I go. I also spent some time in New Orleans in 2019, which was a lot of fun. I highly recommend it to anyone thinking of visiting. It’s got such a great energy and jazz scene, lots of bars and good food also!
WHAT ARE YOUR OTHER INTERESTS AWAY FROM ATHLETICS/SPORT? I’m a huge music fan and I play guitar. My Dad was a musician, so it’s always been around our family. My older brother is also a guitarist. I’ve been fortunate to go to see many of heroes live in concert, including Bruce Springsteen and The E Street band like almost 10 times now!
IF DESERT ISLAND DISCS ASKED YOU TO PLAY 3 SONGS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Jungleland by Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
There Is a Light That Never Goes Out by The Smiths
Slide Away by Oasis
ATHLETICS QUESTIONS
WHO IS/WAS YOUR COACH(ES)? Jake Krolick / Mark Kenneally
WHAT DO YOU CONSIDER TO BE YOUR BEST ATHLETICS ACHIEVEMENTS? From an individual perspective, Silver Medal at AAI Track Champs in 10,000m (2020). From a team perspective, winning gold at National Road Relays in 2015.
WHAT ARE YOUR BEST TIMES / PBS? 800m – 1:55.10, 1500m – 3:47.08, 1 Mile – 4:09.36, 3000m – 8:12.74, 5000m – 14:15.43, 10,000m – 29:20.3, 5 mile – 23:22, 10 miles – 48:40, Half Marathon – 65:11, Marathon – 2:18.24
WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COACHING SESSION? I love doing a threshold / tempo run like 30-40 mins at specific heart rate zone. I’m also a big fan of 8 x 1km reps off 60 seconds recovery @10k pace. That’s my bread and butter.
DESCRIBE THE MOST DIFFICULT SESSION THAT YOU HAVE DONE? I distinctly remember doing a marathon workout when building up to Frankfurt in 2019, on a Friday evening after a week in work (the worst time of the week to do a session!). During a 100+ mile week, we done 5 x 5km with 1km float recovery averaging like 16:10 per 5k. It ended up being like 20+ mile @ 5:28 per mile pace. The worst part was coming back out on the Sunday morning for a 25-mile-long run. It was a brutal weekend of training, but once I got through it in one piece, I was confident I was ready to take on the marathon.
WHAT IS YOUR TYPICAL WEEKLY TRAINING PLAN? I’ll normally do a workout Tuesday focusing on 10k/Half Marathon pace reps (8x1km) and a workout Friday (Threshold / Tempo run). I’ll do a midweek long run of like 12-14 mile on Wednesday and a long run on Sunday 15-20 mile. On the other days I’ll double easy runs like 9 mile in A.M and 5 mile in the P.M
DO YOU HAVE A FUNNY STORY RELATED TO ATHLETICS / THE CLUB? I remember when we hosted the national cross-country championships in 2010, John Travers won the junior race, and our team came second. We celebrated with a few cold beverages that evening. I can’t quite remember how or why, but John ended up down on the track sprinting around with a giant Irish flag in tow. Good times!
WHAT ONE CHANGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO SEE AT DONORE HARRIERS? I think we could do a better job creating a culture of excellence amongst our senior teams if we want to be competitive with the likes of Raheny, Dundrum South Dublin, Clonliffe Harriers. We had made huge progress in 2013-2016 period with the LTDP in closing the gap to these clubs evidenced with results at Road Relays, Inter-Club Cross Country and National League. It feels like this has plateaued a bit in recent years for one reason or another. Of course, we have a great social and recreational culture in the club but at the top level we have some great young athletes who need to be supported going forward to achieve success for the club and themselves. I think we can maintain the fun aspect whilst creating a culture focused on delivering these results.
WHO ARE YOUR TOP 3 IRISH SPORTSPERSONS OF ALL TIME?
1. Roy Keane
2. Katie Taylor
3. Sonia O’Sullivan
SPECIFIC QUESTIONS
WHERE DID YOUR INTEREST IN ATHLETICS STEM FROM? My brother was a keen sprinter growing up, so we always had Golden League (now the Diamond League) races on TV, and I became familiar with many of the top athletes in the early 2000’s. I remember watching Kenenisa Bekele and Eliud Kipchoge competing in World Champs in Paris in 2003.
DID YOU EVER COMPETE AS A JUVENILE OR JUNIOR OR IN SCHOOL’S COMPETITIONS? Yes, I competed both as a juvenile and in schools. My best placings were 4th at Schools Track and Field 1500m champs when I was in Transition Year. I think I was 14th at the Cross Country Champs in both Transition year and 6th year.
WHAT WERE YOUR BEST RESULTS IN THE FATHER ARCHER CUP (SALESIAN COLLEGE ANNUAL ROAD RACE)? My best result was in 6th year when I won and broke the record for the old course (14:09). I’ll list my results below for each year.
1st Year – 112th
2nd Year – 133rd
3rd Year – 14th
4th Year – 4th
5th Year – Injured
6th Year – 1st
YOU WERE ON THE DONORE HARRIERS TEAM THAT CAME 3rd IN BOTH THE 2014 (17TH individual) and 2015 (13th individual) INTER-CLUBS CROSS COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS. WHAT DO YOU REMEMBER ABOUT THOSE RACES? I have mixed emotions about those races. When I first started running, the inter club cross country was always the big cross-country race of the season. 12km for the senior men and selection for World Cross was always a huge incentive. However, this race declined so quickly when Ireland stopped sending teams to World Cross. When we competed and got our medals it was fantastic, but the race was not as supported as it had been historically and there were only maybe 5/6 teams competing. It kind of felt a little empty. It wasn’t as gratifying as it would have been had the race had the popularity of years gone by. I guess you can only beat who shows up at the end of the day, but that’s just how I look back on it.
YOUT WERE ALSO ON THE DONORE HARRIERS TEAMS THAT WON THE NATIONAL SENIOR ROAD RELAY IN 2015 AND GOT SECOND PLACE IN 2017 AND 2019 – BOTH VERY CLOSE RACES! WHAT ARE YOUR ABIDING MEMORIES OF THOSE EVENTS? 2015 was a special day for the club. As mentioned, there was a big focus on improving the excellence of the team with the LTDP program in 2013. To get the result of this program in 2015 was hugely gratifying as we came out on top with a competitive field. The team was made up of John Travers, Daragh Fitzgibbon, Lee Van Haeften and me. We had all grown up together, training together so to win with those guys was an extra special feeling. I remember John having an incredible performance on the 3-mile leg.
In 2017, and 2019 we were beaten into a silver medal by Raheny Shamrocks. Both times I was on the final leg and was extremely frustrated to be beaten. Both occasions were my two fastest times on that leg, but I felt I had let the team down. 2019 felt like a case of Déjà vu from 2017!
YOU REPRESENTED IRELAND IN THE 2017 CELTIC CROSS-COUNTRY CHAMPIONSHIPS AT CARDIFF. HOW WAS THAT EXPERIENCE? AND DID YOU REPRESENT IRELAND ON ANY OTHER OCCASION? Representing Ireland was always a dream of mine, so to have this come to reality in 2017 was amazing. We used to talk about getting “the shams” when we were juniors. I finished 10th in the race and was first Irish man home. I was very proud to be able to put in a good performance on this occasion to justify my selection. It’s the only time I’ve represented Ireland.
YOU RAN A FANTASTIC 2.18.24 IN THE 2019 FRANKFURT MARATHON. IS THE MARATHON AN EVENT THAT YOU WILL CONCENTRATE ON IN THE FUTURE? Yes, for sure, I feel have a lot of scope to improve in the marathon and was only scratching the surface in Frankfurt. Long term, I would like to try run the Olympic standard of 2:11.30.
YOU REGULARLY COMPETED IN ROAD RACES OVER VARIOUS DISTANCES. WHAT WAS/ARE YOUR FAVOURITE EVENTS BOTH IN IRELAND AND ABROAD? I quite enjoy running the half marathon distance. The Dublin Marathon race series always had a great atmosphere and energy in the build up to “marathon season”. The Dublin half marathon around the Phoenix Park was probably my favourite on home soil. Abroad, the Barcelona half marathon was by far my favourite event. Everything from the organisation to the course, the atmosphere, the standard and the weather! I ran my PB there and would go back in a heartbeat. It’s a good time of the year also in February. Highly recommend it to anyone looking for a fast half.
YOU CAME INTO REALLY GOOD FORM IN 2020. YOU WON THE DUBLIN 10,000m TRACK CHAMPIONSHIPS IN 29.20.3 AND THEN TOOK SILVER BEHIND SEAN TOBIN IN THE NATIONAL 10k TRACK IN A TIME OF 29.36.21. YOU THEN HAD TO DEAL WITH INJURY. PLEASE TELL US ABOUT THE NATURE OF THE INJURY AND THE RECOVERY PROCESS? Yes 2020 was a breakthrough year, I really upped my training and started committing myself a lot more to the sport. After the summer, I built on it and had a great winter despite no races. Early in 2021, I began having issues with my calf which really impacted my ability to run hard. It went undiagnosed for a long time up until the summer. Once the issue was identified as mechanical, I was given a rehab program to help me get back running properly. It’s still not back to 100%, I’m working hard to try get there!
YOU TOOK UP A SCHOLARSHIP AT THE QUEENS UNIVERSITY OF CHARLOTTE IN NORTH CAROLINA IN AUGUST 2021. HOW IS THAT GENERAL EXPERIENCE FOR YOU? AND HOW DOES THE AMERICAN ATHLTICS SCENE DIFFER FROM THAT IN IRELAND? I love it here. It’s been everything I hoped it would be and more. The place, coaches and teammates have been so supportive and welcoming. I feel very much at home here and there is a family atmosphere amongst the team. We have a culture of excellence but we also all look out for one another. The scene is crazy over here. The enthusiasm for cross country is so fresh compared to at home. Obviously, there is a much bigger pool of resources but just the general organisation, love and support for the sport is great. It’s infectious when you’re surrounded by it. I think associations back home could learn a lot from the NCAA.
YOU TRAINED WITH THE SENIOR & ACADEMY GROUP PRIOR TO GOING TO THE STATES AND YOU KEEP A KEEN EYE ON THE PROGRESS OF DEVELOPMENT ATHLETES IN THE CLUB LIKE GAVIN CURTIN, OLIVER HOPKINS, LOUIS O’LOUGHLIN, ETC. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO THOSE YOUNG ATHLETES? Stay consistent, listen to your coaches and be honest with yourself. Work hard and work smart. Take a long-term approach, time is on your side. If you can get a consistent 3-4 years of training under your belt, like you guys have been doing over the last year(s) you’ll achieve things you may not have though possible for yourself.
DID YOU EVER HAVE A PROBLEM STAYING ‘MOTIVATED’ AS AN ATHLETE? AND WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO YOUNG ATHLETES AND THEIR COACHES AROUND MOTIVATION AND DEVELOPMENT? Yes, I have, I think everyone goes through this at some stage of their career. In 2018 I was really struggling for motivation ahead of XC season, which led me to shift a focus towards road races and the marathon early in 2019. A new fresh challenge brought renewed enthusiasm for the sport. I think having short- and long-term goals are extremely important. Nobody wants to be training full tilt 100% of the time, that’s where these goals come in. There has to be a purpose to your training. I find this helps get you out the door on those days when you don’t’ feel like working. It’s important to be honest with yourself and able to differentiate when you’re too tired to train and when you’re just lacking motivation.
It’s also very important to enjoy running, and not get too caught up in the competition side. For me, just getting out for a run is my favourite part of the day. Sometimes it’s nice just to get out and run off feel, enjoy the time away from phones, computer screens and TV’s. It sounds counter-intuitive but running can be a great way to just relax sometimes.
WHAT’S NEXT FOR ERIC KEOGH IN TERMS OF TARGETS? Right now, I’m getting ready for my first indoor season. I’m still not back to 100% fitness so I’m hoping I can get back to that level by early 2022. Long term, I’m hoping to run some PB’s over 5,000m and 10,000m over the next years here in the Charlotte before focusing solely on the marathon career.
