Irish Runner February/March 2015

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HEALTH + FITNESS

TRIATHLON

BRUSH SHIELS

Profiles, tips & news p20

Features & news p58

In the fast lane p48 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2015 €4.75 / £4.20

BRESSIE! “I like to be mindful – with my brain switched off – while out training and I never listen to music while I run”

10 TIPS TO RESUME

ANTARCTIC WARRIOR “If you want something badly enough you’ll move heaven and earth to make your dreams become a reality” – Keith Whyte

RUNNING

PALEO DIET CHALLENGE

WIN Garmin 620 Watch 9 PAGES OF ROAD RACING & TRIATHLON FIXTURES

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editor’s letter

SETTING NEW RACE STANDARDS ANOTHER YEAR is already galloping ahead as we go to press with this first issue of 2015 and it is hard to believe that we are well into the second week of February.

It looks like it will be another very busy year on the running scene, and early road-race entry trends suggest the Irish running boom is still in rude health and continuing to grow.

There are lots of new events coming on stream, and as we head for the printers I have just learned of a brand new initiative by European Athletics aimed at ensuring greater uniformity of organisational standards for road events across the continent.

This new Grading System for Road Races – which first went into research and development mode – is set to go live in March and should be good news for all runners who want to see value for money and top standards in all events they enter.

Under the banner ‘Running For All’, the new standards will, according to a statement from the European Athletic Association, ‘recognise races with a good-quality level. It is the role of European Athletics and its Member Federations to support this movement by setting and implementing road race safety and quality standards. European Athletics together with the different stakeholders are responsible for setting the standards to ensure the necessary legitimacy and credibility.’

The safety and quality standards for road races are divided into three levels: 1-star, 3-star, and 5-star, to encompass all types and sizes of races.

Designed to ‘balance the interests and expectations of all stakeholders’, there are 53 standards, covering areas including administration and finance, safety, medical, course, timing, measurement, results, environmental and social responsibilities and services.

At a workshop organised by European Athletics in Paris on February 4 the proposed system and timelines were presented

by Project Leader Peter Stafford and Communications Manager James Mulligan. Of the 50 European national federations, 44 attended the workshop, including Athletics Ireland, represented

by Dermot Nagle (Dublin), John Quigley (Cork) and John Holian.

‘This is a great opportunity for Irish road races to promote themselves on a Europe-wide database, which will help attract European runners to events,’ said John Holian.

‘Athletics Ireland look forward to working with all race organisers throughout Ireland to help them achieve appropriate safety and quality grades for their events. We will hold regional workshops over the coming months to introduce the system.

‘We are particularly excited about giving race participants an opportunity to comment on the grade the event was awarded.

This feedback will help all of us to continue to improve race safety and quality standards for future events.’

This initiative by European Athletics can only be good news for runners, and the star rating for road events is something that should keep all event organisers alert and focused on ensuring their events reaches the highest possible standards.

It would be great at the start of a new year to be able to look through the road-racing calendar and see what races have earned five stars. In what is fast becoming an increasingly cluttered market, the rating of events is welcome.

We will have more information on this new development in our April/May issue on March 26. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy this issue of Irish Runner, packed as it is with lots of inspirational stories and expert advice on all aspects of running.

Frank Greally Managing Editor editor@irishrunner.ie 4 Irish Runner

features

8 VOICE LESSONS TO RUN WITH Running became a lifeline and vital source of sustenance for Bressie at a time when he was drowning in a sea of depression and anxiety. Chatting with FRANK GREALLY, he recounted his struggles and the lessons learned and applied.

HEALTH & FITNESS

WIN

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Garmin 620 Watch On the Cover

Niall Breslin ‘Bressie’.

Photo: Stephen McCarthy, Sportsfile.com

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Editor: Frank Greally. Associate Editor: Cathal Dennehy. Sub Editor: Richard Gallagher. Photography: Sportsfile, Tomás Greally, Donal Glackin, Mark Shearman, Dave Hudson. Magazine Design: www.outburstdesign.ie. Printed by: Boylan Print. Administration: Moira Aston. Accounts: John Holian & Roisin Horgan. Subscriptions: Robbie Woodcock, email: subscriptions@irishrunner.ie Contributors: Asher Senyk, John Walshe, Lindie Naughton, Joe Warne, Conor O’Hagan, Feidhlim Kelly, Cathal Dennehy, Jen Feighery, Mary Jennings, Conor Greally, Rory Hafford, Roy Stevenson, Gavin McGuinness, Patricia Murphy, Ken Cowley, John O’Regan, Hannah Nolan and Gavin McGuinness.

Advertising Sales Manager: Jason McChesney, email: jasonmcchesney@athleticsireland.ie Published by: Athletics Ireland, Unit 19 Northwood Court, Northwood, Business Campus, Santry, Dublin 9.

Telephone: (01) 886 9933. Email: editor@irishrunner.ie

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features

WHYTE HOT IN LAND OF ICE

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It’s been a case of ups and downs this past while for Keith Whyte, so when he was ordered on New Year’s day to shape up and and ship out to Antarctica, he knuckled down and rose to the Ice Marathon challenge. Frank Greally has the story

48

Brush with immortality Brush Shiels is planning an assault on a world 100metre record – and the fun-loving ex-rocker is deadly serious. Rory Hafford reports.

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HEAVENLY TRAILS Photographer: Dónal Glackin Location: Doo Lough, South Mayo Description: Description: Mayo offers some of Ireland’s wildest, most remote landscapes, and Doo Lough is a glorious example. If you follow the road that runs through the valley it will lead you to the equally stunning Killary fjord.

Although you may meet some motor traffic on the roads, you will also have sheep for company at this glorious location.

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IN PERSON

Running became a lifeline and vital source of sustenance for Bressie at a time when he was drowning in a sea of depression and anxiety. Chatting with FRANK GREALLY, he recounted his struggles and the lessons learned and applied.

MAIN PHOTO: STEPHEN MCCARTHY, SPORTSFILE.COM n a video that went viral on YouTube, Niall Breslin — better known by his stage name, Bressie — talks about how placing a pair of running shoes at his bedside became a last resort in dealing with the panic attacks that gripped him nightly — and always at 2am.

It was only when he laced on the shoes and ran ‘like a gazelle’ through the streets of Mullingar — in what the great Con Houlihan used to refer to as the non-human hours — that Bressie found relief.

The singer-songwriter and former elite footballer — who shot to wider fame in 2012 as winning coach on the first season of RTE’s The Voice of Ireland — can smile now when he describes tearing around his native town ‘like something out of Forrest Gump’. But when he talks about depression and anxiety you quickly realise he speaks from harrowing experience of lying on his bed in terror, fighting desperately to ward off the demons.

He has been there and worn the tee-shirt many times, and he shares his story with a refreshing honesty and clarity laced with empathy for fellow sufferers. He tells no other story but his own, an approach that was suggested to him by his good friend Jim Breen, who spearheads the highly successful Cycle Against Suicide campaign.

Bressie knows first-hand what it is like to feel alone and starved of empathy. He discovered such crippling experiences early in life when at 15, captain of the school team, academically bright, and ostensibly doing well, he would wake up nights ‘ripping the duvet and choking with terror’.

Things got so bad, he literally beat himself up — battering his right arm to a pulp in the hope a visit to the GP, by forcing him to talk about his agony, would produce some kind of catharsis. It was wasted self-harm; the good doctor, while sympathetic, described the episode as a manifestation of ‘puberty’.

Bressie was still in a dark place when after a deferment he graduated from UCD with a degree in Economics & Sociology.

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He somehow coped long enough to play Gaelic football for Westmeath and professional rugby for Leinster, even played for Ireland at the Junior World Cup, but eventually gravitated toward a musical career as a frontman with the Blizzards.

HEROIC BATTLE He felt okay when on stage — it was before and after performances that he struggled to cope. He was really only battling for survival during those years, fighting an heroic battle with depression and self-doubt but depending more and more on sleeping pills and antidepressants as his condition worsened.

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If you are struggling with anxiety or depression, let your loved ones know and let people close to you know

It’s doubtful he could have continued indefinitely in that mode, and he didn’t. A terrifying panic attack in the RTE dressingroom shortly before going on stage in front of a live audience and over 700,000 viewers nationwide proved the tipping point.

By then a judge on the show, Bressie did amazingly well to mask his panic and confusion and survive that night. But the episode finally forced him to change his approach. He would embrace and work through his issues rather than deny and suppress them in the hope they would go

away. He gave his affliction a name — Jeoffrey — began to talk openly and publicly about it, even to embrace and work with it.

‘It’s a terrible feeling when nothing but madness is going on your head and you have empathy with nothing at all. You’re hoping things will change and that you’ll get over the hump and things will be good, but that doesn’t happen.

‘I’ve found I have to live with my depression and anxiety and let it come and go as your would a bad cold or flu. It’s not something that you can fight, but by acknowledging and talking about it you can get a lot of help.’

MAN ON MISSION Bressie is now a man on a mission; in association with the Health & Living supplement in the Irish Independent he has lately been promoting what he calls MY1000HOURS, a ‘run for your life’ campaign in association with Berocca encouraging people of all ages to train for and participate in a mass run, 5k or 10k, in the Phoenix Park on March 7.

The programme — to which Bressie has harnessed the expertise of Gerry Hussey and Mark McCabe in devising training schedules that have already made a big impact with aspiring runners — is designed to steadily build physical fitness, but also has a wider focus.

‘My1,000 hours concentrates on holistic fitness,’ he says. ‘I want to be part of a movement that aims to normalise the conversation surrounding mental health — a movement that will promote both physical and mental fitness, a movement that puts mental health on the agenda in a proactive and positive way. It’s the beginning of a community that can grow together and this is just the first step.’

MY1000HOURS has attracted an enthusiastic response, and entries are flooding in for the March 7 runs, which are being organised by Athletics Ireland.

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I like to be mindful — with my brain switched off — while out training and I never listen to music while I run

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IN PERSON

In his Monday column in the Independent, Bressie shares his own running experiences and the lessons he is learning. Just recently he revealed he doesn’t eat fish and therefore does not get enough Omega 3, which is essential to maintain healthy joints and muscles. And so he has been supplementing with flax-seed oil.

He correctly observes that diet and exercise can powerfully affect mood: ‘I have found that running has, more than anything else, the most profound effect on my mood.

I love my Sunday morning 15k, which I do nice and slow, barely moving, at my own pace. I like to be mindful — with my brain switched off — while out training and I never listen to music while I run.’

He strongly advises novice runners to train at ‘your own pace’.

‘It’s massively important to point out that while training for the run in March you should train with peers of the same ability if training in groups. You may think running to the point of exhaustion is the way forward for the beginner — but this is completely counter-productive to the programme we’ve put in place for March.

‘Running allows you to become present and embrace the moment. It’s virtually impossible to experience this if you are concentrating more on not coughing up your lungs as you desperately try to stay within touching distance of your mate. So park the ego and run at your own pace so that you can enjoy the experience.’

He has added strength and flexibility sessions to his training routine: ‘I found that running regularly did not necessarily mean faster and that I needed to do some strength training — especially for my lower back, a weak spot since my rugby days.’

RUNNING TARGETS He has his own running targets for 2015, including a sub-40 10k and a sub-4 marathon, the latter as part of a triathlon: ‘I will be doing the half ironman in Dublin and I also aim to complete a full ironman this year.’

Bressie has been doing triathlons for over a year and in the process has had to face down another fear, water, by learning to swim.

‘Weighing 16-and-a-half stone, I wouldn’t be your ideal runner, but I love to run and I’m always far more productive in my working life when running regularly.’

The My1000HOURS: Run for Your Life programme is inspired by a book titled Outliers, where the author, Malcolm Gladwell, claims that what marks out experts in any field is the steady accumulation of 10,000 hours of practice, or 20 hours a week over ten years.

‘My 1,000 hours programme is also about my own journey and discovering what 10 Irish Runner

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Running allows you to become present and embrace the moment — so park the ego, run at your own pace and enjoy the experience

worked best for my mental health,’ says Bressie. ‘Along that journey I had to be patient — but more importantly, open and frank.

‘You have to find your own motivation. Do you want to lose weight? Why do you want to get fit? Do you want more confidence, or do you want to develop more self-esteem? My motivation for running is that it’s a form of medication. That is what gets me out of bed.’

Every morning on rising, Bressie shows his gratitude for life, health and living by reciting 30 ‘thank you’ mantras.

‘It’s important to start the day by acknowledging something of the small things that I am grateful for — even things like a duvet and a tooth brush. I still have to deal with anxiety issues at night before I go to sleep but I’ve learned how to do so with deep breathing and relaxation.’

Bressie is also on a mission to see mental fitness become part of the secondary-school curriculum.

‘The present education system does nothing to prepare young people to deal with trauma, and they’re all sure to experience trauma in their lives. It was only when playing sport that I developed coping strategies, something we don’t teach in school or at work.

‘When I visit schools I don’t look to single

out young people who might have depression or anxiety; I simply encourage everyone to become a little bit better at everything they do. We pack everything into the Leaving Cert and expect young people to deal with ten days of intense pressure without giving them any coping strategies.

This needs to change.

‘The 1,000 hours concept is only a start; you find the ultimate combination of things that make you feel good and help you cope.

I wasn't able to find that combination until everyone around me knew about my issues.

‘If you are struggling with anxiety or depression you don’t look for answers overnight. But if you are struggling, let your loved ones know and let people close to you know. It’s virtually impossible to work with and deal with if you keep it to yourself. You don’t have to do that. As soon as you start seeking help, things get a lot better.

‘My Run for Your Life challenge is the beginning of a community that can grow together and this is just the first step. There will be several thousand people in the Phoenix Park on March 7th, all with the common goal of making it to the finish line.

We’ll support each other until the last person runs, walks or crawls over that line.’

For information about the MY1000HOURS 5k and 10k visit www.FITMagazine.ie/events

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FIRST PERSON

WOMAN IN STEP WITH THE TIMES Mary Jennings loves running, fresh air, feeling good, and having fun — as do the many thousands at home and abroad who have signed up to Forget The Gym and Get Running.

Frank Greally asked her about the genesis and astonishing success of the twin phenomena.

PHOTOS: DONAL GLACKIN. How did you first get involved in running?

I was a late starter to sport in general. I was living and working in England in my early 20s and got introduced to running, grudgingly, by a boyfriend who was a runner. After a few months, the girls in work signed up to a charity 5k and it was the motivation I needed to get focused and complete my first 5k. After that I was hooked.

I very gradually built up to 10k and beyond. In 2005 I completed my first marathon and I remember saying to myself, ‘If I can build up to do this, anyone can!’

Since then I’ve completed over 40 marathons and ultramarathons.

How did the Forget The Gym idea come about?

In 2006 I started helping friends to build up to 5k and take part in races and events. I wanted to share this running buzz and I enjoyed the coaching, albeit

12 Irish Runner

informal at that stage, as much as the running.

I was lucky to get the opportunity to take a one-year career break from my management consultancy job in England.

Although travelling was the priority, I took the time out to train as a personal trainer for my own interest.

I never ended up going back to the ‘proper’ job; in fact I returned to Ireland at the end of the year and started out Forget The Gym, coaching friends initially to build up to 5ks and the Dublin Mini Marathon in 2007.

Since 2007 Forget The Gym has grown as word has spread, and now we have classes, workshops and running holidays for beginners right up to ultra-runners.

I have since returned to university and completed my MSC in Sports and Exercise Psychology as well as qualifying as a ChiRunning instructor and

gaining many more fitness- and runningrelated qualifications.

What was your early experience of promoting this concept to runners?

I realised there was very limited support at the time for adults who were not sporty to get motivated, get confident and get running. Athletics clubs seemed a little intimidating to them, and most of my clients at the time did not believe they were runners – they needed the support to guide them to get off the couch, forget about what the neighbours might think and get more fresh air.

The name Forget The Gym is not antigym; it really comes down to my belief that the fresh air is as valuable to our wellbeing as the fitness. Also, many people who do not exercise regularly are self-conscious

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about their body and fitness and avoid the gym because they feel people are looking at them.

Running on a treadmill looking at a clock is not going to entice many new runners to lace up their shoes, but running outdoors with a group is social and invigorating and allows people to engage with others and support each other as they build up their running minutes.

Did your professional background help in setting up a fitness business?

People think I spend my day running. In fact, at least 60 percent of the work is on a computer, even if I am wearing running gear. There is lots of admin involved, as I offer a lot of online coaching programmes, so there is always plenty to be done.

Having a background in IT and project management has helped a lot with structuring my work and managing websites and blogs and coaching but also with goalsetting and planning for both Forget The Gym and my own running goals.

How did the Irish Times Get Running programme come about?

The Irish Times approached me in 2013 to ask if I would be interested in designing online coaching programmes for new runners on irishtimes.com. They were looking to find someone who could design the programmes, coach via video, support the programmes and write for the paper and they came across my website and thought I might fit the bill.

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My aim is to be that voice in their head which empowers people to keep running, maintain good technique and achieve things they never thought possible What following do you have for your Get Running programmes?

In 2014 over 15,000 people in Ireland and abroad followed our Get Running programmes in the Irish Times. We started out in January with a beginners’ eight-week programme, and following its success we designed and filmed two more programmes, a 10k programme and a programme for lapsed runners called Stay on Track.

The programmes are 100 percent free, online and video based, with me guiding the runners week by week.

Is there a common dominator to what runners seek in Forget The Gym and Get Running?

Yes indeed. My runners in Forget The Gym and the majority of readers of the Health and Family supplement of the Irish Times are regular, busy people combining jobs, family and other commitments. They all have something in common, which is the need for a little motivation.

My role is more than that of a running coach; it really is to empower people to get out the door and make running a habit. It’s all about working out what motivates someone, setting realistic goals and supporting them all the way.

My aim is to be that voice in their head which empowers them to keep running, maintain good technique and achieve things they never thought possible.

What are your own three favourite running experiences?

Nothing beats your first 5k. The feeling that you’ve achieved something you never thought possible always stays with you. I really do believe for anyone who starts out running as an adult, this is always one of the big goals. For me that was in Battersea Park in London in 2002.

Since then, there have been so many highlights: completing the Comrades Ultramarathon in South Africa and the 100k del Passatore, in Florence, really showed me that you can complete anything if you put your mind to it.

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FIRST PERSON Do you have a favourite training route?

I love exploring new places while running. If I’m on holiday, I will lace up my runners and run through the city or countryside. In fact, I’m often a lot more motivated to run when on holidays than when at home.

I suppose that’s one thing that does help me as a coach – I also sometimes struggle to get out the door myself to go for a run, especially if I’m not training for any particular event or have not arranged to meet someone.

You have a travel dimension to Forget The Gym. Can you tell us about that?

Last year I organised running holidays at the Cliffs of Moher. Based out of a beautiful yoga retreat centre near the cliff path, we combined good food, running, pilates, workshops and fresh air.

I created these holidays based on what I would like myself if I was going away for long weekend or a week. I have two more scheduled for spring 2015, and have added in more of a food element this year – foraging walks and visits to local food producers.

Do you have a favourite running travel destination?

My annual favourite running experience has to be the Beaujolais Marathon, where every year I take a group of 40-plus of my running students to France for a wine half marathon, where the water stops are wine-tasting stations and baguette and cheese are the energy gels and everyone is in fancy dress as we run through the villages.

How important is the social dimension to runners who train with you?

Sometimes I think the students are there more for the social element than the running class itself. We have developed a great gang of runners who support each other and mentor the new runners too. Learning to run in a group where it is encouraged to chat, have fun and share stories has meant that many friendships have started on the road over the years.

We have lots of social fun events too throughout the year – we have Xmas runs through the city, stopping off at the Xmas markets; we have running holidays and days out where we combine running, food and fun; and we also encourage our students to meet up with each other to do their ‘running homework’ from their training plans together.

I know myself that I’m significantly more likely to go for a run if I’m due to meet someone else, and I encourage my students to build in habits that help them stick to their running routines.

How often do you train and how many miles per week?

I completed my 40th marathon last June and decided it was time to take a break from 14 Irish Runner

Mary Jennings with Forget The Gym student Emma stopping for wine and refreshments along the route of the Marathon du Beaujolais, France

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Learning to run in a group where it is encouraged to chat, have fun and share stories has meant many friendships have started on the road over the years

long-distance running and focus on other things. I found I was getting complacent.

In the few months leading up to this decision, although I loved running the marathon distance, I felt I was losing the buzz of the marathon. My body had adapted to completing marathons comfortably quite regularly. It made me think about why I run and what I want to get out of it.

I’m not interested in volume of marathons – it’s more the feeling running gives that I want to keep. For the last six months I have just run for fun. I coach, I focus on my technique, I run with friends, but mainly I have given my running a back seat. I coach four nights a week so am running probably eight to 10k each of these nights with strength exercises in the mix too.

When I am training for a marathon or longer, there will also be weekend long runs with our marathon training group, but at the moment I’m not training for any particular

event, so a 5k at the weekend is probably the only other run I’m doing this winter.

I am very mindful of technique, rest and injury prevention.

Do you have a favourite shoe?

I’ve always worn Asics but over the last year I have experimented with different brands and have yet to find the perfect one. My plan for 2015 is to try out a few more models and see what works best for me.

Name your favourite running events I travel a lot with running and write a blog called MarathonTourist. There are so many memories of events abroad, but two of my favourite ones are closer to home: Parkrun and the Dublin Marathon.

Parkrun is fantastic. It gets me up on Saturday mornings and makes me feel I have a day’s work done by 10.15am.

The Dublin Marathon is special – whether I’m running or a spectator there’s an energy about the city on Marathon Monday that I have not seen equalled at any other marathon. Maybe it’s the fact it’s the home marathon and you never know who will be around the next corner.

What are your running plans for 2015?

For 2015, I will continue to focus on coaching and the running holidays but I may be persuaded to sign up for something new and different too. I’ll keep my options open for now.

Finally, Mary, you run because...?

Because nothing beats that post-run feeling.

I love the fresh air and how running clears my head and sets me up for the rest of the day.

Full details on forgetthegym.ie

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news

JUSTICE FOR LOUGHNANE BRENDAN MORAN / SPORTSFILE.COM

It may have taken six years to happen, but Olive Loughnane’s World Championship 20k walk silver medal is finally to be transmuted to gold, Russia’s Olga Kaniskina having been recently banned for doping, writes Cathal Dennehy.

Kaniskina, a three-time world champion and the 2008 Olympic champion, will serve a 38-month ban, backdated to 15 October 2012. Her results from 15 July to 16 September 2009 and from 30 July to 8 November 2011 will be annulled, costing her two of her three world titles and giving gold to Loughnane, who retired in 2013.

‘That’s not credible,’ said Loughnane when asked about the duration of the bans imposed by the Russian anti-doping body.

‘It looks like they’re trying to hold on to their Olympic medals.

‘It all happened so quickly. I don’t know how it’s going to pan out now but the reality of it is the Russians have come out and said she was dirty in that race so I was the fastest on the day. They can’t take that away from me.

‘I was on the podium; I was in the best position anyone could possibly be. She has to have stood there knowing she was dirty.

I’m sure she didn’t get the same kick out of her gold as I got out of my silver.’

Also suspended were the 2012 Olympic 50k champion, Sergey Kirdyapkin, and the 2010 European bronze medallist, Sergey Bakulin. In both races, Rob Heffernan finished fourth.

The bad news for the Corkman, though, is that the results annulled didn’t include

Olive Loughnane with her Berlin 2009 silver, now to be changed to gold

those in which the Russians relegated Heffernan to fourth. Kirdyapkin’s 38-month suspension was backdated to 15 October 2012, his results annulled only from 25 January to 25 March 2011, from 16 June to 16 August 2011, and from 11 April to 11 June 2012.

There is, however, hope for Heffernan. All decisions by national anti-doping bodies must be ratified by the IAAF, and it seems highly unlikely the world governing body will

Measure of the man Heartiest congratulations to Irish Runner contributor John Walshe, who in January received well earned recognition for his pioneering work in course measurement and calibration.

John laid down the first ever calibration course in Ireland, in Kilmacahill, Ballycotton, on New Year’s Day 1978, prior to the first Ballycotton 10. The course was half a mile long and the device used was a Veeder Rootes counter, supplied by John Jewell, the world-famous pioneer of course measurement.

John has now been measuring courses for almost four decades and has earned the thanks, appreciation 16 Irish Runner

and respect of not only the Cork running community but also the wider athletics community in Ireland and even abroad.

Athletics Ireland has decided to formally certify all measurers throughout the country, and in recognition of his pioneering work and decades of service, John was honoured with Athletics Ireland’s first Measurer’s Certificate – Certificate No 1 – at Cork Athletics’ Annual International Awards, in the River Lee Hotel, on January 23.

Our picture shows John Foley, CEO Athletics Ireland, presenting the award to John, with Paddy Buckley, Chairman Cork Athletics, alongside.

accept the decision of the Russians to annul athletes’ results for periods before and shortly after the Olympics without affecting results at the Games.

Nick Davies, IAAF Director of Communications, said, ‘The usual procedure...is to wait for the fully reasoned explanation (in English) for the sanctions...from our member federation in Russia. Only at that stage are we able to analyse and decide if we accept.’

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Great day for Redicans

Ian Redican accepts the shield from his cousin Jim McNamara

St Stephen’s Day was a highly emotional occasion for Ian Redican and his family as the Donore Harrier raced to victory in his club’s annual 10-mile cross-country handicap, the Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield – a long enduring event that was won 50 years earlier by Ian’s father, Tommy, writes Frank Greally.

‘Winning the magnificent Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield was very special and the memory of that day will long live with me,’ a delighted Ian said.

‘What made the occasion so special was the fact that my dad, Tommy, had won the race 50 years ago to the day, and his cousin, Jim McNamara, was the man I had to catch in the closing stages to win.

‘The Shield is a unique event and has always had a special place in the hearts and minds of Donore runners. I remember watching the race as a child, watching Donore stalwarts like Tom O’Riordan, Willie Dunne, Eddie Spillane, Jim McNamara and Eamonn Coghlan — but never in my wildest dreams did I think I could end up winning the trophy.

‘As I ran around the final twomile lap I was thinking of my late dad and how proud he

would be for me to bring the trophy back home five decades after he won it. It was very emotional to have members of my family there and some of the older Donore crew like 90-yearsplus Tommy Hayward also cheering me on.

‘After four laps, my uncle Noel shouted to me that I was second. Then, as if some kind of history was repeating itself, I looked ahead and I could see the back of the legend Jim Mac. ‘Before the race, Jim, who’s 75, said he would run just a few laps in memory of Dad. But when I saw him still leading, I rightly assumed he had continued on and was heading for the finish.

‘If ever I thought my dad was running beside me and helping me, it was then. It felt like one last running battle between two great friends and family members — a fairytale end to a rare and special day.

‘I somehow found the strength to pass Jim, and Jim himself placed third — another great performance by my cousin, who ran for Ireland in the 1976 Olympic marathon.

‘It feels very special now to have a second Redican name on the Waterhouse Byrne Baird Shield after half a century.’

ORDER TODAY: www.johnbuckleysports.com Email: johnbuckleysports@eircom.net

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Chris dares to dream ‘I’ve always been a believer if you really want something out of life you just have to go and get it.

Whether that be a career, a big contract, becoming self-employed, doing well in exams...whatever, just go get it – put the work in. Will it be easy? No. But life isn’t all straight lines and plain sailing. It’s ups and downs, ins and outs. Keep moving forward!

‘My current ambition is to represent my country in athletics.

It will be quite a feat considering I only took up the sport a few years back, having no previous sporting background.

‘Pre-running I weighed 14-anda-half stone – I’ve lost over fourand-a-half to date. Many laugh – and actually have laughed in my face – when I’ve told them my dream. You have to not worry what other people think, especially when it’s covered in negativity.

‘Some people are scared of life – scared to chase their dreams. Most people are afraid to fail. Failure is not final, failure is the mother of success.

‘Thomas Edison once said he didn’t fail 10,000 times trying to create the lightbulb, he just found 10,000 ways not to create the lightbulb.’

Footnote: See the next issue of Irish Runner for an extended interview with Chris.

PHOTOS: GEAROID O'LAOI

PEOPLE have laughed at Chris Harrington when told of his dream – to run competitively for Ireland. A 32-year-old with a wife, five kids and a full-time job as a builder, writes Feidhlim Kelly.

Harrington packed his bags and went to Ethiopia on a training camp at the turn of the year.

Not long ago he was several stones overweight and smoked 40 cigarettes a day but now he dreams the impossible dream. And why not? The Corkman, who runs for Leevale, has the backing and belief of the most important person in the project – himself.

What's more, for someone who took up running only five years ago, started from such a low base, and has since missed the guts of two years because of knee surgery, he owns a range of highly respectable PBs, from 55 seconds for 400m to sub-25 for five miles to 69 minutes for the half marathon.

‘This trip to Ethiopia was always at the back of my mind,’ said Harrington. ‘It’s the culmination of a lot of sacrifices, hard work and commitment over a couple of years. I had to save my ass off to get the funds.

‘Believe me, I had many a quiet day (in the construction sector) but no matter how quiet my days were, I made sure I worked extra hours to achieve this goal.

TARMAC SIZZLES DESPITE COLD THE new year has seen some sparkling runs at the sharp end of the road scene as a number of Ireland’s elites look toward the Rotterdam Marathon in April, writes Feidhlim Kelly.

Leevale’s Lizzie Lee was a commanding winner of the Axa Raheny 5 on January 25 in a PB of 26:34. Martin Fagan (Mullingar) won the men’s race in 23:36 with Mick Clohisey (Raheny) second in a PB of 23:44.

Fagan went on to win the Bewley’s Trim 10 on February 1 in a swift 48:23, while on the same day Clohisey maintained his fine form at the John Treacy 10 in Dungarvan with another PB, 48:45.

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Mark Hanrahan (Leevale) was second in 48:52 and Sean Hehir (Rathfarnham WSAF) third in 49:09. Gary Thornton (GCH) completed a quality top four with 49:36.

Back in 2008 Martin Fagan led four Irishmen under 49 minutes for 10 miles at the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth.

Fagan finished second in 46:58, Gary Murray eighth in 48:11, Vinny Mulvey 13th in 48:52 and Mark Carroll 14th in 48:54.

The resurgence of standards in recent weeks is timely in every sense, and our photo by Gearoid O Laoi shows Clohisey, Thornton, Hanrahan and Hehir contesting the John Treacy 10.

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RUNNING ON AIR Hayley Morris tells Rory Hafford how the power of running helped to transform her life, turning her from chronic asthmatic to long-distance athlete. Photo: Tomas Greally.

JUST stop what you are doing for a moment and imagine what it would be like if you couldn’t draw breath.

Imagine the fear and the panic.

Imagine the restrictions it would place on your life.

That’s what Hayley Morris lived with every day: the fear that at any moment an asthma attack could have serious repercussions for her.

She lived with this feeling for more than 30 years since, at the age of six, she was diagnosed with asthma. And then…she discovered the healing power of running!

The bubbly Liverpudlian has a faraway look in her eyes as she recalls her early years battling with a condition that literally sidelined her from the life all her friends were living to the full.

‘I spent a lot of time just watching sports days and sitting out PE lessons. I would struggle with basic mobility; so walking to school or walking to work as I got older became a chore for me,’ Hayley recalls.

‘It was always worse during the summer months – with the increased pollen – when I would have to spend a lot of time indoors.

Isolated.’

She became a spectator rather than a participant in life. And all the medical paraphernalia by which she was surrounded – steroids, inhalers – copper-fastened how restrictive her life had become.

Last year, Hayley’s day job in a bank necessitated a move to Dublin. It was a daunting prospect: a new job, a new city, but the same old health restrictions.

But something in her thinking shifted when she saw a poster for the Mary Jennings’s ‘Forget The Gym’ group – she decided she would give running a go.

‘I had worked on the road for the previous four years and had piled on the pounds, due in no small measure to the sedentary lifestyle that is hotel living! And I was 20 Irish Runner

daunted by the fact I’d reached a point where I couldn’t manage a walk to work, or I couldn’t tackle a flight of stairs without needing the aid of an inhaler. On top of this, I was constantly taking steroids to help me cope.’

But all that was about to change, and the change was a dramatic one!

She started running and, with the aid of The Running Chicks (part of the Forget The Gym group), changed the way she carried herself, which improved her breathing technique immeasurably.

‘I was running with my shoulders somewhere up around my ears. It was very restrictive. It was only when Mary took a video of me that I could see how wrong my running shape was.

‘But when I worked to lower the shoulders it helped me breathe easier and running became a more natural thing for me.’

So much so that in June of last year Hayley ran the entire Fingal 10k. A few thousand small steps for mankind; one giant leap for Hayley – the difference it has made to her life is out of this world.

‘It was only when I hit the ninekilometre mark that I took my first inhaler booster – and I ran the whole race.’

Completing the race is one thing; what it signifies is something much more. Physically, Hayley is in a much better place. But psychologically, it is as though she has finally got the life she craved for years – the life others lived as she watched from the sidelines.

‘Until I started running I could barely breathe walking to work – that speaks volumes. I manage my condition much better now and running has definitely improved my whole lifestyle.

‘I can honestly say that before I gave running a go asthma was always the excuse I used as to why I couldn’t be active.’

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Experts warn of a condition known as ‘exercise-induced asthma’, which as the name suggests refers to attacks brought on by putting too much strain on the airways.

That said, running brings so many other health benefits to the body (and the mind) that it can actually strengthen the defences against all sorts of attacks, including asthma.

The prevailing weather will influence your run. Warm, humid air is best for your airways. Cold, dry air can constrict the airways and induce asthma symptoms.

According to Anne Kearney of The Asthma Society, exercise is an important part of a healthy lifestyle for everyone, but especially for people with asthma: ‘Regular physical activity increases the strength of your lungs, and research has shown that a structured exercise regime can improve asthma control. Most people with asthma can take part in exercise and sports once their asthma is well controlled and they avoid their triggers.

‘So if you have asthma don’t give up on an active lifestyle; talk to your doctor about putting an exercise plan in place.’

As for Hayley, she no longer takes steroids, even though she is on the move more than ever before – and she rarely needs to use her ‘reliever’ inhaler. In fact, it’s more than six months since she has used it during a run.

The more she ran, the fitter she got; the more she ran, the more her asthma seemed to disappear.

By changing her body shape and being mindful of lowering her shoulders, she expanded the ribcage, which in turn allowed her to breathe easier.

‘My shoulders didn’t drop only when I ran; eventually they dropped altogether,

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I had reached a point where I couldn’t walk to work or tackle a flight of stairs without the aid of an inhaler hence improving my everyday living.’

Her motivation now is simple: ‘I spent so long, over 30 years, thinking I couldn’t run and now that I can, that is motivational in itself. There’s nothing better than arranging a run with your friends on a Saturday morning. Now, I couldn’t imagine my life without running.’

The future is a brighter and a braver one: ‘This year I’ve registered for six halfmarathons along with numerous 10ks. I’m also doing the Liverpool Marathon in June.

‘The farthest I’ve run so far is 13.2 miles, so I’m looking forward to my marathon training.’

The life she used to lead is gone: the resorting to an inhaler on her walk to work; the watching others enjoy themselves while she struggled to climb the stairs; the fear that use to grip her at the very thought of exercise. All gone!

Hayley’s first 10k run was in January 2014, when she clocked 86 minutes. She has since brought that down to 53:09 and has a 5k best of 25:28.

When she thinks of what she has achieved in the space of just one year, she sums it up in a few short words: ‘I’m pretty proud of myself!’

Asthma: The Lowdown ASTHMA: THE LOWDOWN ■ Asthma is a condition that targets the airways, the tiny tubes responsible for getting air in and out of the lungs ■ These airways become over-sensitive, tending to react badly to things that normally wouldn’t cause problems, things like cold air or dust ■ The allergic reaction results in a narrowing of the breathing tubes, making it difficult for air to flow in and out ■ The airways can then get clogged with mucus, making breathing even more difficult ■ Ireland has almost 500,000 asthma sufferers EXERCISING SAFELY WITH ASTHMA ■ Keep your asthma well controlled ■ Take your medications as prescribed

■ Have regular reviews with your doctor/nurse and have a written ‘asthma action plan’ ■ Make sure your coach/teacher knows you have asthma ■ Always have your reliever (blue) inhaler with you when exercising ■ Warm up (15-20 mins) before exercise and warm down afterwards ■ Identify your asthma ‘triggers’ and avoid them (e.g., grass, pollen, cold air, chlorine) ■ Start gently before slowly increasing the volume and intensity of exercise ■ If you have asthma symptoms, stop exercising, take your reliever inhaler and wait five minutes until breathing easily before resuming ■ For more information, visit asthma.ie ■ Source: Asthma Society of Ireland

The best medicine FEELING down? Feeling flat?

Feeling stressed? Running is the perfect pick-me-up, says the latest research.

According to Justin Bowyer of the Green Guides Running Book, running provides excellent ‘me time’ in which to unwind and put problems into perspective.

‘Runners show reduced levels of adrenaline and cortisol (both stress hormones) and increased DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which is thought to have a positive impact on stress.

‘Best of all, running can be an instant cure to a moment of stress: shoes on and out the door…’

Consider also a study performed by Dr James Blumenthal of the Duke University Medical Centre (2007): 156 people suffering major depression were divided into three groups and treated with either exercise alone, medication alone, or exercise and medication.

After 16 weeks, over 60 percent of those in the exercise group were no longer depressed.

Given Ireland’s recession of recent years, it’s hardly surprising that many people are in the doldrums. But instead of popping pills, pop on a pair of runners; it’ll be better for your mood and healthier in the long run.

Make haste slowly CONTRARY to popular belief, runners are essentially just like the rest of the population: a little crazier maybe, but driven by very much the same urges.

That’s why, like most people, we make New Year resolutions, though with us it’s usually to run faster or longer or both.

Hmmm. Before you set the bar too high, you might take on board research by the Deep Heat people.

They found that taking up a new sport (or modifying drastically an old one) is responsible for 30 percent of sports injuries.

As if that weren’t bad enough, they found that those who neglect warm-ups and cool-downs are more than likely to end up on the treatment table. Take steps to make sure you’re not one of them!

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Rory Hafford hears from Siobhan McKillen, of Operation Transformation fame, about her love-hate relationship with running and the part it has played in her spectacular weightloss journey. Photo: Donal Glackin.

How big a part has running played in you getting to where you want to be?

Running has been one of the biggest factors in my weight-loss journey. It’s given me the flexibility to have ‘good’ days and ‘bad’ days food-wise.

Regardless of weight, it’s shown me that I’m quite competitive — I’ve scared myself on race days seeing that side of me! — and it’s also given me the drive to achieve more: more from myself and more from life.

It’s not something I expected to get into — I was never into sports, never competed in sports and never ran! I could barely run up a flight of stairs without my knees hurting and feeling out of breath, but when I started running — well, more shuffling at the beginning! — I was surprised at how quickly it progressed. Literally, week by week the distances were getting longer and the times shorter.

Before I knew it I was running 5ks, 10ks, then the Women’s Mini Marathon, the Dublin Race Series and the Athlone threequarter marathon.

Never in a million years did I think I would be running just for kicks!

How do you motivate yourself to run?

When OT finished I set up a Facebook page to keep me motivated, where I do a weekly weigh-in and post it online, along with my daily food blog and running logs.

This has motivated me no end.

If there are days where I don’t want to run or I find myself not wanting to run another mile, I think of what I’m going to post and it really does drive me further, because I know a lot of people would look at that and be inspired to get up and go for a walk or run themselves.

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with running — when I run I find myself battling to keep going, scolding myself and threatening to stop, especially on short, fast runs.

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I do prefer the longer runs. I find my breathing gets better and I get a second wind after seven or eight k and then begin to almost enjoy the run and the scenery around me!

And no matter how short/long/fast/slow the run is, the feeling post-run is something out of this world — I feel amazing after it!

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I’m not a fan of running alone — I like knowing there are people in the same amount of pain as myself!

How does running with a group help?

It is so much more fun running with a group. I must admit, I’m not a fan of running alone. I like knowing there are people in the same amount of pain and mental torture as I am!

Apart from having a bit of company, especially on long runs, it’s nice to try different routes and share milestone moments with others. A lot of our workmates avoid us now, as all we seem to do is talk about running and the next race!

Have you had any injuries as a result of your new-found training regime?

Yes. I was out of action during the summer with plantar fasciitis and a bruised bone at the side of my foot. I couldn’t run for over seven weeks. It was one of the most depressing times for me as I was completely powerless running-wise and I’d get runner envy looking at all the joggers/runners out and about.

I was so worried that I wouldn’t be able to run the marathon, but with weekly physio and staying off the foot, I was lucky enough to run the race. I still get niggles in it and have to wear orthotics while running.

What was the Op Trans experience like for you?

Surreal, if anything. It was like living in a bubble for the seven weeks that the show was filmed. But I learned a lot about myself and it gave me the kick-start I needed to continue on a healthy (enough) lifestyle.

I made great friends through the show too.

Even now when I’m recognised, people will come up to me and only have positive things to say to me, which is really uplifting and stops me taking the intended bag of doughnuts off the shelf!

What is your diet like now?

I eat well — well, I try to eat well — but I’m a massive foodie too!

I have three square meals a day and two snacks — sometimes it’s fruit, sometimes it’s chocolate! But I always start the day with a bowl of porridge; it really does set me up for the day and keeps the hunger at bay until lunchtime.

But I am also of the mindset that if you want something to eat, have it. I’ve lost weight in the past where I was militant about my food, gave up drinking, et cetera, and as soon as I reached my goal weight I would hit the fridge (and the bar!) thinking I could do it again. Needless to say, it doesn’t work.

This time around I still had a bit of what I fancied and was able to lose all the excess weight and maintain it also.

You have a busy life. How do you fit all the training in?

I run at lunchtime so that it doesn’t interfere with my family life. If I want to do a long run, I’ll

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I never thought I’d be looking at running marathons and making a holiday out of it — I’d be the one propped at the bar watching it on the TV

get up extra early and my husband will drop the kids to crèche.

I only have a precious couple of hours maximum with the kids during the week. And I also work long hours. So any spare time I do get I want to spend time with them.

What are your goals for 2015?

I plan to run the Dublin City Marathon again in October and will definitely run another. Myself and my running buddies are considering going abroad for one. I never thought I’d be looking at running marathons and making a holiday out of it — I’d be the one propped at the bar watching it on the TV. In general, I’d like to keep the weight off, get fitter and just live life to the fullest.

What advice would you give others struggling with their weight?

Not to give up. If you have a bad day, it’s just a bad day. A bad week is just a bad week. You can start again now — just draw a line under it!

I have good weeks and bad weeks but I will never let it take a hold of me like I once did.

And never start a ‘diet’ on a Monday! My ‘new me, new start’ would always happen on a Monday; then I’d fall off the wagon and go rooting through the food presses and think, ‘I’ll start afresh next Monday’ — and the vicious circle went on from there.

Also, find a physical activity you like doing and you know you will continue to do. Make it a social thing and do it with family members or friends.

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THERE’S STAY-FIT KEY IN NUMBERS If you’ve been feeling the loneliness of the long-distance runner, or just struggling for motivation, it may be time to enter a few races, or even join a club, writes Catherina McKiernan

non-running friend said to me recently, ‘You runners are all running away from issues in your lives.’ Perhaps there is a kernel of truth there, but I know after I run I get a great feeling of wellbeing and confidence. It is something I experienced from a very young age running around the fields at home on the family farm.

It’s a great feeling, and I think many of you would agree that is the reason why we run.

I was born with a talent to run and be competitive. I really appreciate how lucky I am to be involved in such a great sport with genuine, friendly, helpful and kind people. I enjoy running now as much as I did 20 years ago. Being a professional athlete requires huge sacrifices and commitment, but that came naturally to me, and the long and hard training sessions were something I cherished.

I do have one regret though: I feel I retired from international competition too young. I believe I had a lot of good running left in me and could have achieved more. I wish that at the time I retired someone had been there to advise and encourage me to continue training and competing. I certainly did not give it enough consideration and should have sought guidance from another professional athlete who had already retired.

By no means did I turn against running; I always loved to run. And the wise thing would have been to take some time to reflect, rest the body a little and set new goals for myself.

Sometimes we lose enthusiasm and become disheartened but that is certainly not the time to make rash decisions. In every sport it is important for young athletes to talk to, and seek advice from, people that have finished their careers, so that they can be steered in the right direction and make as few mistakes as possible.

Athletes have strong wills but can

an international or club runner; it’s important to maximise your talent. When I was competing at the top level, I did practically all of my training by myself and at times it was lonely — running wasn’t as popular in Ireland then as it is now.

The number of people out running has grown immensely over the last few years. It is fantastic and heartwarming to see so many out running, people of all ages and abilities. I know that many of those running on the roads and taking part in races are ordinary runners not attached to any club.

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I would hate to see someone give up the sport without thinking long and hard about it and seeking advice be vulnerable when they get injured or when training isn’t going to plan.

It’s at times like this that support is needed to get the athlete in a positive state of mind. When you lose the enjoyment of running, you need to get a new focus, or change your training environment. I would hate to see someone give up the sport without thinking long and hard about it and seeking advice.

I am a great believer in getting the most out of yourself, whether you be

Motivation While it might suit some people to do their running ‘freelance’, there are others who would like to join a club but are afraid and maybe feel intimidated. Some find it difficult at times to motivate themselves to go out running, but if they were part of a club and knew they were meeting a group they would find it much easier and more enjoyable.

Some people may be afraid that they are not fit enough to join a club but that should not be a deterrent.

Athletics clubs cater for all level of fitness, and joining one is a great way of meeting new friends and pushing yourself on some of your runs so that you step up to a new level and start reaching your potential.

I would encourage more people to run races — it is a great way to keep you motivated in training. You don’t have to wait until you’re race fit to run a race. You will never push yourself in training the way you would when you run a race, and it will improve your fitness like nothing else.

So for 2015 let’s set ourselves realistic goals and keep the balance right, so that we can enjoy that feeling of wellbeing, satisfaction and joy that we get from running. And remember, don’t have any regrets.

May the road rise to meet you!

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MOTIVATION

CUE THOSE WINNING HABITS!

Don’t bin those new-year running targets because of one or two lapses!

Patricia Murphy offers strategies to get you back on track ave you reached those goals you set for yourself earlier in the year as you gushed with enthusiasm and motivation?

Or are you once again standing in the rubble of broken resolutions? Is that 5k or half-marathon getting kicked farther down the road and that personal best no longer feeling personal?

Although the goals you set yourself are moderately challenging, they are not impossible. So why is it that for some people the challenge of a new goal is met with great results while for others the battle between the present self and the future self is fraught with difficult choices?

I love the buzz at the start of the year as family and friends try out the latest toys: the nutri-blender, the smoothie maker. Gizmos, gadgets, and supplements, all calculated to make us look and feel better. Putting our faith in products that promise to help change our lives.

For over a decade I have followed the same daily routine: the morning school run, a few household chores, catch up on reading and paperwork.

Then I’m out the door to board the tram into the city; it’s precisely 11.30am. I take MY seat behind the driver and a whole chain of seemingly insignificant patterns and behaviours continues. I walk the same route down Grafton Street, pausing to pick up the regular desktop lunch of a protein bar, arriving at my place of work by 12.20pm.

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Pattern Day in day out, I have created maybe hundreds of little habits that ensure I stay on track. It doesn’t require much thought, nor am I alone in this complex pattern of behaviour; most of us strive for the comfort of familiarity.

The cues, behaviours and rewards that often start out as a conscious decision over time become an ingrained strategy for survival.

But how do we know if we are hardwiring ourselves for success or failure? The problem is that not all of our habits are in our best interests, as 26 Irish Runner

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It’s the small wins and the continual flexing of willpower every day that gets the job done

anyone who has ever tried to stop smoking will testify.

So what is the secret to success and is it enough to hitch a ride on that wave of motivation that seems to be rolling off the bookshelves and TV screens?

For the hundreds of people I have coached and interviewed over the years, the secret to their success has been in everyday habits, keystone habits that have transformed them from where they were to where they wanted to be. In the beginning, it’s passion that lights the fuse for change, but it’s the small wins and the continual flexing of willpower every day that gets the job done.

‘Habits can be ignored, changed or replaced,’ says Charles Duhigg, author of The Power Of Habit. How it works, he explains, is to change the behaviour by identifying the habit loop: the cue, the behaviour, the reward.

So let’s say ‘future me’ wants to get my 5k time back down to where it was a year ago. The ‘cue’ could be looking over my run history from last year; the ‘reward’ would be getting back in shape and feeling committed and accomplished.

But ‘present me’ is great at finding excuses not to train regularly. The ‘behaviour’ is out of kilter with achieving the goal and has become a habit.

But I can move this forward by renewing my membership with my running club (cue), attending regular training sessions (behaviour) and, hopefully, realising my goals in a supportive environment (reward).

And let’s say I also want to spend more time with my family or on personal projects. Again, if there are no cues already there I have to create them. This could be at 5pm every day (cue) I turn off my phone, cook dinner (behaviour) and enjoy some family time while sharing a meal together (reward).

Whatever the habit, good or bad, you are bound to find the cue, the behaviour and the reward. Once you look at these objectively you can create strategies and really tie yourself to the mast. Changing one small behaviour can have a domino effect on your life.

Equipment Sure, it’s fine to gear yourself up with the knowledge and equipment to make the journey more interesting, but unless you want to have another gadget relegated to the back of the cupboard, you better get behaving like you want it.

Now I am no over-achiever. I have never run a marathon or climbed Everest, but my struggles are just as valid as the next person’s and I too have to exercise my willpower muscles.

There is NO magic bullet, just good, old-fashioned discipline. And here I leave you with my mantra for 2015, courtesy of the author Ruth Field: Cut the crap, get your s*** together and run, fat bitch, run!

Hopefully, if I repeat it often enough it will become a habit.

Patricia Murphy, MSc, Health & Fitness Consultant nutrishon@gmail.com

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GET YOUR BRAIN IN GEAR The evidence is compelling that true happiness depends not on fame or fortune but on how your brain processes what each day brings — and physical exercise is key in cultivating the ‘happiness advantage’, writes Declan Coyle They say that the purpose of life is to be happy – happy right here, right now. Do you think it’s possible that I could make 2015 the happiest and best year of my life? Do you think I could have an inner happiness like a kind of bowl that can contain grief, pain or suffering? What role does exercise play in the creation of happiness?

That’s what a friend said to me at the beginning of the year. It was the opening salvo in what turned out to be a fierce and powerful conversation about happiness and the role of exercise in achieving it.

Over the years since the 1950s there have been hundreds of studies on happiness. The idea back then was that if we could all get good jobs, comfortable houses, well stocked shopping malls and the latest TV sets we would all be happier.

Somehow it hasn’t worked out that way. Many of us have all or most of the above, but far from being happier, we have more depression, more young suicides, more marital separations and more broken relationships.

We’re three times richer than we were in the 1950s, but arguably not one jot happier.

‘And what about exercise?’ my friend asked.

Lifesaver For a start, exercise is literally a lifesaver; according to a report published recently by the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. a brisk 20-minute walk daily may be enough to reduce your risk of ‘premature death’ by up to 30 percent, The report, based on data from 334,161 European men and women, claims at least twice as many deaths can be attributed to lack of physical activity as are linked to obesity.

Lack of exercise ranks fourth among killers, behind high blood pressure, smoking and blood-glucose disorders but ahead of obesity.

Here in Ireland there are more people inactive (50 percent of the population) than obese (23 percent).

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When your brain is at ‘positive’ every single business and sporting outcome improves The Irish Cancer Society strongly recommends regular exercise. Regular physical activity when combined with a healthy diet and not smoking can reduce the risk of cancer by up to 50 percent.

So back to happiness. It’s not just reality that shapes you, but the lens through which your brain shapes reality that shapes you. Change your lens and you change your level of happiness.

Only 10 percent of your happiness is predicated on the external world. About 90 percent comes from the way your brain processes the world. It’s not your experience that matters, but how you experience your experience that matters.

Every disaster has an opportunity.

Every misfortune has a hidden fortune.

Every stumbling block can be a stepping stone. Change the lens.

Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.

The way western society has been approaching happiness is

scientifically both backward and bankrupt. Here’s the normal way that will never work: ‘If I work harder, train harder, and exercise harder I’ll be successful and then I’ll be happy.’

That’s wrong because we keep changing the goalposts. Always more and new targets. We keep pushing out the barrier and we never actually cross that cognitive horizon on the other side of which happiness awaits.

The key is to raise your positivity in the present. Your brain at positive performs significantly better than it does at negative, neutral or stressed. Your intelligence rises. Your creativity rises.

Your energy increases.

When your brain is at positive every single business and sporting outcome improves. You are 31 percent more productive. Salespeople are 37 percent better when at positive and doctors are 19 percent faster and more accurate at diagnosis.

Raise positivity in the present and you have the happiness advantage. Your brain releases dopamine, which has two functions: to make you happier and to turn on all the learning centres in your brain.

You can train your brain to be more positive in the present with five things: • Daily exercise. At least 20 minutes a day.

• Gratitude. At night recall three things you are grateful for. Our normal night lens is the news that trains our brains to scan for all the negative stuff. Just using the lens of gratitude to scan for three blessings will over a period of 21 days change our brain’s way of scanning the world to increase our happiness.

• Journaling. Write down one positive thing that happened to you today. This will build up the ‘scanning for the positive’ muscles in your brain • Meditation. Slow down. Breathe deeply, breathe slowly and follow your breath.

Most of us live in a world of cultural ADHD. • Do random acts of kindness. Just one positive email to someone is enough to create ripples of positivity and increase your happiness.

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TRAINING

REASONS TO BELIEVE You’ll realise your full running potential only if and when you silence those doubting voices in your head, says Jen Feighery Napoleon Hill was on the money when he said, ‘Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, it can achieve.’ Studies have shown running to be as much psychological as physical. It turns out to be the brain rather than the body that allows or limits endurance performance.

Your brain’s primary function is to look after you, so when it senses some threat or danger it triggers a protective reaction by your body. Thus when you run it is your mind that holds you back and prevents you from pushing past certain limits.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the stage in your run when a negative conversation begins in your head between yourself and yourself. All of a sudden your body reacts to this dialogue happening in your mind and your muscles start aching, you feel tired, your pace slows, and all you want to do is stop.

The good news is there are various methods whereby you can train your brain and help your body cope with the endurance of running.

What are you like?

Visualisation is a powerful tool used by world-class athletes, and its power is available to everyone, anytime and anywhere.

For example, if your goal is to run a marathon this year, start off by visualising yourself at the start line, then taking off with strong, pumping legs, relaxed breathing and perfect posture.

Now break the distance into sections and visualise how you’re going to run each one — your pace, time splits, and so on. If you hit the wall, what strategy have you got to pull yourself through? Finally, see yourself running over the finish line having achieved the goal you set yourself.

Remember, your mind knows only what you tell it. It cannot differentiate between what is real and imagined, therefore visualisation is a rehearsal to focus your mind on success.

Of course, visualisation isn’t a golden ticket to success without physical training; it is the combination of mind and body that leads to optimum performance.

Music hath charms Whether it’s pumping beats, inspirational speeches or motivational podcasts, one might describe music as a legal high — a performance-enhancing drug that won’t get you banned.

Studies have shown music to be a fantastic distraction from pain and fatigue; it has the power to elevate mood, increase endurance and reduce the perceived effort of running.

Many runners may deem earphones and headphones an unwanted encumbrance, preferring simply to tune into, and commune with, nature, but others find it’s on the days they take the iPod with them that they clock up longer and faster runs.

If you belong to the latter category, the next time you create a new running playlist, select up-tempo songs with strong beats to help sustain energy through the entire run.

Practice makes perfect Don’t practise until you get it right — practise until you can’t get it wrong!

Moving exercise to the top of your priority list and getting into a training routine is crucial for eliminating distractions and maintaining motivation.

Schedule your runs for the same times and days every week.

Begin to look on running as one of those things you just have to do, no matter what.

Getting tough with yourself and having a ‘can do’ attitude will help you complete the weekly training you set yourself.

I believe running first thing in the morning to be best, because it sets you up with energy for the day and prevents you coming up with a lame excuse to opt out at the end of your working day.

The story of why Figuring out the primary reason why you want to achieve a goal is the key to success. There’s wisdom in the old saying: ‘If you have a “why” to live for you can tolerate almost any how”.’

Once you identify why you run and the reasoning behind your passion to achieve a certain running goal, you’ll find it a lot easier to stay motivated and focused.

Write down exactly why you want to run your first 10k or marathon and be specific. For example, if weight loss is the motive, write down how much weight you want to lose, what difference this will make to your life and how you’ll feel when you lose it.

Returning to this source of

www.jenfeighery.ie / Facebook JF Personal Training / Twitter @feighery90 30 Irish Runner

inspiration is critical when you find yourself hitting a wall or losing resolve. It’s amazing how much strength you find when you have a ‘why’ to focus on!

True health is a state of complete harmony between body and mind. The mind and body are not independent entities; what affects one affects the other.

Therefore training psychologically as well as physically is crucial to maximising your running potential.

Getting your brain to work in tandem with your body is what gets you successfully over the finishing line.

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ASK HANNAH

WEIGHTS AND MEASURES Nutritionist and coach Hannah Nolan answers readers’ questions Hi, Hannah. I’ve recently been taking notice of what I’m eating, in order to lose a little weight, and as a result I’m more conscious about the weight on the scales. My weight seems to fluctuate, even on the same day. If I weigh in at 6am before a run I could be four pounds heavier than after the run. Is it natural to be lighter after a run than before? And if so why?

Great question! And yes, bodyweight does fluctuate a huge amount not only over the course of a week but also over the course of a day.

Weighing yourself before and after a run is actually a really good way to keep track of your hydration levels; the changes you’re seeing immediately after you run are caused by loss of fluids through sweating.

Each person will vary in the amount of fluid lost but your weight loss is a great indication, especially for more intense workouts or longer runs.

The basic rule of thumb is that every pound you lose during exercise you will need to replace with a pint of water.

As you go about your daily routine, eating and drinking, your body will take back the fluid you’ve lost and the weight will rise again.

And so the process repeats each day — with, hopefully, a downward curve until you reach your optimum weight.

NB: One pound lost equals one pint of water.

I see so much different information out there that I’m always confused as to what I should eat after exercising?

Is it protein and carbs or just protein?

I’m doing a few five-kilometre runs each week and hoping to increase it at weekends toward 10k and beyond.

For your current volume of training, I would recommend you save your main meal for after your training run, rather than necessarily adding extra food into the mix, as your normal food should be sufficient to fuel your activities.

32 Irish Runner

That said, recovery after long runs and intense sessions can always benefit from a ‘recovery feed’, and that would be a combination of protein and carbohydrate.

Protein is your essential fuel for muscle recovery and repair, but carbohydrate can also aid recovery by increasing the absorption of protein and replenishing glycogen stores (energy lost during exercise).

The amount of protein required is not, as some would have us believe, enormous; most of us will not need extra protein above and beyond the normal recommended daily amount.

Unless you’re a marathon runner following a gruelling training plan or an elite athlete, a normal amount of protein is quite enough to cater for your body’s recovery (a daily amount of 0.9g of protein per kilo of bodyweight for women and 1g per kilo for men).

As your training increases your demand will also increase, and if you eventually graduate to endurance work such as marathon training, getting that recovery fuel into your body as soon as possible will become more of a focus.

What should I eat before training and when? I often find if I don’t eat before a run I lack energy toward the end of the run, but if I eat before running I end up with stitch. I’m not sure what’s best!

Carbohydrates are your main energy source and should make up most of

your daily food consumption (between 45 and 65 percent).

Many diets and regimes are high in protein and low in carbs, but this is not ideal — especially for runners using up more energy than the average person.

Lack of carbohydrates means lower energy and lower athletic performance as well as slower improvement — not to mention slower thinking: carbs fuel our minds as well as our bodies!

If you are low on fuel starting out, you will run out of fuel and energy toward the ends of your run, which sounds like what is happening here.

With the stitch, the opposite is happening. Exercising soon after eating can cause stitch, as your food is not fully digested. To avoid the dreaded stitch, you should wait at least an hour — ideally even two or three hours — between eating and running.

Note, too, that there are different types of carbohydrate, which because of how they are digested and release energy, can affect your energy levels.

Slow-release carbs include wholegrain breads, pastas, porridge, rice and non-starchy vegetables. They are great because they stabilise blood sugar, meaning you feel satisfied for longer and fuller for longer. They’re also rich in fibre, essential for a healthy digestive system.

Quick-release carbs include white breads, starchy vegetables and potatoes. They release energy more rapidly, and generally we avoid them because they cause more of a spike in blood sugar than the wholegrain varieties.

Nevertheless, for long runs, long races and intense speed sessions, the quick-release carbs — being absorbed and digested very easily — are fantastic for faster energy.

If you need to eat not long before running, quick-release carbs will give you faster energy with less likelihood of indigestion.

Garmin_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:15 Page 1

COMPETITION

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For your chance to win just answer this question: What is the name of Dublin’s newest running store in Temple Bar? To enter: Email your answer to competitions@irishrunner.ie and include Garmin 620 in the subject. Entries deadline 16th March.

Do you want to make your running and training a more enjoyable experience? s of people Jo in the thousand e C hirunning. worldw ide who ar Chirunning is about good mechanics for effortless injury free running.

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www.catherinamckiernan.com

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TRAINING

DO NOT PASS GO! Resuming running after a layoff can be a stiff test of patience and commonsense, but often the only game in town is to go back to start, writes John O’Regan PHOTO: TOMÁS GREALLY

It’s normal to feel disappointed when training or racing doesn’t go your way, but you need to learn how to handle the setbacks, and if you don’t care about things going wrong then you probably don’t want them hard enough.

The first step back can sometimes be the hardest — and I know because I’ve taken it so many times — but that first step is essential if you are to get back to where you want to be, and sometimes it may require a few steps backward before you begin to move forward.

For my own part, 2012 proved a great year, with personal bests in distances from 5k all the way up to the time-based 24hour — but then it all went wrong.

In preparation for an extreme race scheduled for early 2013, I temporarily change my training regime, making it more event specific, and spent less time running — but then the race I was training for was cancelled.

Immediately I tried to make up for lost time and jumped straight back into highvolume running but didn’t factor in a loss of fitness and an increase in body weight.

Moving into 2013 my efforts at the shorter distances were the first indication I was falling behind, but I ignored the signs and trained harder, thinking I would make up for it as the distances got longer.

It took my worst ever race performance to make me realise I needed to take a step back and accept where I was, but unfortunately this race was a very important one, the 24-our world championship.

The first thing I did was stop thinking about the athlete I had been the previous year and focus more on the runner I had become. I reset my expectations and, 34 Irish Runner

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“

The longer you’ve been out of action the bigger the step back — don’t be afraid to start back at the beginning forgetting about trying for personal bests, set a season’s best and gave myself a starting point from which to move forward. Two months later my efforts were rewarded with a silver medal in the 24-hour national championship and the international B standard of 220 kilometres.

Returning from periods of injury, illness or lack of motivation is an individual situation, but what I have learnt from my own experience is you shouldn’t try continuing where you left off. Instead, focus more on just making that first step.

Most of the time the obstacles delaying our return are in our heads and to do with our mindset but you soon find once you start the ball rolling that most of these obstacles begin to disappear.

The main question to ask yourself is why. Why do you want to go back running?

Burning Question How much fitness will I have lost? This is a burning question that lingers in all of our minds when we miss training.

The answer depends on the individual and there are several factors including how fit you are, how long you have been training and how long you have been stopped.

As a rule I would suggest that the longer you’ve been out of action the bigger the step back. And don’t be afraid to start back at the beginning.

If you’re returning to running after an injury or illness, you might want to make your first workout easy. You might also want to keep it short and in a safe environment, such as the running track or on a treadmill, so you’re never too far from the start.

Your first workout may feel more difficult than normal; it’s not a reflection of your fitness, rather your body trying to operate while still less than 100 percent.

Consider your workout accordingly, and if you’ve been injured don’t test your breaking point during the first week back.

As you transition back to running, just go out and get moving during the first week back. Leave the watch at home and don’t put pressure on yourself to hit

paces or do intense workouts.

Just enjoy the time you spend getting back to running. After that first week, try to resume your running training schedule but remember in those first two weeks back the training may be a little tough. After those initial two weeks things should start to smooth out.

For our more advanced runners, after those first two weeks, you may want to retest your fitness with a time trial and then retest again a few weeks later to check progress.

LESSONS LEARNED • Accept the situation but don’t stay stuck in it. It’s natural to be disheartened when things get tough or go wrong. Cry, mope, vent to another runner – do what helps in the immediate aftermath, but don’t stay stuck in the emotion. Move on.

• Reset your mindset – find the positive out of the bad experience.

• First rule of being in a hole is you stop digging.

• Accept where you are now and train for your current fitness.

• Reflect and learn from the setback and try not to let the same thing happen again.

• Recalibrate your expectations and create a plan.

• Don’t go chasing a PB; instead look for a season’s best or just do a race to set a starting point from which to measure your progress.

• Keep track of performance indicators.

• Learn how to deal with the bad days.

Remember, a bad race can be a stepping stone to a breakthrough.

Working through a challenging experience helps you develop mental strength and perseverance.

See the good in obstacles and learn from them.

Now go running and take your first step!

Irish Runner 35

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PHYSIO

GUARD THOSE SHINS! In this series on running injuries, physiotherapist David Campbell explains the ins and outs of the dreaded medial tibial stress syndrome — shin splints to you Shin splints Medial tibial stress syndrome (MTSS) and medial tibial traction periostitis (MTTP) are clinical terms to describe the infamous ‘shin splints’, a condition familiar to athletes new to the running game, returning from extended layoffs or increasing training frequency, intensity, type or time (FITT Principle).

Shin splints make up 15 percent of all running injuries and present as pain to the shin. The key to overcoming the injury, or any injury for that matter, is understanding what it is, why it presents, how to treat it and, importantly, how to prevent it.

The structures involved The pain of shin splints is caused by inflammation to the outermost layer of the bone called the periosteum, and this is where the tendon or muscle attaches. The muscles implicated in ‘pulling’ on the periosteum run along the inside and posterior borders of the shin bone, superficially the soleus (part of the calf muscle), and deep to the soleus is the ‘Tom, Dick and Harry’ (tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus).

Biomechanically, these muscles work in tandem during running to absorb shock, to limit pronation (foot rolling in), and to toe off the ground. If the foot rolls in too far on foot strike, these muscles are vulnerable to becoming overstretched and are then required to work harder to toe off. The resulting over-lengthening and forceful concentric shortening of these muscles leads to extra torsion or tension to the bone.

Imagine a pulley system where the rope is being asked to do too much work; the rope will fray under tension and catch on the pulley. If we attempt to run through this injury we risk moving to the next point of the shin-splint spectrum, stress fracture. ‘Bend a hanger often enough and it will break.’

Symptoms Symptoms include a gradual onset of diffuse pain along the inside of the shin during running. With extensibility of warm tissue, the pain may subside during the run. As the condition worsens, however, the pain lingers and worsens, and eventually may be felt during walking.

Other symptoms include tenderness along 36 Irish Runner

(Superficial) Soleus Periosteum of bone (Deep) Tibialis Posterior, Flexor Digitorum Longus & Flexor Hallucis Longus

the shin, mild swelling, and pain on pointing the toes away from the body. Pinpointable pain on hopping is a surefire warning to further investigate so as to rule out stress fracture.

Treatment There is no magic bullet for shin splints; a multifaceted approach is necessary.

• Back off training, depending on the severity of pain. For example, for 9/10 on the pain scale rest from running and a visit to a clinician is indicated; if it’s 2/10 on the pain scale a 20 percent reduction in mileage may suffice.

• Reduce the inflammation to the bone through cryotherapy (ice massage). Put a polystyrene cup containing water in the freezer. When it has frozen, break away the cup, ice the tender site and massage the muscle away from the bone. Protect your hand with a towel and monitor closely to avoid ice burn. Ice for 7-10 minutes 4-5 times a day. Never ice before exercise.

• To facilitate healing, avoid antiinflammatories; there is evidence they delay healing of the bone.

• Foam roll: 10-15 minutes of foam rolling, fishing out the tender areas on your lower limb muscles. When you find a spot of muscular tenderness stay there until you feel it ‘let go’. Never foam roll the bone.

• Self-massage; remember the mechanism of injury was the Tom, Dick, Harry and soleus muscles being overworked. The tissue needs to be normalised to avoid recurrence of injury. Get some moisturiser or crème, sit on the floor with your back to a wall, bend your knee up and let it fall

out. Use your thumbs to tease away the muscle from the bone, avoiding rubbing the bone itself. Work through knots or grainy tissue throughout your lower limb and foot for 10 minutes daily.

• Stretching: straight-leg calf stretch and bent-knee calf stretch. Change the orientation of your foot to stretch medial, neutral and lateral fibres of the lower limb.

• Orthotics may or may not be indicated.

Prevention There is some overlap between treatment and prevention of shin splints; it’s important to incorporate foam rolling, stretching, and self-massage as part of your training programme.

• Be aware of the FITT principle (Frequency of training sessions; Intensity of sessions; Type of exercise; Time or duration of exercise). Increase only one element at a time, and by no more than 10 percent a week for newcomers and 10 percent a year for established athletes. Build slowly: ‘measure twice and cut once.’

• Appropriate footwear. Visit a therapist with expertise on the subject or an established running retailer. Cushioning and motion control are beneficial for shin splints. If you need orthotics wear a neutral shoe.

Racing flats and spikes will challenge lower limb muscles and must be introduced slowly.

• Terrain choice: run on grass, which acts as a natural shock absorber.

• Motor control: incorporate balance training. Can you stand on one leg, barefoot, with a slight bend in your knee, with your eyes closed, for 60 seconds?

• Strength training three times weekly.

Strengthen the tibialis posterior, flexor digitorum longus and flexor hallucis longus. Place a towel outstretched on the floor. Take a seat, and while barefoot scrunch the towel toward you with your toes. Pick up marbles with your toes, four minutes daily. Strengthen the soleus.

Bent-knee heel drops, 3x15 each side

David Campbell MISCP is a chartered physiotherapist operating from Hartmann International Sports Injury Clinic, University Arena, Limerick, and can be contacted by email (admin@hartmann-international.com), phone (061 371255 and 086 3039 086) and Twitter: @physiocampbell

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GEAR

Clever clogs: New Styles for 2015 As spring unfolds, the manufacturers — including some new to the performance-shoe market — have been launching their latest models. And as the 2015 styles hit the sports-shop shelves, they bring some significant innovations.

Asher Senyk runs the rule

New Balance Fresh Foam Boracay €125

We’ve seen the Fresh Foam evolve as a midsole that is both light and dynamic yet provides plenty of support. The Boracay is a refined version (taking over from the 980), the first move by New Balance away from designation by number.

You get a 4mm heel-to-toe offset along with a good midsole thickness and width. A new 3D resin print makes the upper a seamless fit.

What’s new? Completely new shoe integrating Fresh Foam.

Puma Faas 500 V4 €90

The one-piece midsole is a new addition to this shoe, which uses the FaasFoam+ sole for a softer feel. The Airmesh upper is breathable and comfortable and further reduces the weight of the shoe.

Puma’s range is rated according to support, and the 500 V4 sits on the higher end of the scale.

Mizuno Wave Rider 18 €130

Mizuno’s go-to Wave Rider 18 comes with some nice changes that combine grassroots design principles with new construction techniques.

The wave plate in this neutral shoe gives a dynamic, transitional feel underfoot. Overall there’s a really nice ‘light’ feel and an upper that’s smooth over the foot.

What’s new? One-piece midsole.

What’s new? Upper redesign and lighter overall with U4ic midsole.

Saucony Zealot

Adidas Ultra BOOST

€130

€tba

Saucony have made some shifts in their lineup to create space for several new models. The Zealot is one of them, with the new ISO Fit upper being at the forefront of the design. You get a standard 4mm offset from heel to toe, along with a fairly natural feel despite the raised platform. The Zealot is light and flexible and comes with a slightly higher ride than the more minimal styles.

In a bold statement, Adidas have released a new shoe described as ‘the greatest run ever’. It combines their signature BOOST foam midsole with what appears a contoured, oversized heel.

There are lots of new technologies built in, with a stretched web outsole (a bit like a fishing net) as well as the ‘primeknit’ upper for a seamless look.

Release in Ireland may have to wait until at least March.

Whats new? The Zealot is entirely new to the Saucony line.

What’s new? Completely new production techniques.

38 Irish Runner

Gear_2pp_Layout 1 09/02/2015 16:44 Page 2

Brooks Ravenna 6 €135

Brooks have enjoyed a growing demand for the ‘guidance’ category, and the Ravenna has become a bestseller.

This latest Ravenna 6 boasts a redesigned upper and streamlined midsole. Bonding and reduction of seams make this a bit sleeker than previous models, but in size and fit the feel is similar.

Core elements remain the same: rated 10mm heel-to-toe and flex grooves for a natural feel underfoot.

If Cupid was a runner If that special person in your life is a runner, then you might want to consider a unique gift for St.Valentines day.

Irish Runner looks at some of the things likely to be a creative hit this February.

Whats new? Mainly the redesigned upper.

Garmin Vivofit 2

Skechers GoRun 4 €90

€129 While the fitness market is a new area for many, the products have become more advanced and carry out more functions than ever. With a claimed 1 year battery life and smart features that remind you to stay active you get a very good motivation tool for staying active. I particularly liked the ‘sleep monitoring’ function.

Pure Athlete Bath Salts The guys and girls at the performance division of Skechers have been listening to market feedback and responded with the GoRun 4.

This one has a slightly thicker midsole, but remains fairly light, with the 4mm heel-to-toe offset and some other nice tweaking.

The tightly woven material on the upper is relatively seamless.

Early reviews of the GoRun4 promise a substantial future in the performance-running market for the brand.

What’s new? Complete redesign that keeps upsides of market trends.

Asics Gel DS Trainer 20 €130

Asics fans will be thrilled with this new version of the DS Trainer 20.

It’s more of a ‘racerinspired’ shoe than a ‘trainer’.

But don’t let the looks sway you; the midsole and weight still qualify it as a ‘tempo training’ shoe rather than a racer.

The uppers are the big news here: light, flexible and extremely comfortable.

What’s new? Complete redesign and a more racy feel.

from €4 per satchel A simple bath can be the best solution to a hard training session.

With the help of natural healing elements, the Pure Athlete bath salts turn your soreness around.

The Pure Athlete Detox has a special blend of 15 essential oils that draw out toxins and cleanses the body of impurities.

Available in gender specific formulas and a range of general detox bath salts available.

Pedicure treatment by Peter Winner from €39 Peter is a specialist in foot therapy. Posture, joints and back are among some of the things that can be corrected through his experienced massage and treatment of your feet.

Available at Re-vitalized.com stuidos located in Chapelizod, Dublin 20.

Salomon Elevate Mid €110 A runner's best friend can be a running jacket that ticks all the boxes.

This great looking jacket is very versatile and combines soft, cosy body fabric with a windproof fabric over the chest and hood for protection from wind or cold. Breathable venting on the back and reflective 360 degree details make it ready for running or active sports.

Irish Runner 39

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ULTRAMARATHON

It’s been a case of ups and downs this past while for Keith Whyte, so when he was ordered on New Year’s day to shape up and and ship out to Antarctica, he knuckled down and rose to the Ice Marathon challenge. Frank Greally has the story.

PHOTOS: ANTARCTIC ICE MARATHON / WWW.ICEMARATHON.COM

40 Irish Runner

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Irish Runner 41

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ULTRAMARATHON

n January 1, Keith Whyte was sitting at home in Ennis and, given the season that was in it, quietly reviewing his situation. Counting his blessings of course — a brilliant wife, two lovely children, a day job he enjoyed — but also wondering what the months ahead might hold.

It had been a difficult couple of years for the national 100k record holder: a road crash from which he was fortunate to walk away; a shock diagnosis with brittle-bone disease; the weeks and months of rehab; and most recently, hoped-for progress stalled by a disappointing run in the Qatari desert.

The road directly ahead looked bumpy.

Not one to mope unduly, Keith had just emerged from his reverie when the phone sounded. The voice on the line was that of his friend, mentor and race promoter extraordinaire, Richard Donovan of Polar Running Adventures.

‘Happy New Year, Keith! I have a race for you — you’re running in the Antarctic Ice Marathon in two weeks’ time!’

‘I am? Do you think I’m up to it, Richard?’

‘Of course you are, Keith — it’s only 100k.

The plans are made and flights are booked.

Start preparing!’

The rest, as they say, is history.

Whyte duly made the trip and on January 15 rediscovered his form and got his running year off on a spectacularly high note with a splendid victory on Union Glacier, one of the remotest places on earth.

He won in a course-record time of nine hours, 26 minutes, and two seconds, and in temperatures that hovered between 14 and 25 degrees Fahrenheit (minus ten and minus four Celsius), the weather in sharp contrast to the heat the Clareman had experienced in the World 100k in Doha in November.

O

42 Irish Runner

His finishing time in Antarctica was well outside his Irish record of 7:03:54 set in Belgium in 2013, but the Antarctic odyssey, over five 20k laps, was run in a fantasy landscape on a surface of packed snow and ice.

Groin niggles As for Doha back in November, that had been a downer for Whyte, injury having curtailed his training, but you get some insight into what the Banner man is made of when you read extracts from his blog written immediately after the race.

In the build-up to the World Championships, a niggling groin injury (necessitated) an MRI scan. It was just a grade-one strain but the MRI showed a stress fracture in my pelvis. I had a big call to make. The doctors said not to run, but I could not accept that all my hard training would go for nothing.

I took lots of anti-inflammatories and painkillers to numb the pain and I ran.

All was going to plan until around 20k when I suffered severe stomach cramps and started vomiting. The pain was gone but (too many) pills had messed up my insides. I could run okay when I did not take any fluid or gels, but eventually I was going to run out of steam and hit the wall.

I had two options: throw in the towel and feel sorry for myself for the next few months, or accept the fact I could not keep down fluids

and tough it out. The decision was easy to make. There was no way I was coming home with a DNF label.

I battled for the next 80k, and with the help and encouragement of my main man, John Collins, I got the job done, although not near as fast as I would have liked.

The year of 2014 had been the toughest yet in Keith’s running career; it was, among other things, the year he was diagnosed with osteoporosis.

Since crashing his car in 2013, he had been bothered by a series of injuries and knew something was just not right with his body. On the day of the accident he was travelling to the Longford Marathon, hoping to notch up a third consecutive victory in the ultra event.

‘I went into a bad skid on a stretch of black ice near Loughrea and the car was a write-off. The passenger side was crushed — I still thank God that Bernadette and the kids had made a late decision not to travel with me that day.

‘It was after the accident that I began to get the injury niggles and it was Dr Moira O’Brien in Dublin who eventually diagnosed the problem.’

Complete rest It was a testing time for Keith when he was told to take several months’ complete rest from running. But there was light at the end of the road, when Richard Shortall, to whom Keith had been referred by the Irish Osteoporosis Society, devised a route back to exercise that involved walking for an hour a day as well as going glutenfree.

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Keith persisted with the training Shortall recommended and soon he was managing ten-minute running segments during his walks. In his diary he wrote, ‘Today I ran for 50 minutes and the only pain I experienced was the embarrassment of being so unfit.’

He persevered and by autumn had progressed to where he could again comfortably complete 20-mile training runs.

Doha was on his radar and as he raged against adversity he knew nothing was going to stop him from wearing his Ireland singlet in that event.

Soon he was back into his regular routine: 10 miles at 6am before setting out for his day job as a fitter at the Pat Foudy & Daughter tyre centre in Ennis.

And so to Qatar, which proved a case of two steps forward and one back: a struggle and a disappointment but proof that his exceptional endurance had not deserted him and that he could continue to plan for further exploits. He took time out and coasted through the holiday season.

And then the phone vibrated...

Well insulated It was summertime in Antarctica and relatively mild for that latitude, but there were still fears of possible hypothermia.

During the race Keith wore the special UVU (You versus You) protective kit specially designed by the company who are one of his sponsors.

‘I was well insulated. For the past few years myself and a few ultra-runners have been rigorously testing gear for UVU. At one point though, I lost a glove and that could have been dangerous. Luckily, it was near a checkpoint that I dropped it and it was soon retrieved and returned to me.’

Keith ran a steady race and never wavered during his determined bid to make this the best start yet to a running year, and it’s not surprising that en route his thoughts turned to how far — literally and figuratively — he had travelled.

‘A little over seven years ago the thought of even having to drive 100 kilometres would have seemed a big task but these past few years I have progressed to be good enough to race against some of the best ultra-runners in the world.

‘I’ve been involved with the Irish Ultra team and have run alongside some of the very best — John O’Regan John Byrne, Dan Doherty and Thomas Maguire, to name just a few. Only a handful of the talented ultra-distance athletes we have in Ireland, and of course there are many more out there, so I think the future of ultra-running is bright.’

Keith Whyte is a modest character — so self-effacing indeed that you might pass

“

If you want something badly enough you’ll move heaven and earth to make your dreams become a reality

him on the main street of Ennis and never tag him as a national champion much less a world beater. At the same time he is engagingly upbeat and exudes a quiet air of confidence — and a hint of steel.

Like most successful athletes, he has built a strong support team that includes — perhaps surprisingly — his boss Pat Foudy. In the same spirit as Richard Donovan, a man repeatedly name-checked in Keith’s conversation, Foudy has been generous and supportive when it comes to Keith’s running career. Among other things, Pat pulled a fast one on his star employee by organising a busload to travel from Ennis to Dublin to welcome the hero home from Antarctica.

Close support ‘It was massive surprise to see Bernadette and the children there at the airport, as well as members of both our families and close friends. It’s just brilliant to have such a caring employer. I can’t thank Pat enough for all his help and encouragement over several years.’

There’s also his coach, Howard Nippert, with whom he loves to bounce ideas on training, racing and recovery.

‘I’ve been really blessed with the support I’ve received. Ozone Health and Fitness in Ennis give me the use of their state-of-theart facilities, which has been hugely beneficial in training for racing in extreme heat.

‘Kinetica products help me with the fuel

for my workouts and aid the recovery process with their excellent range of sports nutrition. UVU are my apparel sponsors and Skechers keep me supplied with gear and running shoes. Leon Raath from Physiozone has been only brilliant.

‘Without this support team, and of course the love and support of my fiercely loyal family and close friends, life would have been a lot more difficult.

‘Richard and Pat have both been inspirational — two men with big hearts and a giving nature.

‘I remember back in early 2014, lying in bed for three days unable to walk, crippled by the pain. In the weeks and months that followed I sometimes doubted I would ever run again. But if you want something badly enough you’ll move heaven and earth to make your dreams become a reality, and with the help of my support team I feel that is simply what I have done.’

There are other close friends. Bob and Ia Hilliard in Clonakilty have named an ultradistance event in Keith’s honour, and the man himself is looking forward to July and making an attempt on his own Irish 100k record when he competes in the Keith Whyte Ultra Running Weekend in Courtmacsherry.

Meanwhile, life has been getting back to something like normal in the Whyte household, and Keith is back into his former routine of 10 miles at 6am and up to 20 miles after work, mostly solo efforts.

It is this teak-tough-to-the-core, neverIrish Runner 43

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ULTRAMARATHON

“

I had very little time to prepare for Antarctica, but when the invitation came on New Year’s day, I felt it was a good omen

say-die attitude that has in a little over six years propelled him to the top of the Irish 100k rankings and won him huge respect among the close ultra-running community at home and abroad.

Role model Back in 2012 he made a small bit of history when he became the first Irishman to win the prestigious Anglo-Celtic Plate 100k. And yet it was only five years earlier he had discovered distance running after finally managing to kick a 30-a-day smoking addiction, as he recounts.

‘Growing up, I was average at most things; your ordinary Joe Soap, always looking for the one thing I could be good at.

As a teenager and young adult, I played soccer recreationally. Running never interested me — I never saw the point to it.

Anyway, trying to run when you smoke 30 a day is not the easiest thing to do!

‘Back in 2007 I had been thinking how lucky I was — married to Bernadette and father to our two beautiful children, Eva (then nine) and Ryan (then two). I wanted to be a better role model and so I quit smoking and started to run.’

Whyte ran his first marathon, Dublin 2007, as part of the Clare Crusaders fundraising team. When he completed that day in an impressive 3:22, ultramarathons were still far from his plans.

‘Starting out running was all about developing a healthier lifestyle — there was no competitive side to it. I did it for charity and to try and get fit.’

Three years on, in 2010, Whyte posted what is still his marathon best, 2:38.40, in 44 Irish Runner

Dublin. By then he was fully committed to running and by 2012 he was a fully fledged ultra man.

‘After that run in Dublin I still was not satisfied — I felt there was another distance out there that I was more suited to. I began to entertain thoughts of running an ultramarathon.

‘In late 2010 I came in contact with Richard, and it was he gave me my entry into the world of ultra-running, for which I will always be grateful.

‘Richard has been hugely supportive of me all the way from that first contact, and when he called me offering the once-in-alifetime Antarctic trip — he being race director for the event — I just jumped at the chance.

‘I had taken a break after the 100k in Doha and so had very little time to prepare for Antarctica, but when the invitation came on New Year’s day, I felt it was a good omen and immediately said yes.’

Bernadette smiles as her husband describes how he broke the news of where his next race would take him: ‘After he took the phonecall, he just casually mentioned that he’d like to take in the Antarctica Ice 100k!

‘It was a bit of a shocker at first, and I was worried about him going so far away from us, but we have great family support on both sides and I was delighted for him.

It was hard when he was away, but what he achieved made all the sacrifices worthwhile.’

The couple met when Keith was deejaying and Bernadette was tending bar in an Ennis nightclub. The Whyte family are

fitness focused. Eva (15) plays camogie for Clare and the Eire Og club and Ryan (eight) is a keen footballer who has lately shown an interest in running.

Keith still harks back to his DJ roots by listening to dance music on some of his longer runs, as in the Antarctic odyssey.

Meanwhile his recovery from osteoporosis, without the aid of heavy drugs, has been remarkable, something he attributes at least in part to faithfully following the gluten-free programme.

It was a tough call to be leaving the family for much of January, setting out on a 36-hour journey — via Dublin, Madrid, Santiago in Chile, Punta Arenas on Cape Horn — to the frozen world of Union Glacier, where in January it remains daylight around the clock. But the compensations, and not only in victory, were considerable: ‘The scenery around Union Glacier is spectacularly beautiful — it was certainly the experience of a lifetime.’

Seriously focused Standing five-foot-eight and barely troubling the scales at a featherweight 58 kilos, Keith Whyte is a lean, compact and seriously focused running machine. He trains alone, even on 45-mile Sunday runs, and is very much in tune with his body. He mixes his training too, combining track intervals, tempo runs and long, steady distance.

The day job as a tyre fitter is physically demanding but he loves the work and sees no problem setting out on a handy 20 after a busy day in the service bay.

Keith turned 35 in December and one of his targets for 2015 is September’s World 100k for masters in Holland. He also looks forward to July and toeing the start line for the 100k in Courtmacsherry — a legend running in a legend’s race.

TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK Mon 6am 6 to 8 miles at 7-min pace Mon pm 6 to 8 miles Tue 6am 6 to 8 miles Tue pm 20-min warm-up (light running and dynamic stretching), then 10 by 400 by 72 secs with 200m recovery jog; 20min warmdown Wed 6am 6 to 8 miles Wed pm 20-min warm-up; 40-min tempo or intervals; 20-min warmdown Thu 6am 6 to 8 miles Thu pm 90 minutes very hilly Fri 6am 6 to 8 miles Fri pm 20-min warm-up; 6 by 1 mile by 5:15 with 3-min recovery jog; 20-min warmdown Sat am 6 to 8 miles Sat pm 6 to 8 miles Sun Long run, up to 45 miles

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NUTRITION

MY PALEO CHALLENGE

Resident chef Claire Greally has discovered a Stone Age diet — and will leave no boulder unturned in checking out its benefits THE Paleo diet has taken the world by storm in the past decade. It has been described as a 21st-century food fad, yet proponents claim the pedigree goes back almost three-million years and will argue that it is not only a ‘diet’, more a complete lifestyle.

Short for Palaeolithic, this eating plan is designed around the foods our Stone Age ancestors consumed. It seems those cavedwelling hunter gatherers owed their health and strength to a diet composed of the vegetation that grew around them and the meat of the animals they could chase down and bring to the barbecue.

So what does that mean for us? A strict Paleo plan will cut out all grains, dairy and processed foods. No bread, no pasta, no rice, no cheese. Anything packaged is a nono. The diet dispenses with frills and goes all the way back to basics — which can be seriously intimidating for those who rely dayto-day on convenience foods.

My challenge In his book Naked Paleo: Food Stripped Bare, Pat Divilly says that in ‘adopting the Paleo lifestyle for 28 days, you are effectively pressing a reset button and bringing your body back to feeling the way it should with natural energy.’ I must admit, this did excite me.

Divilly also suggests that common ailments such as IBS and leaky-gut syndrome can be reversed with the Paleo way of life. Pressing that particular ‘reverse button’ seemed like a no-brainer to me, a long-term sufferer of IBS and other stomach problems as yet undiagnosed.

Two years ago, I gave up wheat in the hope my digestive problems would ease.

Sure enough, I felt 100 times better once I took wheat and gluten out of my life. And not only did the stomach problems clear, I was also rid of my monthly, year-round sinus infections. I felt like a new woman and for a time didn’t look back.

In recent months, however, those problems re-emerged — and worsened — which is why the Paleo plan interests me.

46 Irish Runner

“

Farmers feed grains to fatten livestock, so surely grains will also fatten humans...it does seem to make sense

Last year I decided to concentrate more on my health and fitness and follow a ‘clean eating’ lifestyle, with the hope of really getting back into running. I had just landed my dream job as a chef in a cafe where I was able to work with beautiful, organic, Irish produce, so clean eating was not a problem.

I introduced into my diet an array of healthy grains and pulses — such as quinoa, amaranth, lentils and adzuki beans — with the goal of building a stronger body. Helped by a combination of cardio and resistance training, I shed plenty of body fat but gained little or no muscle. And then the stomach problems started to recur.

Divilly claims that ‘grains are the enemy of a healthy digestive system’ and adds, ‘When you see how much better you feel as a result (of abstaining from grains), you will realise

just how much of a negative impact they are having on your health.’

On reading this I thought, ‘What have I got to lose?’

Divilly makes a strong case.

Farmers feed grains to fatten livestock, so surely grains will also fatten humans. I’m not 100 percent sold on this argument but it does seem to make sense.

And so I’ve taken Pat’s advice and decided to go Paleo!

In his book, Pat emphasises that he does not follow a strict Paleo plan but rather uses it as the basis of a regime focused on real food. I, however, have decided — in the interest of science! — to go the full Paleo.

The regime The day before I started the challenge, I did a big food shop and prepped a lot of meals so as to get off on the right foot. This is

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something I would definitely recommend. ‘Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!’

For breakfast, I had become very attached to my morning porridge and on days one and two felt a bit lost without it. I have opted instead for fruit, without my usual yoghurt, and eggs (lovely eggs: scrambled, boiled, poached — I’ve had them all for breakfast!).

There are plenty of breakfast options in Divilly’s book, including omelettes, pancakes and even grainless porridge. But his breakfasts haven’t gone the distance for me; I’ve found myself hungry again by 10am and am opting for fruit, nuts or smoothies to keep me going.

The chicken fajitas for lunch are filling and delicious — the chicken marinade is simple and really tasty!

The shepherd’s pie with sweet potato (regular potato being banned) is a hearty dinner and really comforting at this time of year. I’ve been eating a lot more fish than I usually would, which is always a positive thing.

I’ve tried the yummy dairy-free ice-cream, as I’ve been crying out for some sort of treat. The coconut chicken has been my favourite so far!

It felt just like a ‘cheat meal’, the coconut crumb having the texture of deep-fried breadcrumbs.

The one thing I’m truly missing so far is dairy.

The cravings for yogurt and cheese remain strong.

Progress The first few days, myself and my boyfriend, Paul — who’s taking the challenge with me — found ourselves really struggling to be positive, which usually is not a problem for me. We were cranky and irritable, out of our comfort zone and unusually tired. Of course we managed to laugh it off; we were in the same boat so understood what we were going through.

We began a morning ritual of downing a tablespoon of cod liver oil and a shot of wheatgrass, but we’re still not sure if the challenge is getting harder or easier. If positivity isn’t your strong point, I would recommend getting a friend to take the plunge with you!

At the time of writing, we’re eight days into the challenge, and though I’m eating many times throughout the day and getting plenty of protein, I’m still finding myself constantly hungry. I guess my body needs time to adjust to having no grains.

Other than that, I do feel more positive and more energetic. I’ve started training with Evo Fitness — an ‘Evolutionary Approach to Fitness’ that seems to perfectly complement the diet.

I’m now on week two of both Paleo eating and Evo training, feel ready to get back into running and am excited about it.

Eight days down, twenty to go, and the positives are starting to outweigh the negatives.

I’m looking forward to the final results. Watch this space!

Coconut Breaded Chicken – serves 2 Ingredients 2 free range chicken breasts, skinless, cut into strips 75g coconut flour 200ml coconut milk 150g shredded coconut Sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste Method: 1. Preheat the oven to 180°C. 2. You will need three bowls: one for the coconut flour, one for the coconut milk and one for the shredded coconut.

3. Coat each chicken strip in the coconut flour, then dunk in the coconut milk mixture and finally coat in the shredded coconut.

4. When finished, place the chicken strips on a large baking sheet, leaving some space between each strip. Place in the oven and cook for 10 minutes, or until chicken has completely cooked through. It will be firm to touch. You can always slice open one if you are unsure.

Sweet Potato and Chorizo Soup – serves 5 Ingredients 2 cloves of garlic, diced 1 medium onion, diced 900g sweet potato, peeled and diced 225g chorizo sausage, sliced 1.5l of chicken stock, or enough to cover all ingredients Sea salt Method: 1. In a large pot, fry the onion and garlic in olive oil until soft. Season with a pinch of salt.

2. Add the chorizo slices and fry for a few minutes until the onions have taken on the colour of the chorizo.

3. Add the sweet potatoes and cover with the chicken stock.

4. Bring to the boil and simmer until the potatoes are soft.

5. Blend the soup with a stick blender and adjust the seasoning to taste.

Claire Greally has recently set up Greally Catering: Specialising in protein treats and healthy eats. Find her on Facebook; email greallycatering@gmail.com

Naked Paleo by Pat Divilly is published by Blackwater Press and is available in leading book shops nationwide.

Irish Runner 47

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MASTERS

Brush with immortality Brush Shiels is planning an assault on a world 100-metre record – and the fun-loving ex-rocker is deadly serious. Rory Hafford reports.

Photos: Donal Glackin.

Matching strides with the master – Brush Shiels and David Gillick.

OWN on Maggie’s Farm in County Meath, Brush (Brendan) Shiels is attempting to break a world record.

The day is slightly grey and overcast and Brush cuts a stark figure in his trademark black coat and black hat.

‘From the house to the gate is 100 metres,’ he yells at me, as the Dunboyne donkeys peer curiously at him over the fence. He takes off at a fair clip and covers the distance with an ease that belies his age.

‘So,’ he says as he approaches me, a huge smile suddenly illuminating his face, ‘what do you think?’

It’s a long way from Brush the guitar man, performing on stages all over the globe and rubbing shoulders with the glitterati of the music world.

This is the trimmed-down version; Brush Shiels unplugged. But there’s still something reassuringly familiar about him.

In a world where we’re used to things been taken from us, it does the heart good to see

D

48 Irish Runner

there are certain things that will always remain the same.

Next October Brush will turn 70. He looks about 50 and acts like a lad in his twenties. His lifestyle reflects the shape he is in; and the shape he is in is due in no small measure to his running and health goals.

‘There’s a guy in America who has the record for the 100-metre dash, and I want to grab it from him,’ he says, a glint of determination in his eye.

It’s the 100-metre dash alright, but with a difference: it’s over-70 version.

‘I’m in training now. It’s going well. And

by October I’ll be ready. At the moment I can do the distance in 14 seconds, and I can run that with my coat on. So just another two seconds to go!’

Brush recently bumped into David Gillick on the Joe Duffy Show. The two hit it off, so much so that the 400m supremo has taken Brush under his wing and is helping with the record attempt.

As we go to press, the two have already had one training session in Santry – and they plan many more between now and the attempt in October.

Brush has a working knowledge of the body that most athletes would be hardpushed to match. He seems acutely aware of all the injuries he has picked up over the years and thinks deeply about ways to circumvent them.

Wrecked ‘I was working in a meat-packing place in Dublin in 1968 when a side of beef hit me hard on the shoulder. It did so much damage that I could only ever strum the guitar downward after that.

‘But it worked to my advantage; some of the music magazines said I had invented a new style!’

He wrecked ligaments in an ankle playing for his beloved Bohemians soccer club in the 1960s; he was involved in prangs too numerous to mention driving up

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The Gillick factor

Formula for success – David Gillick makes his point.

“

There’s a steely focus about him as he measures out the distance and visualises burning up the track

and down the country to gigs; and he has had serious problems with his kidneys.

An enterprising physiotherapist might make a decent living out of this one client.

All the above were small potatoes, however, compared to what happened two years ago.

‘I suffered heart failure (caused by a virus) and spent weeks in James Connolly Memorial Hospital,’ he reveals with a look that says, ‘Can you believe it?’

And it is hard to believe. For a man of his age he is carrying no weight at all (10 stone and change), he moves with a spring in his step and there’s an emotional spark to him that lights up the room.

‘I was the wrong shape for the pacemaker, they told me. The wrong shape! They had to fit the thing at an angle,’ he says, cackling in that inimitable way of his at the thought of it.

Focused Thankfully, all that’s behind him and he is now fully focused on getting into worldbeating shape.

‘I start off the day exercising while the kettle is boiling. I’ll get through 50 pressups and some Qigong in that time. I’ll then take some of Sean Boylan’s bottles (herbal remedies) and let the muscles loosen themselves out.’

And that’s another thing he does that other runners could learn from: he listens to his body and lets the body work on itself.

‘I find that I’m going back into old

David Gillick has huge admiration for his new friend and protégé: ‘The guy is actually in pretty good shape for a man of 69. When it comes to flexibility he’s doing really well. In fact he shows me a thing or two when it came to stretching.’

Gillick feels the Irish record – which stands at 13.8 – is well within Brush’s grasp. The world standard might take some more work.

“If we can get him into a pair of spikes, get him using the blocks to help his start and get him focusing on the actual sprint, who knows?

Anything is possible.’

But surely the world record (12.77) is too big an ask?

‘I’ll tell you something,’ says Gillick, ‘Brush will definitely give it a go. It’s not outside the realms of possibility for him, but it will take a bit of work.

‘His lifestyle will help him no end. It’s inspirational to meet someone who keeps himself so well, who eats well, who trains the body the way he does and who thinks as positively as him.

‘In some areas, his range of movement is better than mine.’

The rock ’n’ roll injuries (in my mind) and re-experiencing them, working through them,’ he says with a goodly dollop of enthusiasm.

Bubbling I ask him about this spark that he has, this laughter that’s always bubbling away just beneath the surface.

‘No matter where I am, it’s always great.

The way I look at it, I’m here to enjoy myself.’

And, with that, he jumps up from the kitchen table, ambles out into the hallway and starts playing jazz chords on a piano that, truth be told, needs a small bit of tuning.

He then comes back in and announces he has written a song to accompany his 100-metre challenge.

‘It’s called “The loneliness of the shortdistance runner”. I think it could catch on.’

Two jam doughnuts and a vat of tea later and we’re back out on his own personal runway. There’s a steely focus about him as he measures out the distance and visualises burning up the track.

How long do you train for? I ask.

‘Two minutes,’ he says. ‘I never run more than two minutes a day.’

Footnote: The M70 record for 100 metres stands at 12.77 seconds and was set by Bobby Whilden of the USA in 2005. The Irish mark, 13.81, was set by Patsy Forbes of Mid Ulster in 2012.

Keen soccer followers of a certain age may remember Brendan Shiels as a tricky, rightfooted inside left who played briefly for Bohemians FC before injury cut short his career in 1964. Football’s loss would prove music’s gain.

Brush announced himself to the wider rock-music scene in 1967 when he formed the band Skid Row, with himself on bass guitar, Noel ‘Nollaig’ Bridgeman on drums, Phil Lynott on vocals and Bernie Cheevers on lead guitar.

Skid Row played support to many of the great rock groups of the era, released several albums, and had a lasting influence on rock music in general.

When the market for heavy blues rock declined, Skid Row went on to put the blues in Celtic rock and gave us the unique Brush treatment of classics such as Dirty Old Town (an Old Trafford half-time favourite) and The Fields of Athenry (a half-time fixture at Anfield). Brush and his band have also performed both songs at big games in a packed Croke Park In the late 1980s Skid Row had lost momentum and musical tastes were changing, but by then Brush was already marching to his own inimitable beat and, with his effervescent talent, was never going to be long out of the spotlight.

All the time he has retained his status as national icon — and long may that continue!

Irish Runner 49

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ELITE FOCUS

CAPTAIN OF HER FATE

Many who knew Ann-Marie Larkin as a prolific junior in the nineties must have since wondered where she had taken her brilliant talent. Now back on the medal podium, she tells Cathal Dennehy her story PHOTOS: TOMAS GREALLY & BRENDAN MORAN, SPORTSFILE.COM

‘I was in shock,’ says Ann-Marie McGlynn, recalling the moment shortly after crossing the line at the European Cross Country in Bulgaria, in December and finding out she had just helped Ireland to team bronze.

One single, minuscule point – that’s how much the Irish team had to spare over fourthplaced France in the end, and for McGlynn, stepping on the podium to receive the bronze medal proved just reward for a mammoth effort. Not just the lung-bursting performance required of her on that memorable day in Samokov, but for the months – and indeed years – of hard labour the 34-year-old had invested to become what she can proudly call herself today: a European medallist.

Being honest, she never thought this would happen – not even back when she was a brilliant junior, and especially not when she decided to retire from the sport at the age of 26, certain that her racing days were consigned to history.

Talent, though, never dies, and the runner formerly known as Ann-Marie Larkin always had that in abundance. Back in her junior days, the girl from Tullamore was one of the most promising females in the land. At the 1995 Schools International CC she did something no Irish schoolgirl had ever done in that realm: beating the best of the British.

She went on to run the European Junior CC in 1998, the World Junior CC in 1999, and the European Under-23 Championships in 2001. The future was bright, and AnnMarie turned down US scholarship offers, opting to study at UCD under the guidance of the great Noel Carroll.

‘It was brilliant,’ she recalls, ‘but I only had a couple of months with Noel before he died suddenly.’

She kept at it for the next few years, but soon found her curve of improvement

50 Irish Runner

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flattening out, and before long she simply fell out of love with the sport.

‘In 2006 I decided to stop,’ she says. ‘It was by choice rather than injury. I was losing a bit of interest and making the jump from junior to senior was tough. I felt like a little fish in a big pond. It’s all or nothing for me, and I wasn’t giving it 100 percent.’

Ann-Marie got married the following year to Trevor McGlynn – the national junior 60m hurdles record holder – and the couple settled in his hometown of Strabane, Co Tyrone. They had their first child, Lexie, in 2010 and their second, Alfie, in 2012.

McGlynn stayed active by going to gym but, truth be told, she didn’t miss running, and was never really tempted to make a comeback.

‘I was happy,’ she says. ‘I had no intention of going back. I missed the girls, meeting up with them and the banter, but I didn’t miss the training or the racing.’

In the end, it was the most challenging of circumstances that made her lace up her shoes once again. Little Alfie, just three weeks old, got bronchiolitis and suffered a collapsed lung.

‘It was touch and go for a while whether he’d make it,’ says Ann-Marie. ‘At that time, I felt I had a lot of sadness in me. I was always one for “can you not just snap out of a depression?” but I could feel myself getting pulled in, and I knew this feeling wasn’t right for me. I thought, I need to do something.’

That something, as it turned out, was a run: ‘I said I’d go for a jog/walk for a couple of miles, and it helped a lot. I’m not somebody who goes out and listens to music when I run; I just run and think. I like to clear my head.

‘I’d do that every couple of days. Then after a while I realised I was getting fitter, starting to like it, and getting the bug back. I was getting fitter, and Alfie was getting stronger.’

Upward curve As her progress continued, the competitive fires of old were stoked, and a few months after starting back she ran a 5k road race and posted 19:40.

‘It was the hardest 19 minutes of my life,’ she recalls, ‘but I just kept going with it, and my times started coming down really quickly.’

At that time, she was coached by Kevin Connolly in Lifford, but when he left the club she made the move to Teresa McDaid in Letterkenny. Together, they targeted the European CC in December 2013, and she got there, finishing 49th.

Last year – still on an upward curve – she targeted the same event, intent on doing better, but on the week of the National Intercounties she got sick: ‘I raced it anyway, but I had to work really hard and just about made the team.’

“

In 2006 I decided to stop; making the jump from junior to senior was tough – I felt like a little fish in a big pond

She was named captain for the Europeans in Samokov, and it was a role she wanted to fulfil by contributing to the team score. And so she started conservatively, determined to come through the field rather than risk going out hard and fading.

Her memories of the race are patchy, but she can recall members of team management shouting team positions. When she heard no updates for the duration of the last lap, she assumed they were finishing fourth or fifth.

‘When I crossed the line I just wanted to know if Fionnuala (Britton) had won an individual medal, because I was really rooting for her,’ says McGlynn.

Of course Britton had finished sixth, but that disappointment was forgotten in an instant when the team filtered through the mixed zone and were told by Irish journalists they had bagged bronze.

The six – Fionnuala Britton in sixth, Sara Treacy 12th, Michelle Finn 23rd, McGlynn 46th, Siobhán O’Doherty 47th, and Laura Crowe 53rd – had pulled off a notable coup for Irish athletics.

Upon arriving back in Ireland, McGlynn was treated to a homecoming reception and found the whole thing slightly surreal: ‘People came out and welcomed us home!

I was in shock – I thought, I’m only running. To me, it was normal, but for everybody else it was a big thing.’

Indeed, when her children get a bit older, they too will begin to understand just how big a thing their mother achieved at the age of 34. It hasn’t been easy, but McGlynn seems to have finally found the right balance.

‘I live in Strabane, which is 20 miles from Letterkenny,’ she says. ‘I go in and train with Teresa’s group twice a week, then do my strength and conditioning with JT Physiotherapy in Letterkenny, who’ve helped me so much.’

These days, running plays a secondary role in her life; it’s slightly ironic, then, that she’s now achieving more than when she allowed it to become allconsuming.

‘My family comes first, running comes second, and that can be a good thing. Years ago it was all run, run, run, but now it’s not. Nothing is set in stone, and it’s more enjoyable because I appreciate it more now. I’m glad to be where I am.’

Irish Runner 51

Mulcaire_Layout 1 09/02/2015 16:53 Page 1

JUNIORS

FOCUSED ON WINNING From reluctant beginnings, Kevin Mulcaire has found his true calling as a runner and, having tasted victory, will make the sacrifices to become the champion he wants to be, as he tells Cathal Dennehy PHOTOS: MATT BROWNE, SPORTSFILE.COM Back when he was nine years old, Kevin Mulcaire was few people’s idea of a future star. He was then just starting out in the sport, only good enough to be the fourth scorer on the Ennis TC cross-country team, and it’s fair to say slogging around muddy fields wasn’t his favourite way to spend Sunday afternoons.

‘Being honest,’ he says bluntly, ‘I hated it.’

Funny, then, where he now finds himself, eight years on, as one of the most promising juniors in Irish athletics.

Mulcaire had a year to remember in 2014; in March he led St Flannan’s to victory in the Irish Schools CC Championships while also taking the individual crown.

He went on to win double gold, over 1500m and 3,000m, at the Schools Track and Field Championships.

His 3,000m time of 8:33.92 broke a 36-yearold record.

It wasn’t always that way, though, and Mulcaire’s progression these past few years is testament to the value of commitment in distance running. When he first got a taste of success in his early teens, he immediately wanted more. He was still playing hurling then, but he soon recognised where his true calling lay.

‘I made the decision to give everything to running,’ he says.

It was ideal, then, that he was surrounded by a group of equally dedicated athletes in

52 Irish Runner

Ennis Track Club, along with a coach, Pat Hogan, who bred athletes as wise as they were tough.

‘I began getting coached by Pat over two years ago,’ says Mulcaire, ‘and I’ve grown to love the sport more and more thanks to him. From the start we were told “be tough”. If you want to be soft, Ennis Track is the wrong club. Pat has a never-ending knowledge of the science behind running and I think it’s the balance that makes it work.’

“

Unlike most teenagers, he is no longer a slave to social media, having followed the advice of his coach and deleted all the apps from his smartphone

In a year that was consistently impressive, the one blip on Mulcaire’s CV was the European Junior CC. He bolted to the lead on the first lap and stayed there for much of the first half of the race before eventually fading to 33rd.

‘I was extremely disappointed,’ he says. ‘I definitely overcooked the first 1,200 and that affected me later on in the race.’

Though his bold move revealed some tactical

PROFILE

TYPICAL TRAINING WEEK

Age: 17 Club: Ennis Track Favourite book: The Fault in Our Stars Favourite food: Sunday roast Favourite film: Unbroken Favourite athlete: Kevin Chesser or Mahiedine Mekhissi-Benabbad Favourite sportsperson: Conor McGregor

Monday: 50 mins at HR followed by circuits Tuesday: 50/60 mins either at HR or perceived exertion, followed by speedwork Wednesday: rest Thursday: threshold work, e.g., 3 miles followed by drills Friday: short aerobic run followed by hurdle mobility and lower-leg circuit Saturday: long run, usually 18k Sunday: workout; winter: 3x1 mile with 4-min recovery

Mulcaire_Layout 1 09/02/2015 16:53 Page 2

naivety, it also demonstrated Mulcaire’s enormous ambition. This isn’t an athlete who runs to take part, regardless of the competition; he wants to win. Luckily, he will get the chance to make amends next December — he has two more years as a junior ‘I want to make my mark on the European stage and not just be happy to compete,’ he says. ‘I want to mix it with the best juniors in Europe.’

That, of course, will require a level of dedication and discipline you just don’t find in your average 17-year-old.

Mulcaire’s days, between training and school, are played out with military precision. Routine, routine, and then even more routine; it’s how it has to be if results are to match his lofty targets.

‘I try to keep every day the same,’ he says. ‘I go to school then directly to training afterwards and that leaves two hours for homework before bed.’

Social Media And unlike most teenagers, he is no longer a slave to his smartphone, or indeed to social media, having followed the advice of his coach and deleted all the apps from his phone.

‘When Pat recommended it at first I was very sceptical, but after recovering from my withdrawal symptoms, I realised how much time I was wasting on them,’ he says.

Staying healthy has been a key to Mulcaire’s development, and for that he credits physical therapist Odran O’Dwyer, whom he visits every second week.

For Mulcaire, bedtime is always 9pm, and it’s not something he considers a

In the medals – celebrating gold

special sacrifice; it’s the price he must pay: ‘I’m glad to do if it will help me become the athlete I want to be. It’s not a sacrifice. I love what I do and I love winning. We have a great group of athletes in Ennis who are all like-minded so it’s not a chore.’

As he looks to the year ahead, Mulcaire is already excited about the possibilities.

He’s taking the long-term view and skipping the indoor season to build for an assault on the European Juniors in July.

He wants to get faster at every distance, from 400m to 5,000m. He hopes to go to altitude for a training stint in June, and is aware that some sponsorship would help

make that a reality.

Down the line, he’ll undoubtedly come to the crossroads that all distance runners of his calibre face in their final year at school: whether to stay at home or go to the US on scholarship. Mulcaire is still undecided, but is beginning to lean toward the US, possibly Colorado or another college based at altitude. He doesn’t know yet, though; that’s all in the future.

For now, he’s focused on training, focused on sleeping well, eating well – doing all the things that are going to make him the athlete he wants to be. He’s focused on winning.

Events_Layout 1 09/02/2015 16:57 Page 1

ROUNDUP

STEPS INTO SPRING The next few weeks will reveal how several of our brightest talents on track and country have overwintered, writes Cathal Dennehy.

PHOTOS: RADOSLAW JOZWIAK AND RAMSEY CARDY SPORTSFILE.COM AIT Athletics Grand Prix, February 18, Athlone Mutaz Essa Barshim, the Qatari world indoor high jump champion, and Asafa Powell, the Jamaican former 100m world record holder, are the headliners at the AIT International Arena Grand Prix this month, writes Cathal Dennehy.

On what should be a riveting night of athletics, several of Ireland’s brightest stars, including Ciarán Ó Lionáird and Mark English, will pit their talents against highcalibre international competition.

Among the other big names, Carmelita Jeter (USA), with a 100m best of 10.64, will contest the 60m.

National Seniors Indoors, February 21/22, Athlone Just three days after the International Grand Prix, it’ll be back to Athlone again for the National Seniors, and with places at next month’s European Indoors on the line, a number of thrilling clashes are in prospect.

The two-day event is always well attended, and since it has found a new home in the ultra-modern arena in Athlone, the quality of competition has only improved.

That positive trend looks set to continue this month, when stars such as Sarah Lavin, Mark English, Phil Healy, Brian Gregan and Ciarán Ó Lionáird will turn up in search of national titles to add to their already impressive CVs. European Indoors, March 6-8, Prague The European Indoors have traditionally been a happy hunting ground for Irish athletes; Derval O’Rourke, Ciarán Ó Lionáird and Fionnuala Britton took home bronze from the last renewal, in Gothenburg.

It will come as no surprise if that tally is equalled in Prague, which is already a sellout and sure to go down a storm with the athletics-mad locals.

Mark English, looking to add to his European 800m bronze from Zurich last year, will face stiff competition from the likes of Adam Kczszot, Marcin Lewandowski and Pierre Ambroise Bosse, but the Letterkenny 21-year-old looks up to the task.

54 Irish Runner

Mark English looks good value for a medal at the European Indoors in Prague while, the same weekend in March, Hope Saunders will be among the favourites at the Schools CC

“

Mark English, looking to add to his European 800m bronze from Zurich last year, will face stiff competition from the likes of Adam Kczszot, Marcin Lewandowski and Pierre Ambroise Bosse, but the Letterkenny 21-year-old looks up to the task.

Ó Lionáird has put his injury woes behind him and will be a serious contender at 1500m, as will Brian Gregan over 400m.

All Ireland Schools CC, March 7, Clane The fiercely competitive climax to the Schools cross-country season, on the scenic grounds of Clongowes Wood College, will see a galaxy of future stars in action.

Kevin Mulcaire, the 17-year-old from St Flannan’s, Ennis, did the 1500m/3000m double on the track last year, looks set for a big year ahead, and barring injury should take the senior boys’ title.

Hope Saunders of Mount Temple posted 35th in the European Junior CC in December and will start as favourite among the senior girls.

World Cross Country, March 28, China Sadly, Ireland will not be sending teams to Guiyang, a decision taken after Fionnuala Britton decided to skip the event to prepare for the summer season, but the biennial races will draw many of the world’s best, the senior men facing off over 12k and the women over 8k.

Despite a declining European involvement, the competition in what are often dubbed ‘the hardest races to win in athletics’ will be as fierce as ever.

Japhet Korir of Kenya will be back to defend his individual crown, while the US men will continue to challenge East African dominance by trying to improve on their team silver of two years ago.

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GLO HEALTH CROSS COUNTRY

REAL CLASS IN PALACE GROUNDS PHOTOS: MATT BROWNE / SPORTSFILE

The GloHealth Masters, Inter and Juvenile B CC Championships in Tuam on Sunday February 8 served up a real test for over 1,000 runners on the rolling hills of the Palace Grounds, writes Kenneth Kiernan.

Liam Brady (Tullamore), who ran the European CC in December, was always to the fore in the men’s intermediate race and made his strength pay as he romped to an impressive victory in 26:31, over 20 seconds clear of the chasers.

Darragh Rennicks (Bohermeen) took second in 26:52 with Conor Duffy (Glaslough) third in 26:57. Ben Thistlewood missed out on the individual medals but in placing fourth led Leevale to the team title.

Danielle Fegan (Armagh), who had impressed when winning December’s GloHealth Novice CC in Santry, maintained her momentum when just getting the better of Mary Ann O’Sullivan (Tinryland) and Sara Doohan (Corran) — only 11 seconds separating first and third. Liffey Valley won team gold.

Among the masters, Declan Reed (City of Derry) was back to defend his title and showed his class in a field of over 200 with a hard-fought win in 23.15, just four seconds ahead of Ciaran Doherty (Letterkenny). John Dunne posted third and led Donore to the team title.

Other notable runs included that of Martin McEvilly (GCH), who took the M65 title in 16:21.

Natasha Adams (Letterkenny) produced a brilliant run to win the ladies masters in a time of 15:34 but had to fight all the way to shake off the former Olympian Pauline Curley (Tullamore), who finished just six seconds back, with Cathy McCourt third in 15:50.

Galway City Harriers were popular winners of the team title.

For more on GloHealth visit glohealth.ie 56 Irish Runner

That winning feeling – Eoin Reidy from St.Coca's AC celebrates victory in the under-17 3000m

56_crosscountry_Layout 1 09/02/2015 16:59 Page 2

Gold rush – Natasha Adams, Letterkenny AC, on her way to winning the over-35 4000m

Martin McEvilly – Galway City Harriers AC, out on his own in the over-65 division

MULLINGAR HALF MARATHON AAI Permit Race, Tuesday 17th March, 2015, 11.00am START/FINISH: Mullingar Town Centre ALL PROCEEDS GO TO CHILDLINE

Close finish – Connor Meaney, Fergus AC, just shades it to win the boys’ under-11 race from Luke Walker Browning, Newbridge AC

Race Headquarters: Annebrook House Hotel Austin Friar Street, Mullingar ONLINE ENTRY: €30.00 Including T-shirt LATE ENTRY: €40.00 ON THE DAY before 10.00am www.mullingarhalfmarathon.com

In full stride – Liam Brady, Tullamore Harriers AC, on his way to winning the intermediate 8000m

Irish Runner 57

Ironman_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:00 Page 1

Triathlon

GLOBAL IRONMAN SERIES TO HIT DUBLIN For the first time, Dublin will host an event in the global Ironman 70.3 series, when Pro and amateur triathletes take to the waters of Scotsman’s Bay, Dun Laoghaire, on August 9.

All 2,600 entries sold out in just three hours in December, an exceptionally rapid take-up, said race director John Wallnut.

‘With 1,100 entries reserved for overseas athletes, it was basically “fastest finger first” for Irish competitors, and we’re delighted with the response,’ said Wallnut.

‘These visiting Triathletes will give Ireland huge international profile as well as providing a boost to the economy.’

‘Although we’re sold out, it may still be possible to enter via one of our charity partners.’

‘The start on Sandycove beach will be structured to minimise overcrowding in the water. Each wave will be allocated a 10-minute window, timing triggered by a timing mat.

‘We’re expecting up to 10,000 spectators at the swim start, which will begin at 7am.

‘We’ve received fantastic co-operation and encouragement from all involved in making this possible, including the Lord Mayor, Oisin Quinn; Dublin City Council; Failte Ireland; and the Garda Siochana.

‘A lot of people are involved in making something of this size work smoothly. We have a very experienced team working on every detail of organisation to ensure that the IRONMAN 70.3 Dublin will be a credit to the city and to the series.

‘We will be involving a huge number of volunteer marshals on the day...so we are urging anyone who wants to contribute to the success of the race to contact us via the event website. www.ironman.com/dublin70.3

THE COURSE The one-lap sea swim will be in Scotsman’s Bay, the athletes going off in waves spread over 75 minutes and having 70 minutes to complete.

The bike ride will travel a 56-mile single loop from Dun Laoghaire, north along the 58 Irish Runner

coast, through the centre of Dublin and then west before finishing in the Phoenix Park. The bike course is provisional pending relevant approvals.

The run will start and finish in the Phoenix Park.

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Triathlon

EXTRA ORDINARY Conor O’Hagan meets a very ordinary Ironman, Kilkenny’s Seamus Nugent

PHOTOS: DONAL GLACKIN

Family matters: Seamus gets a turbo start from his wife, Michelle, and son James, and (facing page) jogging by the river Nore in Kilkenny city

ometimes it’s worthwhile just plumbing the memory; going back to a time when something now familiar was new and amazing, to rediscover wonderment and, perhaps, perspective.

I can almost pin down the sensation of reading for the first time about the Ironman, a bizarre ordeal as it then seemed, played out against the appropriately exotic backdrop of Hawaii, entailing endurance way, way beyond anything that seemed either feasible or defensible.

At a time when we were still absorbing the implications of ordinary people taking on the marathon, the Ironman was the dual embodiment of Californian dreaming and Spartan grit. Many steps and at least two events too far for most of us.

Even today, in the context of a triathlon boom, the Ironman variant is a firebreathing monster of a thing, embraced at arm’s length by the wider community like a rough

S

60 Irish Runner

country cousin. The original of the species perhaps, but a little on the unrefined side and sadly un-telegenic in an attention limited world.

I still have to pinch myself occasionally, talking to an ordinary person (clearly nothing of the kind, but let’s assume you know what I mean by that), who at age 50 is an Ironman veteran and planning to set a personal best later this year. Where are the boundaries? Is no achievement sacred?

What do you have to take on in order to end your days satisfied that you left nothing behind?

Inspiring Seamus Nugent is nothing special; blessed with no exceptional athletic gifts and the only records he’s likely to set will be personal. But his triathlon experience is as inspiring as any elite career.

‘In the 80s I ran; at the time it seemed

everyone was doing it. I raced in 10ks, 10milers and even steeplechase and banged out some pretty decent times, though I never made it to a marathon. Then in the mid ‘90s I drifted away from sport.

‘In 1992 Michelle and I were married and in the usual way, with three kids to raise, overtime to be worked and a house to run, sport took a back seat.

‘Then in 2004 we moved back into the city after four years living out in the country.

That move back seemed to act as some kind of catalyst for me to take up training again.

‘Also, my brother Brendan had returned to Ireland after years away in England. We started training together, which made a big difference — and he’s still an important part of my training.

‘I had always been comfortable with swimming, which is often the obstacle for runners moving to triathlon. I have them to

Nugent_2_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:36 Page 2

www.triathlonireland.com thank my mother and father for that.

‘In 2005 I started training for a sprint triathlon at Dunmore East and from there I followed the usual progression, taking on the Olympic distance in the Dublin City event of 2007, then TriAthlone. From there, the plan was to move to half Ironman, and eventually the full Ironman.

‘The plan was to do a half Ironman in 2008 with two training partners of mine. I went for a week's holiday in the sun with Michelle late 2007 and when I returned they announced that we were going full distance - no half-measure!

‘My first Ironman was in 2008, at Sherborne in Dorset. A beautiful village and an amazing event, but I was 14 hours out that day! However, within an hour of finishing, I knew I would be back for more’ Terrifying Five years ago, Seamus lost the job that, alongside family, had formed a pillar of his life.

‘After 20 years as a pre-press worker at the Kilkenny People I was made redundant, and with things the way they were in Ireland, there was no real prospect of finding work using the skills I had. I had no choice, at 45, with a house and a family to support, but to make a fresh start.’

‘I went back to school. Thirty years after leaving education I enrolled for a Level 6 National Certificate in Exercise and Fitness, then went on to Waterford Institute of Technology, where I have just graduated with a First Class Honours Bachelors Degree in Exercise and Health Studies. I have recently begun a Research Masters which will look at sustainable physical activity for older adults.

‘Alongside my studies I’ve managed to keep up my triathlon training and competing, as well as various jobs such as personal trainer/coach, Active Travel work, gym instructor.’

If there’s one thing the Ironman teaches you, it’s how to pull through; when Plan A fails you need to be immediately resourceful and go to Plan B. The hours, weeks and years of training, the setbacks, the doubts.

And all these before you’ve even started an event.

All you have is your body and your determination to prevail. It’s not life, or even a close metaphor, but it’s an enormous learning experience, and as Seamus Nugent has found, what you learn stands to you.

‘These days, no two days are ever the same, and I wouldn’t be able to do all of it without the fitness and confidence that triathlon training has given me.

“

I’ve started a day’s work with four hours on the bike in my legs, then done 1,500m in the pool during my break

‘Training teaches you to deal with whatever life throws at you. I’ve often started a day’s work with over four hours on the bike already in my legs, then fitted in 1,500 metres swim training in the pool during my break. So if you tell me you can’t find time to train, I’m going to show you how it’s done!

Taskmaster He’s a hard taskmaster to himself and others; a man who fits in 60 plus hours of work a week.

‘I have to do everything on a very limited budget. Looking after the kids (Louise, 21, studies Biomedicine at UDC, runs and works part-time; James, 17, is in fifth year and is an avid cyclist; Ryan, 15, is about to sit the Junior Cert. and plays football), running the house, getting in some kind of family holiday and finishing an Ironman — those are my targets every year. It’s not easy, but I’ll do it.

‘This year I’m in the process of lining up the ducks to see what challenge I will

attempt. This year I'm thinking of something different.’

Seamus’s wife, Michelle, is an experienced marathon runner who understands both the demands and rewards of training.

‘Without Michelle and the kids I wouldn’t be doing anything. She's the one who stirs at 5.15 when you're getting up to train! It’s all about family for me — it has to be.

‘The Ironman is a very personal thing — everyone is running their own race, chasing their own targets — yet it’s one of the very few sports where you can truly rub shoulders with your heroes, even if you are on a different lap to them!

‘I love the whole experience, even the travelling, the arriving, building up the bike, getting in the practice swim. I love the silence in the breakfast room on the morning of the event - the anticipation, the nerves. It's what we train for. The event itself is just one day in the year, but it’s a fantastic process and as they say, everyone’s a winner.’

Irish Runner 61

evans_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:02 Page 1

Triathlon

NO RAIN IN SPAIN Triathlon Ireland’s Technical Director, Tommy Evans, leads TI’s warm-weather training camp. What’s that about?

When and where?

We were in Aguilas in Murcia, Spain, on the Costa Cálida, for a two-week intensive training camp in January Who was there?

Various athletes, including four from our U23 elite development group, three female talent ID, two elite international cyclists, three training partners and three coaches.

What are the objectives of the camp?

To give the athletes an opportunity to focus on base training and aerobic volume work, giving them an ideal opportunity to get some warm-weather training done, including open-water swimming and long rides.

What would a typical day consist of?

We would typically start with an 8-9.30am swim session, then a 12-3pm bike session, 6-7pm run session. Most days would also include flexibility sessions.

Is it a disciplined regime?

Yes, we have a set time schedule for all training sessions, with a large number of athletes attending. We had three training groups, so everything needed to be disciplined and co-ordinated to get the best from the time and the facilities.

What are the facilities like?

Perfect! We have a very good relationship with the hotel, the Don Juan, which is a five-star spa resort. During the winter months they give us an exceptionally cheap rate for half-board accommodation.

The pool is very close by, the resort is cheap and very accommodating, the ocean is just out at the back of the hotel, there are beautiful running trails all around the coast and the biking routes are some of the best I personally have ever cycled on; you could be out for a three-hour cycle and meet only six cars.

How important are training camps to athlete development?

The camps have always been an important part of our plan; many of our athletes are university students and have only certain times available for training with the group, due to holidays, exams, et cetera.

The camps allow us to engage with them for an extended period without interruption 62 Irish Runner

“

Camps like this are an investment in developing talent, and as such they’re vital to maintaining and raising standards across the range of competitions our athletes participate in.

or competition for time. This gives us an opportunity to work with a bigger group and creates the kind of competitive environment that encourages everyone on to the next level.

What do the athletes gain from the experience? Is it money well spent?

As per above, the camp provides opportunities to train with professional bike

riders for our stronger athletes; they have access to physio, one-to-one daily coaching and a perfect setting to do everything to the maximum: train, eat healthily, recover, et cetera.

Camps like this are an investment in developing talent, and as such they’re vital to maintaining and raising standards across the range of competitions our athletes participate in.

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Triathlon Triathlon & Duathlon Events, Feb-May 2015 DATE

EVENT

DISTANCE

INFO.

Tramore Duathlon Conamara Duathlon Limerick Duathlon Sere Down Royal Duathlon Race 1 The Butchers Block Naas Duathlon Series Race 2 Fota Island Challenge Series

Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint

Tramore, Waterford Carraroe, Galway Limerick , Limerick Lisburn, Antrim Naas, Kildare Letterkenny, Cork

www.waterfordtriathlonclub.com www.trisport.ie www.limericktriathlon.com www.lisburntriathlonclub.co.uk www.naastriclub.com www.fotaisland.ie/Duathlon

Banner Duathlon Banner Junior Duathlon 12 yrs up Ashford Duathlon Fastnet Duathlon Letterkenny Sprint Duathlon Predator TC Junior Duathlon Predator Duathlon Tri An Mhi Trim Castle Duathlon Series - Race 1 Clonakilty West Cork Duathlon Puck Warrior Duathlon Ennis Duathlon SERE Down Royal Duathlon Race 2

Duathlon Sprint Children’s Duathlon Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Children’s Duathlon Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Standard Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint

Shannon, Clare Shannon, Clare Cong, Mayo Schull, Cork Letterkenny, Donegal Galway, Galway Galway, Galway Collinstown, Meath Clonakilty, Cork Killorgin , Kerry Ennis, Clare Lisburn, Antrim

www.gotri.ie/bannerduathlon www.gotri.ie/bannerduathlon www.cungacyclingclub.org www.schulltriathlonclub.com www.letterkenny247.com www.predatortriclub.ie www.predatortriclub.ie www.trianmhi.com www.westcorktri.wordpress.com www.afitbody.ie www.ennistriclub.com www.lisburntriathlonclub.co.uk

Aplauda Aquathlon West Wood Club Clontarf TriLaois Battle of Ballinaspittle Tri An Mhi Trim Castle Duathlon Series - Race 2 Sligo Triathlon Club Pool Sprint 750m swim Sligo Tri Club Pool Sprint Short Swim 300m SERE Down Royal Duathlon Race 3 Ballybay Duathlon Joey Hannan Memorial Triathlon Joey Hannan Memorial Triathlon Joey Hannan Memorial Triathlon Letterkenny Try-a-Tri

Aquathlon Standard Tri Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Sprint Tri Sprint (V) Tri Sprint Duathlon Sprint Duathlon Standard Tri Standard Tri Sprint Tri Super Sprint/Try-a-tri Tri Super Sprint /Try -a -tri

Clontarf, Dublin Portlaoise, Laois Kinsale, Cork Trim, Westmeath Sligo, Sligo Sligo, Sligo Lisburn, Antrim Ballybay , Monaghan Limerick, Limerick Limerick, Limerick Limerick, Limerick Letterkenny, Donegal

www.westwood.ie www.trilaois.ie www.kinsaletriclub.com www.trianmhi.com www.sligotriathlon.ie www.sligotriathlon.ie www.lisburntriathlonclub.co.uk www.mucknotri.com www.limericktriathlon.com www.limericktriathlon.com www.limericktriathlon.com www.letterkenny247.com

Liam Ball Triathlon Tinahely Duathlon Go Tri Junior Aquathon Roe Valley Sprint Triathlon Valentia Island Sprint Triathlon Tri 795 Carlow Mondello Duathlon Series 1 Lough Cutra Castle Middle Triathlon Lough Cutra Castle Childrens Lough Cutra Castle Sprint Triathlon Lough Cutra Castle Standard Lough Cutra Castle Try-a-Tri Lough Cutra Castle Sprint Plus Triathlon Lough Cutra Castle Children’s Triathlon Lough Cutra Castle Children’s Triathlon TriAthy - TRYAthy 2015 TriAthy Double Middle Distance 2015 Super Series - TriAthy Sprint Distance 2015 TriAthy Standard Distacne 2015 James McManus Memorial Triathlon TriClub Cup Sprint Championship

Tri Sprint (V) Duathlon Sprint Children’s Aquathlon Tri Sprint Tri Sprint (V) Tri Sprint (V) Duathlon Sprint Tri Middle Childrens Tri Sprint Tri Standard (V) Tri Super Sprint /Try -a -tri Tri Sprint Children’s Triathlon Children’s Triathlon Tri Super Sprint /Try -a -tri Tri Middle Tri Sprint (S)(V) Tri Standard Tri Sprint Tri Sprint

Derry City, Derry Tinahely , Wicklow Shannon, Clare Limavady, Derry Valentia Island, Kerry Carlow , Carlow Caragh, Kildare Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Gort , Galway Athy, Kildare Athy, Kildare Athy, Kildare Athy, Kildare Swanlinbar, Cavan Carrick-on-Shannon, Leitrim

www.northwesttriclub.com www.tinahelytriclub.ie www.gotri.ie www.triangletriathlonclub.com www.valentiaislandtriathlonclub.com www.racing795.com

FEBRUARY Saturday 21 Saturday 28 Sunday 22 Sunday 22 Sunday 22 Saturday 28

MARCH Sunday 1 Sunday 1 Saturday 7 Saturday 7 Sunday 8 Saturday 14 Saturday 14 Sunday 15 Sunday 22 Saturday 28 Sunday 29 Sunday 29

APRIL Saturday 4 Saturday 4 Monday 6 Sunday 12 Sunday 19 Sunday 19 Sunday 19 Saturday 25 Sunday 26 Sunday 26 Sunday 26 Sunday 26

MAY Sunday 3 Sunday 3 Monday 4 Saturday 9 Saturday 16 Sunday 17 Wednesday 20 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Sunday 24 Saturday 30 Saturday 30 Saturday 30 Saturday 30 Saturday 30 Sunday 31

(V) Vodafone National Series (S) Super Series 64 Irish Runner

www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.loughcutra.com www.my.triathy.ie www.my.triathy.ie www.my.triathy.ie www.my.triathy.ie www.cuilcaghtriclub.tk www.triclubcup.com

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racingEVENTS_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:34 Page 1

RACING

AHEAD

TWIN BOOST FOR CONNEMARA The organisers of the Connemarathon have received two major boosts in the countdown to the event’s 13th running on Sunday April 12, writes Frank Greally.

The award-winning sports drink Oxylent became the event’s official drink, as announced by the Limerick-based distributors Ambermed. Oxylent is specifically designed to stave off fatigue and cramp in long-distance work and so is a perfect fit for the Connemarathon.

In another good news story, the race has been named among the world’s top four marathons by the bestselling French magazine Jogging International — huge recognition and a major boost to the event’s international appeal.

Comprising of three races — half marathon, full marathon, and ultramarathon — the Connemarathon, with its dramatic mountain setting, is one of the world’s most scenic runs.

Last year participants came from 28 countries. This year more than 3,000 runners and walkers are expected.

Spokeswoman Sandra O’Connor said, ‘We’re truly honoured to have been chosen

by Jogging International as one of the four

best marathons. We have the most beautiful location here on our doorstep, our international participants love it, and the numbers already registered for next year bear this out.’

Besides its magical scenic appeal, the Connemarathon is a huge boost to the local economy.

Registration is at www.connemarathon.com

Elites return to Armagh Classic The official countdown to the Brooks International Road Race in Armagh got under way recently after details were confirmed at a special launch to celebrate the event’s 25year history, writes Frank Greally.

Taking place on Wednesday 19 February, the iconic event is widely acknowledged as one of the best, with fierce competition among athletes vying for top spot in the men’s and women’s races.

Organisers say this year’s event, sponsored by sports footwear specialist Brooks and supported by Armagh City and District Council, promises to be the most hotly contested for years, with a host of athletes combining national, European, world and Olympic experience pencilled in.

Last year, Nick McCormick from Morpeth AC in Northeast England won the men’s 5k international in 14:11.90, the overall standard was so high that 45 runners posted under 15 minutes, and the last finisher was only 90 seconds behind the winner.

Laura Whittle from Loughborough 66 Irish Runner

University won the women’s 3k in 9:25.73.

This year the former European champion, and Brooks-sponsored, Mary Cullen, with a 3k best of 8:43.74, returns to lead the Irish national team, which will also include Donegal’s Ann Marie McGlynn.

In the men’s 5k, a revitalised US team led

by Joe Stilin, who boasts a best of 13:33.13

for the distance on the Armagh track, will be up against Poland’s Krystian Zalewski, the current European 3,000m steeplechase silver medallist.

The first of the 12 races scheduled starts at 6.30pm at the top of Mall East in the city centre. For the full programme see www.armaghroadrace.com Irish Runner 9

racingEVENTS_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:34 Page 2

Dwaine keeping it country Dr Dwaine Vance is swapping his cowboy boots for a pair of Asics trainers to complete his first marathon as one of the official ambassadors for the 34th Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon.

Vance is a research and development scientist working for Randox Health, official healthcare partner of the event, and also loves country music.

Dwaine’s Belfast Marathon adventure will be a fundraiser for the official charity, Marie Curie Cancer Care, who are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Belfast Hospice in 2015. Dwaine intends to record a country music single with Hot Country TV presenter Eilish O’Sullivan to raise extra money for the charity.

‘I love country music and I love running, so I thought what better way to raise money for my charity than by putting the two together.

My dear friend Eilish O’Sullivan will join me in a duet on the specially penned country single and we hope to have this produced before race day.’

Registration for the Deep RiverRock Belfast City Marathon is open until Friday April 10. www.belfastcitymarathon.com.

All set for Mullingar Half

Pictured at O'Brien's Hyundai garage for the launch of the inaugural Mullingar half-marathon were Ken Whitelaw, JP O'Brien and Gerry Duffy – www.mullingarhalfmarathon.com

The job is Oxylent

Pictued at the announcement of Connemarathon title sponsorship were Jon Hayes of Oxylent and Sandra O'Connor event organiser.

Oxylent, the new title sponsor for the Connemarthon, is an awardwinning sport supplement drink promoting energy, stamina and recovery, without the use of sugar or caffeine Designed for health-conscious endurance athletes who need to avoid cramp and fatigue, Oxylent contains a comprehensive range of specific nutrients in their most bioavailable form, including electrolytes, vitamins, minerals, amino acids and antioxidants.

Athletes are often encouraged to consume sugary drinks, ‘goos’ or chews in order to maximise energy and insulin levels to fuel their run, ride or swim. Many of these can contain close to 30 grams of sugar, which research is now showing can over-stimulate the release of insulin, lactic acid, and stress hormones like cortisol, decreasing athletic performance and muscle function and slowing recovery.

Consuming sugars raises blood glucose for only 10 to 20 minutes during intense exercise before glucose levels drop below normal and cortisol and epinephrine are released, inducing cramp and headache.

Because consuming lowglycaemic carbohydrates along with good protein and fat, together with ensuring adequate micronutrients, is a better way to nourish the body with the fuel it needs, Oxylent contains no sugar, caffeine, gluten, dairy, soya, artificial sweeteners or artificial ingredients.

More information at www.oxylent.ie Irish Runner 67

Limerick_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:06 Page 1

LIMERICK RUN

Great Beat on the Street The Walled City on the Shannon will pulse to the rhythm of countless feet in early May, and all for terrific causes, writes Frank Greally Numerous local and national charities are set to benefit from the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run on Sunday May 3, an event expected to attract well in excess of 10,000 entrants to the city on the Shannon.

In five short years the event has blossomed into one of the premier roadracing festivals, with a reputation for excellent organisation and a friendly welcome for all. It brings a beat to the streets of Limerick over the May Bank Holiday weekend and this year’s renewal is expected to be the best yet.

Race Director John Cleary and his committee have shown what can be achieved with passion, commitment and creativity, and statistics tell the tale: Over 175,000 spectators have lined the various routes — marathon, half marathon and 6 miles — to cheer and encourage runners, walkers and wheelchair racers.

Almost 3,000 bed nights are generated; in fact bed occupancy in the city on the eve of the event is 100 percent and the average stay is two nights.

More than 91 percent of those surveyed said the races greatly boosted Limerick’s reputation as an event-hosting destination Some 192,000 bottles of water have been consumed and an estimated 540,000 race miles covered by participants since the inaugural event in 2010.

Several charities will benefit from this year’s Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run, among them the Remember Aaron O’Flaherty Campaign, in memory of Aaron O’Flaherty who drowned tragically on the weekend of the 2014 event.

26 Miles for 26 Great Limerick Heroes is a novel idea by a local woman, Denyse O’Brien, in partnership with the event organisers to designate each mile of the marathon to one of 26 charities. The idea has caught on fast as hundreds of runners raise funds for local and national charities.

Special Olympics continues to be the official charity. Last year local athlete Ashleigh O’Hagan developed a highly successful fundraising partnership with the Great Limerick event. The Special Olympics World Games open in Los Angeles on July 25, and Team Ireland’s 88 athletes for the Games will include 13 from the Midwest.

Other categories in the Great Limerick 68 Irish Runner

Participants in the Great Limerick Run have covered more than half a million miles since 2010

“

The Sport Kids Fun Run on the Saturday at the University of Limerick is a brilliant event open to children ages four to 12

Run include the popular Fittest Company Challenge, which adds a ‘corporate challenge’ dimension to the proceedings.

The Sport Kids Fun Run on the Saturday at the University of Limerick is a brilliant event open to children ages four to 12. Over 3,000 youngsters will take part at various distances.

There is a special pulse to this lively Limerick weekend and terrific spectator support along the course. There’s a warm welcome for visitors and Race Director John Cleary, himself a runner, is a sympathetic and supportive host to all participants.

For good measure, the Runner’s Expo at UL is not to be missed.

Guaranteed you come away from the weekend with a feeling of having being well looked after.

For details of the event visit www.greatlimerickrun.com Twitter @BHGLimerickRun or Facebook

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Events are listed by province in the following order: Leinster, Munster, Connacht, Ulster. All events listed have permits, or have permits pending from Athletics Ireland, Athletics Northern Ireland or Triathlon Ireland.

• When phoning Northern Ireland from the Republic, please replace the 028 regional code with 048.

• All information was correct at the time of publication; it’s always wise to confirm venues, dates and times before travelling.

• You can also see a list of Athletics Ireland licensed / permit events on www.athleticsireland.ie

FIXTURES

15

AXA Raheny 5 – chasing group includes Mike Freely (2189) and Ronan Wogan (745)

FEBRUARY THURSDAY 12 Munster School CC, Waterford IT. www.munsterathletics.com FRIDAY 13 Dublin Juvenile Indoors, Day 1, Santry, 7pm. www.dublinathletics.com SATURDAY 14 Garda BHAA CC, Phoenix Park, Dublin. Women’s 2m, 11am, men’s 4m, 11.30am. Reg Garda Boat Club, Islandbridge. Entry €10 members/€15 guests.

Donadea 50k, near Clane, Co Kildare. Incorp Irish Championships. Entry €50.

C: Anthony Lee 085 1088974 Mount Juliet Half Marathon and 10k, Kilkenny, 11am. C: Caroline Walsh 056 7773040

Compiled by Lindie Naughton All information correct when going to press but may be subject to change.

Always check with race organisers and websites for any changes

70 Irish Runner

Love on the Run Charity 5k, the Murrough, Wicklow, 11am. Entry €11.

Love to Run 10k/5k, St Sinchill’s Camogie Club, Killeigh, Co Offaly, 12 noon. Entry €15 for 10k, €10 for 5k or €20 families.

C: Martin Nunan 087 2168833

Erin’s Run 5k, Termonfeckin, Co Louth, 12 noon. Entry €20 adults, €35 families, €5 U16. C: Stuart Farrell 087 631 6741, precisiontiming.net Valentine Muck Fest 5k, Thornhill, Tullow, Co Carlow, 11am. C: valentinemuckfest@gmail.com Dublin Juvenile Indoors, Day 2, Santry, 10am.

SUNDAY 15 Duleek NS Parents Council 5k, Co Meath, 1pm. Entry €21.40, €37.45 families, €5 U16.

T-shirt first 300 to reg. C: Sharon 087 9881533, www.precisiontiming.net Leinster Indoors, Day 2, Athlone IT. Jun, Sen, Masters.

Dublin Juvenile Indoors, Day 3, Tallaght, 11am.

Hills: IMRA Winter

Leinster Indoors, Day 1, Athlone IT. Juveniles. w Killarney Spring Series 5k, 11am. C: Tom Joe Donoghue 087 9339087 Munster Juvenile U9-12 Indoor Championships, Day 1, Nenagh Mad Muckers 6k, Kilguilkey (near Mallow), Co Cork, 10.30am. Entry €21.40 students, €32.10 adults, €107 teams of four. www.precisiontiming.net ANI and Ulster Senior CC, Lurgan Park. Women’s 6k, 1.30pm, men’s 12k, 2.15pm. athleticsni.org Scottish U14/15 Juvenile Indoors, Glasgow

League: Trooperstown, Co Wicklow (10.6k, 380m), 11am. www.imra.ie FACE 5k, Fermoy, Co Cork, 12 noon. Entry €10, mail to register. Cash prizes, €150 first M and F. C: Tom Flynn 087 2278459 Tommy Ryan Memorial Carrigaline 5, Cork, 11am.

C: Pat Murphy 086 3230310, Kerry’s Eye Valentine’s 10, Tralee, 11am. Entry €30. C: Marcus Howlett 087 9282683. www.traleemarathon.com Bausch and Lomb Kilmacthomas 5, Co Waterford, 11am. Entry €8.

Race 4 Michael Roche

Carpets Series. C: James Veale 086 8184762, Tipperary Intermediate Road Championships, Galbally, 12 noon.

Gorgeous Gort 8k, 1.30pm. Entry €20. C: Dara Williams 087 6901834, www.precisiontiming.net Westport AC Point-toPoint 5k, 2pm. Entry €16 online or €20 on day. Also kids’ 800, 1.30pm, entry €5. C: Gerard Kilroy 087 9018052, www.precisiontiming.net Parke 8k, Co Mayo, 12 noon. C: Frank Cloherty 087 1384822 Tony McGowan 10k/5k, Drumshanbo, 1pm. C: Roy Kelly 087 7955397 Monaghan County AC 5k, Monaghan, 3pm. C: Peadar O Corrigan 047 54011 Finn Valley Series Race 1, 5k, Stranorlar, Co Donegal, 11am. www.finnvalleyac.com Scottish U17/20 Juvenile Indoors, Glasgow

70_Fixtures15_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:39 Page 2

RACE FIXTURES

Want us to feature your race? Email Lindie at: lindie.naughton@gmail.com 3k, 1.30, men’s 6k, 2pm.

Prizes Sen, Masters, teams. Reg . C: 087 7975701

Hills: IMRA Winter League, Annacurra, Co Wicklow (11k, 480m), 12 noon. www.imra.ie

Meet & Train Women’s Winter CC League, Rd 4 of 4 (2 miles), Ballyboden, Firhouse, 11am. Entry €7.

Newcomers welcome. C: Sue Lynch 086-2327570, womensmeetandtrain.blogspot.com

Dunboyne Winter Throws, 10.30am, shot, discus, hammer. www.athleticsireland.ie

Runbrosna GAA 5k/10k, Co Westmeath, 11am.

Entry €13 online.

The Butcher’s Block Naas Duathlon Series, Rd 2, Punchestown Racecourse, 12.30pm. C: naasraceseries@gmail.com

Sprint finish – Dermot Gorman and Lizzie Lee TUESDAY 17 ALSAA Track Series Rd 5, mile, Dublin Airport, 7.30pm. Entry €4. C: Gerry Martin 087-2132244, Eugene Foley 0863835695, PJ Noonan 01-8315803 WEDNESDAY 18 Raheny Shamrock Winter Road League Rd 7 (2m), 8pm. Entry €7 adult, €2 unwaged. Incorp Donagh Lynch Memorial. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342 National Garda CC, Phoenix Park, 1.15pm 21st All Rounder Winter League, Dungarvan, Rd 14 of 14, 7.15pm. Entry €2 members, €3 guests. Or €30 for series. C: James Veale 086 8184762,

Wicklow Hospice Half Marathon and 10k, 10am.

C: Bill Porter 087 2928660 Dublin Juvenile Indoors, Day 4, Santry, 11am.

Operation Transformation 5k, Phoenix Park, 12 noon. C: Athletics Ireland 01 88699533 Fitzers Charity 5k, Dundalk, 11am. C: Deirdre Quinn 087 2262688 Killarney Spring Series 5k, 11am. C: Tom Joe Donoghue 087 9339087 Great Lakes Challenge Series, Race 1, Tourmakeady 8k, 12 noon.

C: Noel Gibbons 087 7870055

Wild West Trail Half Marathon, Kerry, 11am. C: Tessa Dennison 086 8781674 Munster U13-19 Indoors, Day 1, Nenagh,

Adare 10k, Co Limerick, 1pm. C Liam Healy 087 7725941

Connacht Indoor Championships, Athlone, www.athleticsireland.ie

Déise College Dungarvan 10k, Dungarvan 11am.

Michael Roche Carpets Series, Rd 5 of 5. Entry €8.

C: James Veale 086 8184762,

Sperrin Harriers Winter League: Lough Fea 10, Cookstown, 12 noon. C: Toirleach Gourley 07866056169, www.sperrinharriers.co.uk

Meelagh Valley 10, Bantry, Co Cork, 11am.

Also 5k.

C: Rose Ni Shuilleabhain 087 2963213 Tipperary Master and Junior Road Championships, Fethard, 12 noon. www.tipperaryathletics.com John Minogue 8k Road Race and Cycle in aid of Slainte An Chlair, Burren Sub Aqua, Miltown Malbay, 11am Kilconieron Charity 5, run/walk, Co Galway, 12 noon. Entry €15 runners, €10 walkers. C: Niall Callanan 087 6773983

St Aidan’s High School 10k run and 5k walk, Derrylin, 11am. ANI Permit. C: Raymond Johnston 028 67748337

North West Tri Club Winter Series, Foyle Marina, Derry,10.30am. C: Thomas McCallion 07725707911

THURSDAY 19 Armagh International Road Races, The Mall, 6.30pm. C: Brian Vallely 028 37511248

SUNDAY 22 Glo Health National Indoors, Day 2, Athlone.

SATURDAY 21 Glo Health National Indoors, Day 1, Athlone. www.athleticsireland.ie

Ras na hEireann, Oldbridge, Drogheda, 12 noon. Incorp Noel McGuill/Sandra Floyd Cups. Juvenile programme from 12 noon, women’s

Finn Valley Series, Race 2, 5k, Stranorlar, Co Donegal, 11am. finnvalleyac.com

Ulster Schools CC, Mallusk, Belfast.

Doneraile 5k Series, Race 2, 11am. C: Grace Dowling 087 6570723

SATURDAY 28 Mondello 10k, Co Kildare, 11am. C: Sinead Gleeson 086 8445146, www.runireland.com

Stormont CC, Belfast, 11am. C: Robbie Burrows 07595651759, www.nicsac.com Run Forest Run Winter Race Series, Rd 6, Castlewellan 10k, Co Down, 11am. Entry £18. C: Jane Rowe 07855586438, www.born2runevents.com

Useful info...

ATHLETIC ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND Unit 19, Northwood Court, Northwood Business Campus, Santry, Dublin 9 01 886 9933 admin@athleticsireland.ie www.athleticsireland.ie

NORTHERN IRELAND ATHLETIC FEDERATION Athletics House, Old Coach Road, Belfast BT9 5PR 028 9060 2707 info@niathletics.org www.niathletics.org

IRISH MASTER ATHLETES ASSOCIATION PRO: Anne Gormley 087 956 3134 www.irishmastersathletics.com

BUSINESS HOUSES ATHLETICS ASSOCIATION news@bhaa.ie www.bhaa.ie Cork branch: www.corkbhaa.com

MARCH SUNDAY 1 Glo Health National Interclubs CC, Kilbroney, Co Down. Jun women 4k, 1pm, jun men 6k, 1.30pm, sen women 8k, 2pm, sen men 12k, 2.45pm.

Juvenile Intercounty Relays, 12 noon.

Lismullen 10k, Garlow Cross, Navan, Co Meath, 12 noon. Also 3k, 11.30am. Entry €15 adults, €2 children, refreshments BBQ. C: Andrea 087 2373412

IRISH MOUNTAIN RUNNING ASSOCIATION President: Richard Nunan C: richard.nunan@imra.ie. www.imra.ie

IRISH ORIENTEERING ASSOCIATION www.orienteering.ie

FLORA WOMEN’S MINI MARATHON 27 Sandyford Office Park, Sandyford Ind Est, Dublin 18 01 293 0984 womensminimarathon@eircom.net info@womensminimarathon.ie

Ben 5k, Wexford Town, 11am. C: Bernard Wadding 087 1205213, www.ben5k.com Oliver Plunketts GAA 5k, Drogheda, 10.30am. Entry €15. C: Cathy Smith 087 1270596 Irish Runner 71

70_Fixtures15_Layout 1 09/02/2015 17:39 Page 3

Trim 10-mile – Simon Ryan (621) Luke Ford (793) and Peter Mooney (589). Photo: Donal Glackin The Windmill Run 5k/10k, Garristown, Co Dublin, 12 noon. Entry €15. C: 086 8133235, 086 2457348 Bord Gais BHAA 5k, Lee Rowing Club, Cork, 11am.

C: Donal O Caoimh 086 0213344 Michael Egan Memorial 5, Quilty, Co Clare, 1pm. AI Permit.

Run Clare 5 to 10 Fitness Challenge, Race 2. Entry for series €50 before Jan 6.

Belfast School CC Challenge, North Belfast Primary School Heats, Grove Playing Grounds, 10am. C: Katherine McDowell 028 9027 0344, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cross country WEDNESDAY 4 Raheny Shamrock Winter Road League, Rd 8 (2 miles), 8pm. Entry €7 adult, €2 unwaged. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342

Munster U13-19 Indoors, Day 2, Nenagh.

Tipperary Novice B Road Championships, Ballingarry, 12 noon. www.tipperaryathletics.com

FRIDAY 6 Belfast School CC Challenge, East Belfast Primary School Heats, Victoria Park, 10am. C: Katherine McDowell 028 9027 0344, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cross country

Hills: Munster Spring League, Mount Hillary (9.6k, 275m), 1pm. www.imra.ie

FRIDAY 6 – SUNDAY 8 European Indoors, Prague

Great Lakes Challenge Series, Race 2, Clonbur 10k, Co Mayo, 12 noon.

Beanie hats all finishers. C: Mike Dolan 087 6500176

FRIDAY 6 Ronan McCormack Moonlight 10k, Roscommon Town, 8.15pm.

Entry €20. C: Jacqueline McCormack 086 1721181

Zambia Housing Project 10k, Cong, Co Galway, 12 noon. C: Michael Dolan 087 6500176 Connacht Indoors, Athlone IT. www.athleticsireland.ie TUESDAY 3 Dublin Night Run 5k/10k, Sandymount. C: 086 3060890 72 Irish Runner

Belfast School CC Challenge, East Belfast Primary School Heats, Victoria Park, 10am. C: Katherine McDowell 028 9027 0344, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cross country SATURDAY 7 Glo Health All Ireland Schools CC and Irish

Universities CC Championships, Clongowes Wood College, Clane, Co Kildare.

Dublin Airport BHAA CC, Alsaa, Old Airport Rd, Dublin. Women 2.5m, 11.30am, men 5m, 12 noon. Entry €10 members, €15 guests.

FIT Series 5k, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 10am Roundwood Trail 10k, Co Wicklow, 10am. C: 086 1785625, www.trailrunner.ie Leinster Indoors, Day 3, Athlone IT. Juveniles.

Carlingford Half Marathon and 10k, 10am.

Hills: IMRA Winter League, Maulin (75k, 538m), 11am.

Runamuck Challenge, Clonkeeran House, near Johnstown Bridge, Co Kildare, first wave 11am.

5k/10k options. Late entry €35, group rates. Limit 5,000. runamuckchallenge.com Munster U9-12 Indoors, Day 1, Nenagh. www.munsterathletics.com Kinvara Rock and Road Half Marathon and 10k, 12 noon (walkers 11am). Entry €38, €22. C: Chris Deakin 087 6959372, Hurley Hoey 10k, Gurteen Doora, Co Clare. Entry €21.40. www.precisiontiming.net

Great Lakes Challenge Series, Race 3, Carnacon 8k, Co Mayo, 12 noon. C: James Donevan 087 8112235 Mattie Carden Memorial 10k/5k, Enniscrone, Co Sligo, 12.30pm. Entry €15, €10. C: Lorraine Carden 087 9902905 Gaelforce 22k Mountain Run, Maamturks, Co Galway, 9am. Limit 200. C: 095 42006, www.gaelforceevents.com Albertville 5, Duncrue Crescent, 2pm. C: Jennifer Hamilton 07769748979, www.albertvilleharriers.com SUNDAY 8 Meath Spring Half Marathon, Bohermeen, 12 noon. AI Permit. Entry €25.

Also 10k, 11am, entry €15.

T-shirt, prizes usual categories. C: 086 0792580, www.precisiontiming.net.

Leinster Indoors, Day 4, Athlone IT. Juveniles.

The Heritage 5k, Killenard, Co Laois, 11am. AI Permit.

C: Pippa Hackett 086 8852368 DEBRA Ireland Wicklow Mountains Half Marathon, 10k, Glendalough, 9am. C: Kim Sargent 01 4126924 38th Ballycotton 10, 1.30pm. Entry closed.

Knocknageeha NS 5k, Kerry, 1pm. AI Permit. C: Tom Joe Donoghue 087 9339087

Castleconnell Boat Club 10k, 5k, Co Limerick, 2pm.

AI Permit. C: Fergal O’Connor 087 6983500 Borrisokane 10k, 1pm. www.tipperaryathletics.com Munster U9-12 Indoors, Day 2, Nenagh. www.munsterathletics.com Ballynacally 4 in aid of Ballynacally NS, Co Clare, 12.30 pm Clareen 10k, near Birr, Co Offaly, 12 noon. Entry €15.

C: Susan Ryan 086 8206399.

Glaslough Harriers Road Races (juveniles and seniors), Glaslough, Co Monaghan. C: Eamonn Hackett 087 2219465 Valleys Challenge Series 5k Trail Run, Roe Valley Country Park, Co Derry, 11.30am. ANI permit. Entry £10.50, £11.50 unreg. C: Kieran Coyle 07521353815, www.healthforlife.com Addiction NI 10k, Ormeau Embankment, Belfast, 1pm.

Entry £15 or £20 on day.

Also 3k fun run, entry £5. C: Regina Cox 028 90664434, WEDNESDAY 11 Masons Mortgages and Financial Services Colligan Hill League, Colligan Woods, 6.30pm Entry €8. C: James Veale 086 8184762, westwaterfordathletics.org

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RACE FIXTURES

Want us to feature your race? Email Lindie at: lindie.naughton@gmail.com

Quick Picks SUNDAY FEBRUARY 21 Wicklow Hospice Half Marathon and 10k Wicklow Hospice Marathon Team 100 invites you to take part in its half marathon in Avondale Forest Park, Rathdrum. Entry is just €20 online or €25 on the day, with registration from 9am at Avondale House and a challenging hill course guaranteed. Walkers are welcome. Information Billy Porter 087-2928660, 0404-43250, avondalesports@eircom.net

Feeling the strain in the Axa Raheny 5. Photo: Donal Glackin FRIDAY 13 Cara Bundoran 3-Day Challenge, Day 1, 5k run, walk. Entry package three days €53.50. carabundoranchallenge.com SATURDAY 14 St Laurence O’Toole Run for Life 10k, 5k, Carlow Town, 11am. Entry €15/€10. Medal, goodie bag all finishers. C: Ciara Jones 087 0642502, Facebook.com/SLOTFit4Life Laragh 11k/6k Trail Run, Walk, Laragh, Co Wicklow, 10am. C: Anthony Finn 086 1738202 Inis Iron Meain 10k, Aran Island, Co Galway, 12.30pm.

Entry €50 (includes ferry).

C: Geraldine McElroy 086 3460792, www.inisironmeain.com Cara Bundoran 3-Day Challenge, Day 2, 10k, 5k run, walk. Entry package three days €53.30. carabundoranchallenge.com Magherafelt Harriers 10k Classic, Meadowbank Sports Arena, 12 noon.

C: Rodney Young 07966962828

Masters Indoors, Athlone, 11am. athleticsireland.ie

Tralee International Race Series Marathon and Half Marathon, 9am.

St Patrick’s Festival 5k, Dawson St, Dublin, 12 noon.

Online entry €15 until Feb 13, €20 until Mar 13, EOD €25. Family entry on day €40, Mansion House.

Personalised bib all entries before Feb 28. Prizes sen, masters, juniors, club and corporate teams. C: Frank Ward 087 2412972, www.patricksrun.com.

Hills: Munster Spring League, Boggeraghs, Bweeng (10k, 300m), 1pm. www.imra.ie

DUNE Half Marathon, Dundalk to Newry, 12 noon.

C: Barry 07474015440, www.dunehalfmarathon.com

Cillies AC 5, Laytown/Bettystown. www. meathathletics.ie

Hills: Leinster Spring League, Hellfire Woods, Dublin (5k, 260m), 12 noon. www.imra.ie

Home Countries IAAF CC, Greenmount Campus, Co Antrim, 10am. C: 028 90602707, www.athleticsni.org

Ballydehob 10k, Co Cork, 11am. Entry €15 adult, €12 U17. Also family 3k, entry €5 U16 or €15 families. www.ballydehob10k.com

European Cup Winter Throws, Day 1, Leira, Portugal SUNDAY 15 Glo Health National

Munster Novice & Senior 4 Mile Road Championships, Limerick, 11am. www.munsterathletics.com

Balla Mothers’ Day 5k, Co Mayo, 12 noon. C: Brendan Conwell 087 2941227 Abbey 10k, Abbey village, Co Galway, 1pm. C: Martin Smyth 086 8163581 Cara Bundoran 3-Day Challenge, Day 3, 22k TT cycle, Entry package three days €53.30. carabundoranchallenge.com Finn Valley Series, Race 3, 5k, Stranorlar, Co Donegal, 11am. www.finnvalleyac.com Jimmy’s 10, Ballydugan Industrial Estate, Downpatrick, 11am. Entry £13 reg, £15 unreg. Also 2x5k relay. C: Joe Quinn 07933214894, www.eastdownac.co.uk European Cup Winter Throws, Day 2, Leira, Portugal TUESDAY 17 Streets of Portlaoise 5k, 11.30am. AI Permit. Entry €15 adults, €10 U20. Cash prizes sponsored by Portlaoise Credit Union. Also Juvenile fun runs U7, U10 and U12, from 10.40am.

Entry €2. C: Joe Walsh 087

2075688, portlaosieathleticclub.com Mullingar Half Marathon, 11am. AI Permit. Entry €30 or €40 on day. T-shirts. All proceeds to Childline.

St Coca’s Mile, tbc, C: Larry Kelly 087 2379760 Balbriggan Charity Half Marathon and 10k, 9am. C: Tom Quinlan 086 0866746 Altamuskin 5, Omagh, Co Tyrone, tbc Ned Kelly 4, Moyglass, Co Tipperary, tbc South Sligo 10k, 12 noon.

AI Permit. C: Patrick Murtagh 087 8160067 St Patrick’s Day 5k, Monaghan, 1pm. C: James Campbell 086 8127670 SPAR Craic 10k, from City Hall Belfast to Titanic Centre, 9am. C: Connla McCann 07841101274, WEDNESDAY 18 Raheny Shamrock Winter Road League, Rd 9 (1 mile), 8pm. Entry €7 adult, €2 unwaged. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342 Masons Mortgages and Financial Services Colligan Hill League, Colligan Woods, 6.30pm, Entry €8.

C: James Veale 086 8184762, westwaterfordathletics.org South Sligo 10k, 12 noon.

AI Permit. C: Patrick Murtagh 087 8160067

SUNDAY MARCH 8 Generali PanEurope Meath Half Marathon and 10k Added to the Meath Half Marathon in Bohermeen for a second time this year is a 10k starting at 11am as a curtain raiser to the half marathon, starting at 12 noon. Close to 300 entered the 10k last year and both races looks like attracting record numbers again. Technical tee-shirts go to the first 200 entered for the 10k and 600 for the half, so enter early to avoid disappointment. Limited entry on the day will be at the higher rate of €20 for the 10k and €30 for the half. Reg www.precisiontiming.net; info Stephan Ball 086 0792580.

SUNDAY MARCH 8 Ballycotton 10 Is there anything left to be said about the Ballycotton 10, voted a few years ago one of the world’s ‘must do’ races? Here is a race with everything: superbly organised, at an ideal time of year, welcoming the arrival of spring, and on a well designed and carfree course. Entry every year opens in December and closes within hours when the limit is reached. A victory at Ballycotton is something every serious road runner in the land craves for the CV; just finishing it at least once is the aim for the humble club runner. If you’ve succeeded in getting an entry this year, good luck on the day! If not, well, there’s always next year! www.ballycottonrunning.com SUNDAY MARCH 15 St Patrick’s Festival 5k Fun Run, Dublin This one launches the annual St Patrick’s week celebrations, the course starting (12 noon) at St Stephen’s Green and taking in a loop of Georgian Dublin at its finest. Families are especially welcome. Fancy dress is not only welcome but almost de rigueur — expect the usual collection of St Patricks and leprechauns as well as many oversized green hats and giant shamrocks. Info Frank Ward 087 2412972; Irish Runner 73

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Leinster Senior Cross Country – 88 Michael Ferguson (Scotland), John Eves (DSD), Mark Kenneally (Clonliffe Harriers), 86 Luke Traynor (Scotland) Photos: Donal Glackin.

SATURDAY 21 AIB NUI Maynooth BHAA CC, NUI Maynooth. Women 2m, 11am, men 4m, 11.30am. Entry €10 members, €15 guests. www.bhaa.ie Mullaghmeen 5k hill run, near Oldcastle, Co Meath, 12 noon. Entry €10. C: Eamonn 087 2339387, stbrigidsathleticclub.com SIAB Schools CC International, Santry, www.athleticsireland.ie Wicklow Way 52k Ultra, 25.5k Trail, Glencullen/Ballinastoe, Co Wicklow, 9am and 12 noon. www.imra.ie Glo Health National Juvenile Indoors, Day 1, Athlone. www.athleticsireland.ie Newmarket-on-Fergus Pakie Ryan Memorial, 5k walk, 10k run, 10-mile run, 30k/50k cycle in Aid of Milford Hospice, Clare Crusaders, 11am. C: 087 9478550 Great Lakes Challenge Series, Race 4, Claremorris 10k, Co Mayo, 12 noon. C: Ann Ronayne 087 6973587 Larne Half Marathon, Chaine Memorial Road, 11am. www.larneac.co.uk 74 Irish Runner

SUNDAY 22 Glo Health National Juvenile Indoors, Day 2, Athlone. athleticsireland.ie Emmet Og GAA 5k, Longford, 12 noon. C: Sinead Killian 087 9345506 Coral Leisure Wicklow Gaolbreak Half Marathon and 10k, 10.30am. Entry €40 half, €25 10k. C: 086 3060890, The Butcher’s Block Naas Duathlon Series, Rd 3, Punchestown Racecourse, 12.30pm. C: naasraceseries@gmail.com SuperValu Mallow 10, 12.30pm. Limit 1,500. Entry €20. CD Mar 6. C: Denis Sheehan 087 2461515, Paudie Bermingham 086 3849159, www.mallowac.ie Tipperary Road Relays, Clonoulty. tipperaryathletics.com Manorhamilton St Clare’s Comprehensive 5k, 10k, Co Leitrim, 12.30pm. AI permit.

Entry €11, €16. C: Sandra Carden 087 9982471, www.precisiontiming.net Craughwell 10, AI Permit.

Entry €25.

Inishowen Half Marathon, Co Donegal, 12 noon. Online entry €26.75, prize fund €2,000, course record bonus €200. www.inishowenac.com Finn Valley Series, Race 4 (5k, 10k), Stranorlar, Co Donegal, 11am. www.finnvalleyac.com MARCH 23-28 European Masters Indoors, Torun, Poland, www.evacitorun2015.com TUESDAY 24 ALSAA Track Series, Rd 6, Peter Doody Memorial 3000m, Dublin Airport, 7.30pm. Entry €4. C: Gerry Martin 087-2132244, Eugene Foley 086-3835695, PJ Noonan 01-8315803 Belfast School CC Challenge final, Ormeau Park. Primary schools 10am, secondary schools 12-30. C: Katherine McDowell 028 90270344, www.belfastcity.gov.uk/cross country WEDNESDAY 25 Raheny Shamrock Winter Road League, Rd 10 (1 mile), 8pm. Entry €7 adult, €2 unwaged. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342

Masons Mortgages and Financial Services Colligan Hill League, Colligan Woods, 6.30pm, Entry €8. C: James Veale 086 8184762, Morrison BMW 4-Mile Series, Rd 1 (of 5), Clonmel, 7pm. C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 1660888 Powerade Queen’s 5k, Annadale Embankment, Belfast, 7pm. ANI Permit.

Incorp NI & Ulster 5k C’ships. C: Paul O’Neill 028 90681126, www.queenssport5k.com SATURDAY 28 DCC BHAA Road Races, St Anne’s Park, Raheny, 11am.

Entry €10 reg, €15 unreg. www.bhaa.ie Glo Health National Juvenile Indoors, Day 3, Athlone.

Run for Rita, Tymon Park, Dublin, 3pm. Entry €20 untimed, €21.50 timed. C: Glenda 087 9583714, precisioningtiming.net Hills: Leinster Spring League, Little Sliabh Bui, Co Wexford (6.2k, 177m). www.imra.ie Eamon Moloney 10k, Ennis, Co Clare, 11am. Run Clare 5 to 10 Fitness Challenge

Race 3. Entry €20. Prizes sen, jun, masters, teams.

Also 5k fun run, entry €10.

T-shirt first 300 to reg, goodie bag, medals. C: 087 8453085, Spa Muckross 5k, Kerry, 10am. C: Jean Courtney 086 1994378 Doneraile 5k Series, Rd 3, 11am. C: Grace Dowling 087 6570723 SPAR 26th Omagh Half Marathon, 12 noon (walkers 11am). Entry £22 before Mar 8, £27.50 after. Online entry closes Tue Mar 24.

Also 5k fun run, entry £6.60.

Prize fund £5,500, course record bonus £250 (64:45 men, 74:51 women). C: Martin McLaughlin 07786764431, www.omaghharriers.com World CC Championships, China SUNDAY 29 Dunboyne 4, 3pm. Also Juvenile programme from 2pm. C: Sean Kinane 087 0569070 Lough Boora 10k, Offaly, 12 noon. Entry €16.05 or €20 on day. C: Paul Buckley 086 3248086, precisioningtiming.net

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RACE FIXTURES

Want us to feature your race? Email Lindie at: lindie.naughton@gmail.com

Quick Picks TUESDAY MARCH 17 Mullingar Half Marathon All proceeds from the inaugural Mullingar Half Marathon on St Patrick’s Day, starting from the town centre, will go to Childline. Online entry is just€30 and there’s a tee-shirt for all who register. Entry on the day is €40. race HQ is Annebrook House hotel. Info www.mullingarhalfmarathon.com

Scramble at the start – Men’s Junior Race at Celtic International, Dunboyne.

UCC BHAA 10k, Western Gateway, 11am. C: Gillian Cotter 0857782586

Ray D’Arcy Half Marathon, Phoenix Park, Dublin, 10am

Munster Masters 4 Mile Road Championships, www.munsterathletics.com AI Spring Throws, Athlone, 11am. Hammer, discus, javelin. All throwers over 16 welcome. Entry €5 per event. www.athleticsireland.ie

Vartry 100 mile, 50 mile, 59k, Day 1, Roundwood, 6pm. AI Permit. C: 086 1785625, www.trailrunner.ie

APRIL WEDNESDAY 1 Brian Holland Cup 3m, Raheny, 7.30pm. Entry €7, unwaged €2. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342 Masons Mortgages and Financial Services Colligan Hill League, Colligan Woods, 6.30pm.

Entry €8. C: James Veale 086 8184762, westwaterfordathletics.org Morrison BMW 4-Mile Series, Rd 2 (of 5), Clonmel, 7pm. C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 1660888 GOOD FRIDAY 3 Good Friday Forest Run 5k, Laois, 6pm. C: Pippa Hackett 086 8852368

Liscarroll 5k, Doneraile Park, Co Cork, 6.45pm. C: Esther Fitzpatrick 087 6888591 SATURDAY 4 Bray 10k Cliff Run. C: 095 42996 Vartry 100 mile, 50 mile, 59k, Day 2, Roundwood, 6am/9am. C: 086 1785625, www.trailrunner.ie Kenmare Bridge Run 10k, 5k, Co Kerry, 1pm. AI Permit. Also one mile. C: Tessa Dennison 086 8781674 Ahakista Rowing Club 10k, Co Cork, 12 noon Ballybunion Half Marathon, 10k. Entry €50, €22 plus fees, precisioningtiming.net Kilmovee 10k, Co Mayo, 1pm. C: John 086 1737111,

Cleasathon Inis Oirr, Inish Oirr, Galway, 1.30pm. 5k, 10k road run or €12 adventure run. C: Cathleen 099 75979 Ballyliffin Coastal Challenge 10, Co Donegal, 2pm. www.finnvalleyac.com EASTER SUNDAY 5 Fr Murphy AC 5, Kildalkey, Co Meath,12 noon. C: Philip Cogavin 087 2930058, Tipperary Senior Road Championships, Borrisokane, 12 noon. www.tipperaryathletics.co m Hills: Munster Championships, Rd 1, Templehill (6k, 500m), 1pm. www.imra.ie Ballygalget Community 10k, Co Down, tbc MONDAY 6 Battle of Clontarf 10, St Anne’s Park, Dublin, 11am. Incorp Leinster C’ships. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052 Team Ringland GAA Half Marathon, 10k, Co Westmeath, 11am. Entry €16.05, €32.10 online.

Medals all finishers, Tshirts all entries before Mar

1. C: Michelle 087 6802976, precisioningtiming.net St Senan’s Open T&F, Kilmacow, Co Kilkenny, 1pm. AI Permit. C: Deirdre McEvoy 086 0726560 Fern Celtic 4, Ballyea Darragh, Ennis, Co Clare, 1pm. Entry €10, families €15. No prizes. C: Ciaran Collins 086 3862635 Aglish 10k, 5k, Fun Run, Walk, Co Waterford, 11.30.

Entry €7. C: 086 8474285 Loughrea AC 5k, 11am.

C: Martin Smyth 086 3494096 WEDNESDAY 8 Raheny Shamrock Winter Road League, Rd 11 (1 mile), 8pm. Entry €7 adult, €2 unwaged. Incorp Raheny Mile. C: Pat Hooper 086 8158052, Christy Reilly 086 8543342 Morrison BMW 4-Mile Series, Rd 3, Clonmel, 7pm. C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 1660888 FRIDAY 10 MTS Media Ballinroad 5k, Dungarvan RFC, 7pm.

Race 1 Ger Wyley Sports/Skins Summer

TUESDAY MARCH 17 Streets of Portlaoise 5k Make St Patrick’s Day a family celebration with the Streets of Portlaoise 5k, part of a programme of races for all, from seven to 70 (and over).

Children’s races start at 10.40am and the 5k is at 11.30am. All juvenile finishers get a goody bag with an Easter egg, a medal and a bottle of water. For club runners, there are prizes in senior and master categories.

Those chasing a course-record bonus will be aiming for 14:52 (men) or 17 minutes (women).

Info Joe Walsh 087 2075688; www.portlaoiseathleticclub.com.

SUNDAY MARCH 29 Dunboyne 4 A fast, flat course virtually guarantees fast times at the annual EirGrid Dunboyne 4, the distance a nice step-up from 5k toward 10k. The event kicks off at 3pm, and there are juvenile races that greatly enhance the atmosphere and help make it a day out for all the family. Info: www.dunboyneac.com WEDNESDAY APRIL 22 Dublin Graded T&F League, Round 1 Like to know your mile time?

Or how fast you can run 5k on the track? Fancy trying the long jump or the discus? The Dublin and Cork athletics associations run graded track-and-field meets every summer, welcoming athletes in various disciplines and of all standards. For details of the Dublin Graded League see www.dublinathletics.com. In the meantime, the annual Alsaa Winter League continues at the track beside Dublin Airport; see calendar for details or contact Gerry Martin on 087 2132244 or PJ Noonan on 01 8315803.

Irish Runner 75

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Start of John Treacy 10-mile in Dungarvan. Photo: Gearoid O Laoi.

Series. C: James Veale 086 8184762, westwaterfordathletics.org

Killurian 5k, 10k, Wexford, 2.30pm. C: Sinead O’Leary 087 837178

Martin 087-2132244, Eugene Foley 086-3835695, PJ Noonan 01-8315803

Leevale AC T&F, Day 1, Cork, 10am. AI Permit. C: Ina Killeen 086 8591522

Ballincollig 5k, Cork, 11.15am. C: Eamon O Ceallaigh 087 1436121

Moynalty AC 6k, Co Meath.

Jog for a Dog Charity 5k, Castletown House, Celbridge, Co Kildare, 12.30pm. Entry €16.05. www.precisioningtiming.net

WEDNESDAY 15 Knockcommon 5k, Duleek & District AC, www.meathathletics.ie

St Joseph’s NS Fun Run, Bekan, Claremorris, Co Mayo, 2pm. Entry €5, families €10. C: Sharon Reilly 086 0587288

Ferrybank AC Open T&F, Waterford, 12 noon. C: Brid Golden 087 6889330 Irish Universities T&F C’ships, Day 1, Mary Peters Track, Belfast SATURDAY 11 Great Ireland Run/National 10k C’ships, Phoenix Park, Dublin. Entry €29.

K Club BHAA 10k, Straffan, Co Kildare, 11am. Entry €10 reg, €15 unreg. www.bhaa.ie Hills: Wicklow Glacier Lakes (42.7k, 1,783m), 8am. www.imra.ie Irish Universities T&F C’ships, Day 2, Mary Peters Track, Belfast Narraghmore Duathlon, (5k30k-5k), Co Kildare, 11am.

C: Bernard Higgins 086 8727959 SUNDAY 12 Hope and Dream 10, Wexford, 10.15am. C: Denise McDonald 053 9238555 76 Irish Runner

Hills: GOAL Relay, Killiney Hill, Dublin, 7.30pm.

Sonny Murphy Memorial 10, Kilnaboy, Co Clare, 1pm.

Run Clare 5 to 10 Fitness Challenge, Race 4 of 4.

Morrison BMW 4-Mile Series, Rd 4, Clonmel, 7pm.

C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 1660888

Ballincollig 5k, Co Cork, 11.15am. AI Permit. C: Eamon O Ceallaigh 087 1436121

THURSDAY 16 Ballintotis 4, Co Cork, 8pm.

AI Permit. C: Liam O’Brien 086 3111598

Great Island 10, Cobh, Co Cork. wwwcorkathletics.org

FRIDAY 17 Butlerstown 4, 7pm. Race 2 Ger Wyley Sports/Skins Summer Series. C: James Veale 086 8184762,

West Cork Division T&F, CIT. wwwcorkathletics.org Ferrybank AC Open T&F, Waterford, 12 noon. C: Brid Golden 087 6889330 Connemarathon Half, Full and Ultra, Maam Cross, Co Galway, 9am. Entry €70.

Limit 3,200. www.connemarathon.com Paris Marathon TUESDAY 14 ALSAA Track Series, Rd 7 of 7, mile, Dublin Airport, 7.30pm. Entry €4. C: Gerry

SATURDAY 18 Ras UCD, UCD Belfield, Donnybrook, Dublin, 11am.

Entry €15 or €10 students.

T-shirt, goody bag first 500 to reg online. All proceeds to UCD Volunteers Overseas. C: rasucd@ucd.ie Patsy Kelly 5k, Ecco Rd, Dundalk, 6.30pm. AI Permit.

Entry €15, T-shirt, goody bag. Limit 1,000. Prizes sen, masters, teams, course rec bonus, spots. C: Facebook

Great Lakes Challenge Series, Race 5, Ballinrobe 10k, Co Mayo, 7pm. C: Padraic Marrey 087 7992857 Magherafelt 5-Mile Classic, Meadowbank Sports Arena, 12 noon. C: Toirleach Gourley 07866056169, www.sperrinharriers.co.uk SUNDAY 19 National Road Relays, tbc Cushinstown AC T&F, Co Meath, 12 noon. C: Sandra Jameson 087 6435476 Ballyfin AC, 11.30am. C: Colette O’Rourke 087 6324116 Great Railway Run 10k, 5k, 25k, Carrigaline, Cork, 9.30am (three starts). AI Permit. C: Conor Phelan 087 2531407.

Leevale AC T&F, Day 2, Cork, 10am. C: Ina Killeen 086 8591522

Tipperary T&F Championships, Templemore, 1pm. www.tipperaryathletics.com Hills: Munster Spring League, Claragh Mountain (7k, 340m), 7pm. www.imra.ie Run Armagh, College Hill, 2pm. Entry £14 reg, £15 unreg, late £16. Also 5k, entry £10, £11, late £12. C: Matthew Nicholson 07974419535, www.runarmagh.com MONDAY 20 Boston Marathon TUESDAY 21 Minnie’s Bar Fit for Life Running League, Rd 1 (of 8), St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan, 7pm. Entry €2.

C: James Veale 086 8184762, www.westwaterfordathletics. org WEDNESDAY 22 Hills: Leinster Evening League, Rd 1 (of 13), Bray Head (6k, 290m), 7.30pm. www.imra.ie Stryker BHAA 4, Carrigtwohill, Co Cork, 7.30pm. C: Michelle Lyons 021 4533202

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RACE FIXTURES

Want us to feature your race? Email Lindie at: lindie.naughton@gmail.com

Twenty-five and counting

Striding to victory – Mick Clohisey (Raheny Shamrock AC). Photo: Gearoid O Laoi.

Galway Park Run Feb 7th – participants and volunteers Morrison BMW 4-Mile Series (Rd 5 of 5), Clonmel, 7pm. C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 1660888 THURS 23-SATURDAY 25 Penn Relays, USA FRIDAY 24 Faugheen 5k, Co Tipperary, 7.30pm.

SATURDAY 25 RTE BHAA 5, Donnybrook, Dublin, 11am. Entry €10 reg, €15 unreg.

Ras na Ri 5k, Co Meath, 12 noon. C: Rena Grogan 087 9840344 Leinster Paralympics Athletics Championships, Santry Altidore Leg it for Lakers 10k Trail Run, Co Wicklow, 10.30am. C: Anne King 01 2022694 Hills: Leinster Championships, Rd 1, Tonelagee and the Lakes, Co Wicklow (6.10k, 570m), 12 noon. www.imra.ie Doneraile 5k Series (Rd 4 of 4), 11am. C: Grace Dowling 087 6570723 Dingle 10k, Co Kerry, 10am.

Entry €16.05, late entry €20 plus fee. precisioningtiming.net

Gortin 10k, 5k, Co Tyrone, tbc West Cork Division T&F, CIT. www.corkathletics.org

Run for Boylo, Foxford, Co Mayo, 12 noon. C: Martina Boyle 086 8633416

Guide Dogs Multi-Terrain race, Peatlands Park, Armagh, 1pm. C: Aly Bennett 07816226997

Strabane Lifford Half Marathon, Railway Rd, time tbc. Also 5k fun run. C: Aiden Lynch 07736056700,

SUNDAY 26 APRIL Pettit’s SuperValu Wexford Half Marathon and 10k. C: 086 3060890,

London Marathon

Samsung Night Run 10k, Dublin. www.samsungnightrun.ie Church Hill 5k, 10k, Cuffesgrange, Co Kilkenny, 12 noon. C: Billy O’Shaughnessy 086 8348185 Athlone 5k, 10k, Clonown, 2pm. Entry €16, €10. C: athlone10krun@gmail.com Samsung Night Run10k, Cork. www.samsungnightrun.ie Thurles Squash Club 10k.

Tipperary Juvenile T&F, Templemore. www.tipperaryathletics.com Munster Junior and U23 T&F C’ships and Juvenile Pentathlons. www.munsterathletics.com

TUESDAY 28 Minnie’s Bar Fit for Life Running League, Rd 2, St Augustine’s College, Dungarvan, 7pm. Entry €2.

C: James Veale 086 8184762, westwaterfordathletics.org WEDNESDAY 29 Hills: Leinster Evening League, Rd 2, Howth, Co Dublin (7.85k, 376m) 7.30pm. Ò Run4Fun Road Race, Cahir, Co Tipperary, 7pm. C: Niall O’Sullivan 086 166088, www.tipperaryathletics.com Scoil Bhride Crosshaven 8k, Co Cork, 7pm. C: Scoil Bhride 040 4831646

To include your fixture contact editor@irishrunner.ie

RECORDS were smashed at Parkrun Ireland on Saturday February 7 with a total of 3,587 running in one or other of the 25 events now organised, writes Lindie Naughton.

Marlay led the bunch with 602, followed by Malahide with 420 and St Anne's with 279. The fact all three of those parks are blessed with decent coffee shops we don’t think is a coincidence. Up North there were 2,180 runners, Ormeau the most popular venue with 258 finishers. That’s a total on the island of 5,767. The best things in life (and running!) clearly are free!

Saturday mornings, Parkrun 5k. Entry free.

RoI (reg at www.parkrun.ie) - Leinster: Malahide Castle, Marlay Park Rathfarnham, St Anne’s Park Raheny, Griffeen Park Lucan, Ardgillan Skerries, Tymon Park, Waterstown Park Palmerstown, Poppintree, Hartstown Clonsilla (from Nov 15), Naas Racecourse, Oldbridge Drogheda, Kilkenny Castle, Vicarstown Co Laois. Munster: Castle Demesne, Macroom, Co Cork; Bere Island, Clonakilty, Clarisford Killaloe, Tralee (tbc).

Connacht: Westport, Castlebar, Knocknacarra Galway, Ballina (tbc).

NI (reg at www.parkrun.co.uk) - Belfast: Waterworks Park, Victoria Park, Falls Road, Ormeau Park, Queen’s. Others: Loughshore Park Antrim; Palace Demesne Armagh; Citypark Craigavon; Derry City Centre; Ecos Ballymena; Lakeland Forum Enniskillen; MUSA Cookstown; East Strand Beach Portrush; Wallace Park Lisburn; Carnfunnock Park Larne.

Irish Runner 77

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HOME STRAIGHT Frank Greally

Ronnie still gold standard I DON’T recall what I was doing on December the first 1956, the historic day that Ronnie Delany won Olympic 1500m gold in Melbourne, Australia.

I do remember, however, and with great clarity, being at home in Devlis, Ballyhaunis, County Mayo, listening to the radio on a summer evening two years later. On that evening Herb Elliott smashed the world mile record in Santry Stadium, posting a sensational 3:54.5. In third place, Ronnie Delany clocked 3:57.5, which also improved on the previous world record, whereupon my father, God rest him, loudly proclaimed that Delany had won the only one that mattered: the Olympic gold medal.

My father was a big Delany fan. He was an enthusiastic GAA supporter too, especially when Mayo were in the frame and when they peaked with a victory in the All-Ireland football final in Croke in 1951, the year I was born. But as far as I remember, that evening in August 1958 was the first time he shared his love of sport with me.

I was seven years old and full of innocent wonder, and I loved the passion and animation he showed when he told me Delany was the best runner ever to come out of Ireland and, with his Olympic win two years earlier, had brought great honour to the country.

Later in the evening, when my father sent me to the shop for cigarettes, I was still bubbling with the excitement of the radio coverage from Santry. When he said he would time my trip to and from Murray’s shop — about half a mile from our house — I sprinted away at full tilt.

Return leg I can still see the look of astonishment on Johnny Murray’s face as I hurtled breathless into the shop, blurting out the order for ten Woodbine and hopping impatiently on the spot.

I tired a little on the return leg, which was slightly uphill, but when I delivered the packet relatively undamaged my father assured me that if I were to stick with the running I might one day become a champion, someone people would look up to and admire.

Little did I think then that running in one form or another would become a lifetime pursuit; and it was not until many years later 78 Irish Runner

Santry 1958 – From left: Murray Halberg, Ronnie Delany, Albie Thomas, Herb Elliott and Merv Lincoln. Photo: Sportsfile.com

“

One can break world records, as I did in my time, and they are forgotten, but when you win an Olympic title you live on as part of the sport

that I discovered the full joy of this most natural and elemental of physical activities.

Recently I enjoyed lunch with Ronnie Delany, and we chatted inevitably about that summer evening of 1958. Ronnie celebrates his 80th birthday on March 6, but the handshake when he greets me is still as firm and strong as when we first met, in Santry Stadium back in the early 1970s, and his knowledge of, and enthusiasm for, athletics is sharp as ever.

Ronnie was just 21 when he won that historic Melbourne gold in an Olympic record time of 3:41.2. He was the original Chairman of the Boards — long before Eamonn Coghlan had patented that title — on the US indoor circuit, where from March 1955 through March 1959 he ran 34 mile races against the finest of opposition and won them all.

He also broke the world indoor record on three occasions before recurring Achilles tendinitis forced his premature retirement from racing in 1962.

Ronnie says he has no extravagant plans for his octogenarian milestone: ‘I don’t

celebrate birthdays in that sense. What I do celebrate is that I have had another fulfilled year of life and that God has gifted me with continued good health. I just pray that I continue to enjoy the happiness of my family and the collegiality of sport and the hard work I do to try to make a few bob.’

Ronnie is still sprightly, good humoured and always engaging. In the economically depressed Ireland of the 1950s his Olympic victory caught the national imagination and made him a sporting icon and a living legend.

Good deeds He has become an elder statesman in Irish athletics — an icon who over many years has quietly and without fanfare done countless good deeds for individuals and charitable causes. His book Staying the Distance, published in 2006 by O’Brien Press, is a real classic and a ‘must read’ for aspiring Irish athletes and their coaches.

In the book Ronnie expresses the type of gratitude he still practises daily. Of his Olympic victory he writes: ‘On that day in Melbourne I was grateful to so many people — my parents, my early coaches in Ireland, Jumbo Elliott and John Landy — who inspired me with confidence and example.

‘From now on I was an Olympic champion.

To this very day the effects linger on.

Whether it is New York, London, Paris or Dublin, I enjoy the friendship and welcome of athletes and officials alike.

‘I have long since retired from active participation but I find that every sports fraternity I encounter renders me respect because I am an Olympic champion. It is as if you are a living part of history.

‘One can break world records, as I did in my time, and they are forgotten. But when you win an Olympic title you live on as part of the sport after you retire from active competition. There are responsibilities to live up to also. I am always conscious of the need to give youth good example by word and action.’

We will include a special Ronnie Delany Tribute in the next issue of Irish Runner in March — the month he turns 80 — a feature that will include rare and wonderful photographs spanning the career of an athletics icon.

Happy 80th, Ronnie!

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