I started running for fun back in 2009. After a few weeks of solo training my first race was the Streets & a couple of weeks after that I did Gaelforce West. Like many others I foolishly thought I was naturally fit & would be fine. At 65k long with Croagh Patrick thrown in the middle of it, it nearly killed me. It was an eye opener.
I had another couple of years messing about thinking I knew what I was doing & it wasn’t until I joined the club late 2011 that I really started to make headway. With a few niggling injuries I’ve kind of plateaued over the last year but I’ve also had some decent races dropped in too. After an awful start to 2015 I’m setting my stall out now & stating that I’m going sub-90 in the Monivea Half (I hope this doesn’t come back to haunt me!!!!).
1. What running shoes do you train in?
Brooks Adrenalines, Mizuno Wave Inspire & Asics GT’s.
2. How many miles did you run last week?
0. Injured at the minute.
3. What’s your favourite racing distance?
I love the 10mile & half marathon distance. They have a nice length but not too long that you need weeks to recover after pushing flat out.
4. Where’s your favourite place to train?
Forests, mountains, wilderness. Connemara basically. There’s a lovely route at the start of the Gaelforce adventure race which starts on Glassilaun beach & finishes in Derrynasligaun. It’s one of the old so called Famine Paths and has a mix of country road, forest path, foothills & just plain muck. All whilst hugging the Killary fjord, it’s absolutely beautiful out there.
5. What’s your favourite event or race each year?
For pure running, I love the Kinvara Half & Craughwell 10m. Kinvara seems to have a great atmosphere each year & is a nice course (Not too easy, not too hard). Craughwell is similar with a spread afterwards that’s famous.
Away from that I absolutely love the Connemara Adventure race. It’s a mix of trail / hill running, dirt track cycling & kayaking, all around a beautiful part of the country. At approx. 35k it’s a nice challenge whilst not being so long that you’re gimped afterwards.
6. What annoys you most at races?
Poor planning by the race organisers. I felt the first mile of the new DCM route was a disaster. The south side of Stephens Green had a lot of street furniture & obstacles which were lethal. In a throng of a few thousand people you couldn’t see anything ahead of you & had to react in a split second as the person in front of you hurdled the next obstacle. It then led on to narrow streets which struggled to cope with the large crowds so early in the race.
Pacers that finish too soon would also be up there.
7. What race, that you haven’t yet run, would you most like to take part in?
Art O’ Neill! Definitely! A few of us went up to recce part of the course a couple of years ago & I fell in love with it. You could literally go for miles without seeing civilisation. Plus the whole aspect of having to find your way across mountain & countryside with a map & compass in the middle of the night, in the middle of winter, appeals to my love of adventure & clinches the deal for me. I will do that race!!!
8. What was your best-ever running performance?
Probably London 2014. I had my appendix out in January that year just as I started into my training programme & after a very low mileage end to 2013. I struggled to get back into any type of form & was losing faith when something just clicked. I ended up getting eight weeks’ worth of training in & was getting stronger every week. My target went from just finishing to sub 3.30 & I ended up with a 3.26.26 which I put down to half training / half stubbornness. Absolutely delighted, even though I did struggle with stairs for weeks after.
9. What was your worst-ever running performance?
Dublin 2014. What a difference six months makes, it couldn’t have been any more different to London. It was the first marathon I went into with a full, uninterrupted training programme & all signs were leading to a PB. I felt I was good for 3.18 & went out with the 3.20 pacers. I was struggling from very early on. My breathing was all over the shop & I just didn’t feel right. By mile 8 my head was swimming & at mile 12 I had to stop & sit down before I keeled over. I was very weak & something just wasn’t right. I probably should have just called it quits but I stubbornly told myself, ‘It’ll pass’. After 14 more miles of a run / walk strategy I was still telling myself the same thing, but it didn’t pass. 3.53ish & gutted.
I met Ray Somers at the finish line & his words of wisdom ‘I know people training for years to get a sub-4’ kind of perked me up a bit.
10. What’s the strangest thing that you’ve ever seen on a training run?
One of the drawbacks of being half blind is you miss most of what goes on around you. One thing I remember though was around mile 7 in the Connemarathon half a few years ago. A girl a short distance ahead of me made a dart into a field & hopped the gate for obvious pit stop reasons. She ran into a thicket of bushes to do her business not knowing that the one place she picked had a large gap, so that her bare ass was on show to the whole race passing by.
11. Favourite piece of running gear?
My 2XU compression shorts. They are old & stained & threadbare but I can’t leave home without them.
12. Who would you most enjoy beating in a sprint for the line?
Kieran Guiry & Martin O’ Hara. For no other reason than they are my training buddies & always finish ahead of me. They are at a level I know I should be at & can be at. Some day!
13. What was the best bit of training advice you were ever given?
Listen to your body. Pity I never heed it.
14. In ten years’ time will you still be running?
Considering how fast the first five years went (Mentally not physically unfortunately) I reckon so. I just hope I’m still not chasing a sub 90 half by then.
15. If for some reason you were told you could never run again, how do you think you’d react?
Stubbornly.
I work in a field where, when dealt with problems, we design a way around them. I tend to react similarly in life. When someone says it can’t be done, I see it as a challenge. Anything can be done, just maybe not in the usual way.
16. Have you ever been bitten by a dog while running?
No but I have whilst out cycling.
17. Have you ever had to stop for an emergency "Paula" during a race?
Why stop? It’s a race. Seriously though, no, at least not in a race.
18. Favourite post-race food?
Once it doesn’t come in a liquid format that can be squeezed from a plastic packet, I’ll eat it.
19. Most embarrassing ever running-related moment?
I can’t remember anything but I’m not someone that embarrasses easily. Maybe my ego just won’t let me remember any embarrassing things :).
20. The greatest Irish athlete of all time is / was?
I’d be lying if I said that I followed athletics all my life so I’m not really qualified to give an answer. Whilst we have some quality around now like Fionnuala Britton that I’d be familiar with, I don’t think she has done nearly enough to be rated the greatest, so if I was to be pushed for an answer I’d have to go with James Lundon.