Where are you from?

I lived in Cavan town until I was about 7 before moving to Maynooth, Co. Kildare.

I then moved to Kilcock just outside Maynooth when I was 20. So I’d call myself a Lilly White.

How did you get involved in athletics?

I was about 10 and had just finished Gaelic training at the Maynooth GAA Club and a few of my buddies where hanging around to go athletics training. Mick and Marrie Gleeson ran the show. My buddies used to smash me pretty regularly at the running so I did a bit of everything, long jump, high jump, hurdles, ball throws, the works.

Describe what kind of training you did as a kid?

Nothing too athletic specific. The bulk of my training consisted of playing Gaelic and Football.  We used to get great craic out of the long jump pit John (My Father) dug out and a hi-jump mat I got one Christmas in the garden. I could do a mean double hitch kick at 10! I did do a couple of runs a week with Maynooth AC, which was really chasing and relays, a bit of fun. I’d also do a few laps with Johns mates, Gerry O Conner, Dave Jolley, Ger n Des Robinson and Bob King up in Kilcock. It was great going out with them because I used to pick up legendary bad language. Some of my best sessions I did back then where when I’d have to be home at a certain time from a disco or something and I’d be way past the curfew and I’d leg the mile or two home hard. 

What were your teammates like? Are you still in touch with them?

We had a good crew back then, we used to have savage craic going away on trips to the Antrim Forum or The Mardyke for All-Irelands and stuff. There was around twenty or so in the group and we all knew each other pretty well. A lot of the team started falling away from athletics by the time I reached 13 and I’ve lost touch with most of them. Its like a different world looking back!

Can u remember your first race?

They weren’t my first races but they’re ones I remember best from when I started. One was the U/11 600meters and it was the Kildare Championships at Kilcock track. The first three would qualify for the Leinsters. I had just got a pair of Nike Air Force Basketball shoes that weighed a ton and I was adamant I was going to wear them. I plodded around and finished 6th. I can also remember our Dream Team U/11 4x50meter relay team running in Tullamore. We won our heat, all of us running in our socks. We were poised to win the final. The rain came down, we ran in our socks and skidded home outside the medals! Good times!

Did you do any other events?

I pretty much did everything, LJ, HJ, Hurdles, Ball-Throw, Sprinting, Multi-Events, X-Country but there was just something about middle distance running that kept drawing me towards it. Because I was pretty crap at the running side of things John used to teach me the technical events and I guess that kept me interested in the sport. I used to really enjoy doing multi-events down in Nenagh/ Santry or Tullamore. The competition back then was cut-throat and I can still remember vividly the rivals I had back then. 

When did you get serious about training?

When I was turning 16 I had to make a tough decision. I was starting to take some big hits playing Gaelic and Football and it was affecting my running so I packed them in to avoid injury. Murphys Law then kicked in and I missed a year through injury. It could have been forever as I wasn’t been given very optimistic prognosis from supposedly some of Irelands finest physios/specialists. Some went as far as to say as I’d never run again. Luckily John got me into Gerard Hartmann, The Worlds Leading Physicaltherapist who ironed me out and rehabilitated me with the help of Teran Synge, a great Osteopath. I had a couple of good years between 17-19 and I thought I was on my way, before hitting another stumbling block, glandular fever. That was a bastard, and it messed my running up for three years. I went off the rails a bit during that time, got fat and pretty much threw my hat at the sport. I was lucky enough to have the support of John and I finally solved the glandular problem by visiting another great professional, Joan Flynn in Kerry. This along with James Nolan mentoring got me back into the sport and I really started taking it seriously in 2005 where I moved to South Africa for 6months to become a runner.

Did anyone or a particular event inspire you?

I wanted to be a long-jumper. When I was a kid it was the golden age of long-jumping. Carl Lewis and Mike Powell had just had that epic battle at the World-Champs, Powell jumped a world record to win, I think it was Seoul. No other event interested me and I found athletics boring to watch. In the last few years I’ve made it my business to educate myself about the distance heroes where I’ve developed a massive interest and appreciation for the distance legends from home and abroad, Coughlan, Walker, Sonia, Prefontaine, Steve Scott, Ovett, Mottram. There is inspiration everywhere. 

Did you do any other sports.

I fancied myself as a bit of a Gaelic Footballer. I played from U/10 to U/15 winning some county titles and a provincial title with my school Maynooth P.P., playing mid-field or half forward. I really enjoyed the responsibility of being the free-taker. I was lucky enough to play in some great stadiums, Newbridge, Pairc Tailteann, and of course Croke Park. It’s a dream of mine to one day run a race at Croke Park just as Ronnie Delaney used to.

I also played football for a few teams Maynooth Town, Peamount UTD, and I had a great year at Bohemians FC. Skill wasn’t my forte but I really enjoyed the competitiveness and getting stuck in. The one thing running gave you in team sports was an engine, when other boys are wilting you keep going. I didn’t play much else.