1.      How long have you been an Athenry AC member?  A long time: I think it was 2001.

2.      Briefly, what started you running?  I hate to sit still and I couldn’t kick a ball out of my way so my options were limited.

3.      What shoes do you train/race in?  ASICS Gel Nimbus or Gel Cumulus.

4.      What piece of running gear/apparel is your most prized possession? Don’t have one.

5.      What is your favourite event/race of the year?  Dublin City Marathon.

6.      What event/race that you haven’t done would you most like to compete in?  The Comrades Ultra marathon in South Africa.

7.      What performance/race do you take most pride in? Dublin Marathon 2010 – 2:44:31.

8.      Is there any performance/race that you would rather forget?  I didn’t finish the Portumna 50km a few years ago. I was exhausted going in to the race having flown back from the US the day before.  I was leading the race at about half distance when I decided to lie down and have a nap on the grass in the rain.  I’m told I went from there to an ambulance but can’t recall much of the day beyond the first few miles of the race.

9.      Where is your favourite place to train?  The Fields of Athenry 10km loop. There’s no place like home.

10.  What type of training is your “favourite”? (Speed,Tempo,Short,Long Run,Slow????)  Long and slow. It gets you to a different place.

11.  Do you prefer solo or group training? I love training in company. There’s magic in groups.

12.  What’s the funniest/strangest thing you’ve seen or heard on a run?  Just before the Helsinki 24 Hour Indoor Track race a few years back, Valerie Glavin and I remarked to each other on careful the organisers were being about litter. We had seen that they had placed large plastic bins at regular intervals around the track. It was later that we found out that they were the ‘vomit bins’.

13.  If you were to give 1 piece of advice to a newcomer to running what would it be? You’re capable of so much more than you believe now.

14.  What injury has caused you the most problems since you started running? Injured pride.

15.  Do you cross train? If yes what type?  Never used to. Now I swim, bike, do yoga, lift a few weights and do the odd spinning class. I’d like to do lots more and hope to do so later this year.

16.  What is your most embarrassing running related incident? I’m genuinely hard to embarrass in a running context, having said that I finished second last in the national senior cross country in Sligo one year as the stewards were dismantling the course.  That came close.

17.  Which club member would you most like to beat in a sprint to the line?  Paul Hession

18.  Do you have a favourite current or past athlete that inspires you? ? My late friend Tommy Madden of Derrydonnell was and is my running hero.

19.  Which PB would you most like to break this year? My PB days are over.
 
20.  Can you share the following PBs with us?.......
 
Distance               Time           Where                                      When

5km                      17:09          National League Track Race     June 2009

8km                      27:26          Streets of Galway                     Aug 2008

10km                    34:40          Fields of Athenry                     Dec 2010         

10 mile                 57:56          Craughwell                              March 2010

Half Marathon       1:16:09       Galway Bay Half                      Sept 2009

Full Marathon       2:44:31       Dublin                                     Oct 2010