Standing Still

It’s been a long time since I’ve written a blog, and to be honest time has flown by. It seems only yesterday I was waiting for the news to come through regarding selection for the Commonwealth Games. 2010 had been somewhat a breakthrough year for me, finally it seemed I had lived up to a small amount of own expectations.

The initial breakthrough was the Triple A’s 10km in Bristol where I placed 2^nd to Andrew Vernon in a huge pb of 29.14 and if that wasn’t enough 10 days later I ran a 1500m pb of 3.45, although, with all breakthroughs it came with a price, my new enthusiasm and confidence lead me to train harder, faster and as a result my body broke down. Only a few weeks later I had visions of breaking 14 minutes for 5000m, and instead I was forced to withdraw after only 5 laps of the race.

After some treatment, and a down period I was able to think clearly again, I trained as normal and relaxed again. This lead to several more appearances at both 5000m and 1500m, although I might not have gotten the result I wanted over 5000m, I certainly exceeded my own ambitions over the shorter distance. This lead to a call up for Northern Ireland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi, which myself and my family were all super excited for.

It’s now been over a year since the Commonwealth games took place, I missed an opportunity to compete there due to several reasons. Even though it was over a year ago, I still struggled with bad memories from then as recent as September/October this year. Running is a very physically and mentally demanding sport, and between August 2010-November 2011, I’ve had an emotional roller coaster journey. One that has seen myself, family and friends go through a lot. I personally dropped out of uni, quit running, re enrolled in university, took up running again, dropped out of uni, went back to uni, quit running, took up running again. Changed coach several times, and yet each time I made changes to my life I found myself right back in the same positions over and over again.

Faced with the same difficulties that running throws at us, and each time being given the same challenges that runners meet. I was searching for reasons why things weren’t going well, I seen physios, sports psychologists, doctors, nurses, spoke with coaches, and spoke with family. All I wanted was a reason why things weren’t progressing, why my times in 2010 were faster than my times in 2011, why my body and head gave up on me a month before the commonwealth games in 2010, but nobody was going to be able to provide the answers I wanted. I wanted there to be one reason, an infection, an injury, but neither were the cause.

The truth is, my times were slower because I hadn’t done the work required, I hadn’t made the sacrifices that runners must, and I didn’t deserve my times to improve. I was trapped in this bubble of anger, a year long huff were I refused to accept the past and let go. Instead to be honest I resented running, I blamed running for my unhappiness after the commonwealth games, after watching Ireland win under 23 gold medals in Portugal European Cross country. As without running in my life I wouldn’t have had to feel guilty for missing the games, I wouldn’t have felt jealous of the guys who won the gold medals, and maybe I would never have dropped out of university. That was definitely a hard time in my life, but nobody was to blame but myself.

There were underlying injury and health problems that prevented me from preparing well for the commonwealth games. I beat myself up about this pretty bad, I think it hurt more because my dad made such a big effort to fly out there to Delhi, that was heart breaking. After though only I could pick myself up again to train for my last U23 at the European Cross Country, but I did the opposite and made very little effort. Then the championships came and went, yet I felt hard done by, for not making the team.

It’s only recently throughout it all that I’ve realised the issue wasn’t the illness or injuries, because at the time they couldn’t be controlled, the issue was how I dealt with these problems, I chose to huff and lay still, rather than pull myself out of bed and crack on. Unfortunately for a very long time I forgot to make the most of the good days, I forgot how to utilise these in a professional way. Illness and injuries will come and go, and we may be forced to miss things we didn’t want to. My problem was missing the days were there wasn’t and problems, and missing those important days when I should have got things done. Days were I was blessed with full health, and I chose to huff and resent running.

It doesn’t take a physio, doctor, psychologist or family member to explain this to you, this comes from the inside, for some reason I was baffled and still thought I was acting professionally, even if someone had argued the obvious to me, I was still under the impression I was doing everything I could to make things better.

On a positive note I’ve now came through it all, having passed my coursework and exams in London this month, I now feel I’m starting to get things back together. It has taken a lot of effort and time, not just from me, all my support team. I have to be thankful for everyone who has impacted upon my life in various ways, not just with regards to athletics.

I plan a small race over Christmas at the Greencastle 5 mile road race, it will be good to race again with a clear head. I hope things continue to progress well into the New Year, and hopefully with some hard work, and good luck I’ll get some great results.

It’s always good to end a piece of work with a quote, so here goes…

“No matter what you do with your life, there will always be barriers, in a job, a sport, or even if you simply watch television all day. Jobs have a boss or employees you might not see eye to eye with, sports have challenges that could take years to master, and even a television remote can run out of batteries. We must learn to accept when things don’t go as planned, life is easy when things go the way we expected, but life is hard when things blow up in front of us. Success comes to those with patience and those with the ability to adapt. Then no situation will cause you to stay still”

Stephen Scullion (North Belfast Harriers)

My Commonwealth Youth Games (Matthew Martin)

The Commonwealth Youth Games had been one of my big targets for 2011 along with EYOF. My season up to the commonwealth youth games had not been all that great. My throw wasn’t coming together as I had hoped it would and this meant I wasn’t hitting the distances that I wanted to be achieving. The only competition I finished with a slight smile on my face was the EYOF where I threw 62.72m. This was good as it gave me a lift and helped me to focus on the CYG in September.


September came around quickly and before I knew it I was meeting up with the rest of the team at the Mary Peters Track and then taking a coach down to Dublin to catch a plane to the Isle of Man. I found out that the reason for flying from Dublin was that the planes from Belfast could not accommodate everyone and would take about three planes to get us all over! We arrived in the “Isle of Man”. Before, I had thought that the weather could not get much worse than Northern Ireland... but I soon realised It could. The wind was blowing and the rain just didn’t stop.


The seaside town of Douglas was great; all the teams were allocated to different B&Bs along the sea front. All the athletes from different countries where great to talk and mix with and most spoke English.


The opening ceremony was excellent considering the size of the Isle of Man. I thought they did a great job . Lots of dancing and a well put together show.


I was not throwing until Sunday so had three days free. It was great to be able to go and watch all the rest of the team compete in there different sports. I must also add that we had a GREAT team leader for the athletics team... Elaine McCaffrey! She did a great job and sorry to her if we caused her any stress!


Before I knew it Sunday came and I was focusing for my event at 12pm that day. The weather was the worst I had seen in a long time. The wind was very strong and was against us in the javelin. The rain did not help and staying warm was hard. It was a straight final. In the final there were some high class throwers.

A South African with a PB of 83m and some Australians with PBs in the 70s along with a good few of 60m throwers. This did not bother me as I knew that if I could just hit one right then I could be up there competing for a medal. In my 3rd round throw I had a reasonable throw which was out around 60m but unfortunately my feet fell out the side of the runway making it a foul throw. In the end I finished 7th. The winner was from South Africa with a throw of 81m!


When my event was over it meant that I could just enjoy the rest of the trip. It was the last day and the closing ceremony took place. It was a very chilled out ceremony and was great to watch with fire dancing and other entertainment. After this it was disco time which was great but with a bad choice of music towards the end!


We headed home on the Monday , taking a plane back to Dublin and a bus back to the Mary Peters Track.


Overall it was a great experience even thought my throwing did not please me. The javelin is an event I love and am really aiming for a future in it. I have learnt a great deal over the last year and now know what needs addressed in order to see big improvement over the next few years. Hopefully, this will lead to Glasgow in 2014! I look forward to the winter ahead and to representing Northern Ireland in years to come!

Matthew Martin

Orla Smyth wins Gold at World Transplant Games

World Transplant Games- Orla Smyth competing for GB team won Gold in the 10K and a Silver team medal. 

After nine hours travelling we finally made it to Gothenburg on Friday 17, to be greeted by pretty much the same weather as home. Tho was secretly pleased as figured the rainy wet weather would suit us more than those from foreign climates!

After getting registered and checked in the nerves started as my first big race and the one I was most worried about was quickly approaching. So I had a very early night, slept like a baby and was up at 6 the next morning and felt surprisingly calm. I knew that I had worked hard all year at the dub and track an well there was nothing more I could do now.

Decky sent me a poem that morning and the last words went " sooner or later the man who wins is the man who thinks he can", so with that in mind I headed off to the stadium. My hopes of weather advantage were snookered by a blue sky and 20 degree heat but as I lined up at the start with all the other competitors, I knew what i had to do.

The race started with about 50m on the track and the out through a park around a loop then back in to the track to finish. It wasn't a bad course, few hills but nothing too bad. I started well and there was a pack of about 5 of us together for the first half km, after this I started to pull away and from this stage I was leading the race, not something I'm used too! I found it difficult to judge the pace and too often kept looking behind me, which slowed me up.

That said, I led the race to the end and strided home into the track to the cheering crowds to finish first lady over all age categories. I felt absolutely exhausted but absolutely thrilled too. Not a pb but a gold medal and that's certainly the order i would have taken before the start! Time came in at 14mins which was a bit slow tho my garmin friends informed me it was a "long" 3k!!

An American girl came in second and an Irish girl third. The UK womens team also got a silver in the team event. So my first day in the world games and two medals, defo a success!! I can't explain how amazing the atmosphere here is, with 51 countries represented the colours are fantastic! The day finished off with meeting Prince Daniel of Sweden who presented me with my medal. He has had a kidney transplant too. So few days rest before taking on the track on Wednesday with the 1500 and 400 then. I'll keep u posted on progress



Orla (World Champ!!)

Pacing the Belfast Marathon with Peter and Jim

Months had passed, loads of meetings attended, photos posed for and finally the big day was nearly there.  By big day I don’t mean a wedding, Christmas or even a birthday.  Instead we’re talking about May Day - Belfast Marathon Day.

Today it wasn’t about racing and achieving our own personal bests.  Instead it was about helping runners of varying experience and ability to meet their time goal of running 26.2 miles in less than 4.5 hours. 

Training commenced back in January with plenty of miles being put into the ‘bank’ including the obligatory LSR (long slow and steady run).  These runs are critical in the success of any ‘marathon’ runner, no matter what their goal time is.  Sunday morning runs with my fellow Ballymena Runners club mates are an early affair, sometimes starting at 6.30am.  So early, that on occasions we meet people just coming back from a night out on the town – the look of disbelief on their faces is priceless.  Fortunately the other 4.5 hour pacer, Jim Moore is also a member of Ballymena Runners and is one of my regular training partners.  These runs provided the opportunity to practice running several miles at the required pace of just over 10 minute miles (10 minute 18secs per mile to be precise).

Marathon morning was great fun and the traditional send off at 7am was organised from the City of The Seven Towers.  When you are running a marathon, especially your first, the nerves can be overpowering and it always feels strange as a pacer to be so relaxed.  In fact Jim came out of the local shop that morning with a daily newspaper.  Whilst he caught up on the success of United our fellow club mates were anxiously waiting the start of the race. 

Nevertheless having paced the same time group in 2010 we knew that people were relying on us.  A visit to the expo with my family on the Sunday provided more proof of this as we realised that nearly three times the number of runners had signed up to run with the 4.30 pacers compared to the sub 3, sub 3.30, sub 3.45 and sub 4 timings.  Our task to run the distance at an even pace was definitely our primary goal that morning.

My pre race ritual was a fairly standard affair and included the obligatory last minute toilet stop(s), making sure the GPS watch was fully charged and attached the pacing balloons to my race vest.  Disaster struck – the last of the helium had been used and the 4.5 hour pacing balloons would have to suffice with our own hot air – thankfully Jim is in no short supply of that.  Although the amount of people speaking in ‘Mickey Mouse’ high pitch voices near the start line did raise our suspicions.

Whilst making our way to the start line a runner whom we had helped last year said hello and we soon discovered that he was hooked and back to break sub 3.30 this time!!

Standing at the 4.30 hour pen in a sea of runners was fantastic and the sense of excitement was building.  9 am and the move to cross the start line commenced and to a chorus of Championchip timing beeps – we were off!!  The first few miles of the course takes in the east of the city and is relatively flat.  Even though the temperature was low on the start line, it was already rising under the cloudless blue skies.  The sight of thousands of runners making their way past Central Station is fantastic and further evidence of the growing success of this city marathon.  By the first relay changeover point we had already made friends with many runners from clubs such as Plymouth Harriers and also with many locals making their marathon debut. 

Our message to our group at this stage was simple – keep this nice steady pace, take on plenty of fluids and stay in the shade where possible.  Through the city centre and onwards to our first climb on the course.  The Falls Road.  This section of the route was well lined with support and the music outside the Leisure Centre provided great entertainment.  This area of the course which progresses its way to the second relay point at Springfield and beyond is one of my favourites.  The reason why?  The support is fantastic and the ‘craic’ is great – offers of everything ranging from a soda bap to something a bit stronger come from some of the wise cracking bystanders. With the 10 mile marker behind us, Jim and myself do a quick stock take after the relay point.  Many of the 4.5 hour group are still in sight, either in front or just behind us. 

The initial enthusiasm is still on everyone’s faces but there is also that look of concentration going on.  Before approaching the only significant climb on the course up the Antrim Road, we advise our group that we intend to maintain a steady pace on the climb and if anything perhaps slow it down by a few seconds per mile.  More importantly was our advice not to begin the descent down the Whitewell Road at break neck speed as although tempting it may be, from many a Belfast Marathon runners experience it can come back to bite you, normally at around mile 20!!

The support on the Antrim Road is superb and the welcome aid stations are well spaced out up this gruelling climb of approximately 2 miles.  Following on from the descent onto the Shore Road, it was time for relay point number 3 at Gideon’s Green.  Jim and I couldn’t help but be amazed that the stream of marathon runners and relay runners had not ‘thinned’ out.  Sometimes during a marathon it can be a lonely place but not in Belfast this year, the crowds on and off the course were really strong even at this furthest point away from the city centre.  A few of the original group had dropped back slightly and some progressed further ahead onto the Loughshore path.  Thankfully the wind came from slightly behind us and didn’t hinder progress too much.  A few marathon runners who had perhaps struggled in the heat were to be found walking along parts of this path and were encouraged by us to join our group and keep progressing to the finish line.

At Duncrue the 20 mile marker is there and for many marathon novices they are venturing into unknown territory since many training plans only recommend training up to 20 or maybe 22 miles before race day.  It was time to bring out the secret weapons. 

The extra large container of magic jelly beans provided by my lovely wife were brought out at this stage.  All of a sudden the number of people in the group seemed to increase as we passed them around to those runners we could identify were running the full 26.2 miles.  Two fellow club mates Robin Alexander and Stephen Brown had been running with us and a few of our group who felt strong enough to push on from this point attached themselves to Robin and Stephen who brought several across the line including Jo Greenwood on her first marathon attempt at 4 hours 26 minutes.  Great running by both Ballymena Runners, especially since they had raced London Marathon a couple of weeks earlier.  Luckily Jim and I had decided to keep a few of the sweets.  This enabled us to share some with the remarkable Conor from Going The Distance as he was making his way towards the finish with marathon veteran Michael Jenkins from Up and Running.

Along the Lagan towpath we warned runners of the approaching Mount Everest (the wee footbridge beside the Gasworks entrance).  This always provides evidence of how the body has coped with the mammoth effort to that point.  The loop in the Ormeau Park gives some respite from the unbelievable heat and it’s clear that a good number of those starting out with us are well on their way to breaking the sub 4.30 barrier.  Despite the soaring temperatures a couple of people really stand out at this point – Bryan Martin and the ‘Guy in the Green top’.  Words of encouragement come from us at this point such as ‘Dig Deep’, ‘you are looking strong’ (blatant fib!!) along with my favourite ‘you haven’t run 24 miles to stop now’.  The crowds outside the pubs on the Ormeau Rd. climb encourage with shouts of ‘not long to go now’, ‘you’re nearly there’, ‘only another couple of hundred yards to go!!..’.  Jim and I know all of these statements to be slightly inaccurate but play along anyway.  The Ravenhill Road reminded me on Race Day of the Champs Elysees, only instead of being full of French waiters there were lines of runners family and friends cheering, screaming and really motivating them towards the embankment.  For some within the group the emotions are too much to hold in and the tears of joy at the sight of their loved ones began spilling down their cheeks.  The embankment came into sight and the loudspeakers announcing the runner’s names crossing the line could be heard.  The knowledge that they had made it was apparent on everyone’s faces.  We told anyone in our group to ‘empty the tank’ at this point.  Just go for it and sprint for the line.  Jim and I stopped at the gates for around 20 seconds to cheer everyone up the finishing strait.  We then made our way along towards the finish line and crossed it together, although Jim did just dip slightly ahead for the bragging rights.

Our chip time 4.29.31 – job done.

We may never meet any of our pacing group again but to be allowed to share in their own personal battles and journey along 26.2 miles is a great privilege.  One which we both value greatly.  I’ll leave you with my favourite line of the day from a spectator at mile 18. 

‘Keep going, you can still win it!!’.  Absolute classic.

A final word of thanks to the pacer sponsors Asics and to Claire O’Reilly, Stephen Pearson and everyone else including Athletics NI involved in making the 2011 Belfast City Marathon such a memorable event.

Peter Fleming and Jim Moore, Ballymena Runners.

BBC Spaces & Places: Michael McKillop

Insights from a world-class athlete (by Chris Kane)
Recently I had the opportunity to have lunch with gold medal-winning Paralympic athlete Michael McKillop, where I learnt a great deal about what it takes to truly be on top of your game. It struck me that achievements of this nature could provide the ONE Workplace team with some insights as we continue on our journey towards becoming world-class.

The London Olympics is fast approaching and heavily in the spotlight, particularly with the ticket application deadline which passed at the end of April. But there are two games taking place in 2012. The Paralympics takes place between the 29 August and 9 September at the same venues.


Meeting Michael McKillop and learning a bit about the Paralympics was one of those truly eye-opening opportunities. To speak to someone who holds a Paralympic gold medal and has a number of world records to his name was inspirational. I listened, with admiration, as he explained about the amount of training he puts in and the sheer hard work and determination necessary. Yet he has done this for many years while facing his other personal challenge - Michael has a mild form of cerebral palsy.
In learning about the challenges of reaching the highest echelons of world sport, I was curious about how Paralympians get the support they need. In the case of this young man from Belfast, his principal support comes from Paralympics Ireland and the Irish Sports Council. Without assistance, both financial and otherwise, athletes would find it virtually impossible to make any progress.
In the end though it's down to the individual to deliver the goods on the day! Michael shared a very interesting story about how his dad, his coach, helped him to overcome the mental challenges of competing on the world stage. At the age of 18 Michael made it to the final of the 800m in Beijing 2008. He had to run in front of a crowd of 91,000 people in the Bird's Nest arena -the size of which he had never seen before. A daunting task for anyone, made especially difficult as the rules demanded that Paralympians could not take their carers/support team with them during the final pre-race period. Michael explained that this was a big challenge for him, but his Dad helped him conquer his misgivings and when giving Michael some parting shots of advice he put a small piece of paper into his running spikes. "Open this note when you finish the race," it said.


History tells us that Michael went out and blew his competition away, completing a world record beating race in a time just under 2 minutes (1.59.39). As he approached the podium to receive gold he took out the note from his dad. It read: "You've won!"


From that day on Michael has never looked back. He exudes charm, good humour and confidence. He faces up to the challenges of his disability and is a role model to us all, showing what can be achieved if you put your mind to it, have the right support, and most of all believe that great things happen when we work together as a team.

Marathon is Taking Veteran Tommy Hughes to the Top of the World

Tommy Hughes knows what it takes to be among the best in the world at marathon running. In 1992 the Co. Derry man ran his personal best of 2.13.59 in the Marrakesh Marathon and later in the year represented Ireland at the Barcelona Olympics. Eight months ago, at age 50, Hughes defied his age and ran 2.29.14 in winning the Robin Hood Marathon in Nottingham. When the Veterans World Rankings are finalised later this month, there’s a good chance that run could put Hughes at the top of the world in the over-50 category.

His half marathon time of 70.28, achieved at the Peterborough Half Marathon in October 2010, should also be among the world’s best.

Now 51, Hughes is looking forward to competing in the Belfast City Marathon on Bank Holiday Monday. It’s a race Hughes has won twice – in 1988 and 1998 – and he says his training has gone well and he’s ready to put his best foot forward. Hughes says,

‘The Belfast Marathon is home. I know most of the runners in the race and I get a lot of good support around the course. It’s hilly but at the same time it seems to suit me because I was surprised to run 2.28 there three years ago [at age 48, when he finished sixth overall]. Training has been going okay. I’ve had problems with my left Achilles tendon but it hasn’t stopped me too much. I’m happy enough with my form.’

Hughes, a member of North Belfast Harriers, has been living in England for the last three years and also runs for Leicester Coritanian Athletics Club. An electrician, there is more work for him in England but he says that, ‘my home is Northern Ireland.’ Hughes has also run for Annadale Striders, Belfast Olympic, and Sparta in Derry.

And this year’s Belfast City Marathon will be for him a family affair. His brothers John and Damian, who both live in Northern Ireland, will be joining him on the course as they attempt the distance for the first time.

Hughes was a fulltime athlete between 1983 and 1992. After the 1992 Olympics, he began working again and did not run another marathon until Belfast in 2008. Moving into the veterans’ ranks has supplied him with a fresh wave of motivation and renewed his love of running.

In striving for his goal of reaching the top of the world rankings, Hughes subjects himself to a training regimen that would rival that of many top senior athletes. Indeed, Hughes says he may be training harder now than he did when he was a senior athlete. He says,

‘I’m actually probably doing more than I did when I was younger. I’m working in Leicester so in the time I have after work I can train away. I usually do ten mile in the evening time and 8 in the morning. And I mix it on a Tuesday and Thursday with speed work with the boys from Leicester. And a long run on the Sunday. I’ve been up there at about 120 miles a week, but that’s what I need to do. I’ll not do that all the year round, but you need to get miles in the legs, so I’d say about 6 weeks at 120.’

Hughes says he is not sure how many marathons he has run, but he knows that it is more than 50. Most of those came during his time as a senior athlete. He would sometimes run up to five marathons a year – bucking the conventional wisdom that says that elites should race at most two marathons per year. For example, in 1988 Hughes ran five marathons and won three of them: Belfast, Marrakesh and Melbourne. He says, ‘Even then they were saying only run two a year. The way I looked at it, you have to get used to the distance. If you want to be good at it, you have to be able to handle it.’

Hughes says that from the time he started running he was captivated by the marathon and has ‘always considered myself a marathon runner, that’s what keeps me going: the magic of the marathon.’

His very first marathon was the first Belfast Marathon in 1982. He had only taken up running the autumn prior to that race, because ‘I had just got married and was getting fed well and putting on a lot of weight.’ His initial motivation was moving from the reserves to the senior team in his Gaelic football club.

So off training of four miles a day three times per week, Hughes got around the Belfast Marathon course in 3.01.20. That spurred him on to train harder and try to break the three-hour barrier, which he did in just a few months time in a marathon in Letterkenny, where he recorded a dramatic improvement, clocking 2.35. Hughes describes his first marathon in Belfast this way: 

‘I was going pretty well till 20 mile. I always remember a comment I heard when I was running by a group of people. One shouted, “who do you think you are, Alberto Salazar?” I realised at 20 mile I was not Alberto Salazar! I learnt the hard way. But I didn’t know any better. So I just decided after that to train a bit harder.’

His first victory in Belfast came six years after that experience. Hughes said he had built up a lead three-quarters of the way through the race, but he began to tire and his Sparta teammate John McDowell closed the gap. Hughes held on to win by four seconds, 2.19.00 to 2.19.04. Hughes says his second victory in Belfast, coming in 1998 at age 38, was more of a surprise:

‘Coming up to 1998 I decided to have another go because it had been ten years of a time span. I trained January to May and then at the start of the race we were told that the course would be rerouted because of a bomb scare. It was a bit longer than normal distance, and I won it in 2.23. I was surprised that no younger people came along and gave any competition on the day. After that I concentrated on work again, and left athletics until three years ago. 2008 was another ten year span and that brought me back to Belfast. I was now 48 and I ran sixth in the race and ran 2.28.35 and then after that I left it for another couple of years, turned 50, and decided to come back in that age category to achieve as much as I could.’

Hughes says that he has pondered why there is no longer the same depth in quality in marathon running in Ireland and the UK. No man from Northern Ireland has broken 2.20 in the marathon since 1995. He says,

‘Way back when I stared the marathon our generation trained a lot harder than the generation now. They are distracted by a lot more things than we were. There are a few young people coming through but not as many as the days when I was running. There were more people around the same standard, and they brought each other on. Today there are only one or two, and the rest are in it for the fun of it.’

But it’s clear that while running is fun for Hughes, a competitive fire still burns in him. Hughes says he continues to relish the challenge of the marathon: ‘The marathon is just a very, very tough event and there’s so many f actors in getting it right and getting it wrong. That adds a mystique about it. You have to try and get it right every time.’

And he says that when ‘you get it right’ the rewards are incalculable. He says he has had two days during his long career that stand out in that regard: winning Marrakesh in 1988 and Dublin in 1991. Hughes describes those races this way:

‘The win in Marrakesh came out of the blue for me. I didn’t expect it. I went not expecting anything and ended up beating men like Mike Gratton, who had won London in 1983. He was a bit of a hero for me. So to end up winning really made my year. Then the other was the Dublin Marathon when I won it, the year before the Olympics in 1991. In that race, everything went absolutely perfect for me. I could do no wrong. Everything clicked totally on the day. Every part of the race felt so comfortable. When I decided I wanted to do something I just done it, within reason. I think about 18 mile there was a group of us, Jerry Kiernan and John Griffin, all the top Irish boys. But I decided let’s see what everybody’s got, put on a surge, and nobody came with me. I moved away and kept going. I ran 2.14.46 I think it was, feeling good the whole way through. There’s not many times you can say that about a marathon!’

By Gladys Ganiel

First Lady of the Belfast Marathon: Sue Boreham on the Sport Then and Now

Sue Boreham was the first woman across the line in the inaugural Belfast Marathon in 1982. It was an impressive performance by the then 23-year-old, who was running in her first marathon and had taken up the sport only two years previously.


Boreham will be participating in the 30th running of the event this Bank Holiday Monday. Now a mother of adult children and a Physical Education teacher at Forthill Integrated College, Boreham will run as part of a relay team of athletes who completed the first Belfast Marathon. She says that winning that first race remains her fondest memory from athletics.


‘I had a feeling of euphoria at finishing it. I just really enjoyed it. It was an absolutely wonderful experience simply because all of your friends and all of your family were along the route. It was good for friends and family because the course then was two loops and they could watch you run by twice. I wasn’t even thinking I was going to finish it! But the support kept you going.’


Boreham, running for Tailte Athletic Club in Belfast, completed the course on that cool, windy day in 3.11.26, more than eight minutes ahead of second place finisher Brigid McCabe from Mullingar (3.31.29). She says that a mystery runner who joined her for the final minutes of the marathon helped her along the way:


‘I was amazed during the race because around 18 miles people started to say I was the first lady, and I was thinking, where is everybody else? I shouldn’t be in the lead. But at 22, 23 miles I was beginning to flag. I don’t know who it was, but a male runner slowed himself down and sat on my shoulder and said I could finish. He just said I could do it, and he was really great, and ran with me the rest of the way. I didn’t know his name. Unfortunately he ran off at the end of the race and I couldn’t get his name.’


Boreham remembers that the day was especially satisfying because her coach, Malcolm Brown, also coached the men’s winner, Greg Hannon.


Discovering a Love of the Long Distance


Originally from Drumbeg, Boreham says she took up athletics when she began dating English decathlete Colin Boreham, now her husband, who represented Great Britain in the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics. She had built solid athletic foundations as a youngster, competing in squash and hockey. When asked why she took up long distance running, Boreham laughs and says:


‘I wasn’t fast enough for anything else! I seemed to be able to outrun most other people, but there seemed to be no fast twitch muscle fibres there. Having been involved in team sport I found marathon running totally different. But I think what I did like was the hard part, the physical challenge of it all. I loved that feeling that I could run and run and run. And I really liked the feeling of fitness that I got.’


Boreham says that when she heard that Belfast would be staging a marathon, she was excited and there was no question that she would take part. She says,


‘The first Belfast Marathon was part of the new running craze that was going around the world. And at that time, [during the Troubles], it seemed that nothing good ever really happened in Belfast. So it seemed like a good thing to get involved in. And it was a challenge. It was part of something worldwide and something Northern Ireland could be contributing to worldwide in a good way, which was quite motivating.’


Boreham was second in the second Belfast Marathon in 1983, improving her time to 3.00.06 as Roma McConville of Newry took top honours in 2.58.07. Boreham remembers her disappointment at narrowly missing dipping under the three-hour barrier on that day.


She says that she tried the method of carbohydrate loading that was widely practiced in those days – depleting the body of carbohydrates by going on a hard run and fasting of carbohydrates, before loading it with carbs during the three days immediately before the race. Today, many marathon runners skip the depletion phase of carbo-loading, believing it stresses the body and does not seem to provide more benefits than eating normally and then simply loading in the last three days before the marathon. Boreham describes that race:


‘I felt awful during the first part. By 17 miles I felt brilliant, but it was too late then. To miss three hours was depressing really. I had no one sitting on my shoulder like the year before. I had tried to do the carbo loading and I felt pretty horrible from 6 to 17 miles, then felt brilliant. Maybe I was a victim of the new carbo loading craze!’


Boreham finally broke the three hour barrier that year in the Dublin Marathon. It was to be her last marathon, as her husband retired from competitive athletics after the 1984 Olympics and they concentrated on raising a family.


A Leading Lady for Athletics in Northern Ireland


But Boreham was in many ways a trailblazer for female athletes in Northern Ireland, demonstrating what local women could do with talent, training, and a love of the sport. She recalls that it wasn’t always easy for women who took to the roads and trails in the early 1980s:


‘Today there’s greater freedom for women running. When I was out running it took a lot of guts to put a pair of shorts on and go out on the roads. For example, men would have made cat calls out of bars and so on. It would have been quite unusual to see women running along in shorts. But a woman can do anything now, there are no barriers. Also I would have run a lot along the towpath, there would have been occasions it would have been dangerous enough running on the towpath. But now it’s a main thoroughfare. It’s much safer and much more accepted now for women to be out running.’


Boreham says she never exceeded more than 55 miles per week in her marathon training. When she stopped competing, she remained active, running for a few days a week. Today she runs three days a week and plays golf. She has had a disc operation in her lower back and has a bulging disc in her neck, which places some limitations on her activities. But she insists it is important to keep active, even if it is ‘at a much more sedate pace.’


Getting Local Kids Up and Running?


On that note, Boreham admits that she is saddened and perplexed that Northern Ireland does not seem to be producing the same number of top quality athletes as it did during the 1980s. As a physical education teacher, she says that pupils who are really keen about sport and athletics in particular are the exception to the rule. She says:


‘Sadly I think that participation and encouragement of children to take part in sport is probably not as good as it was. I think there are other things that children are keener to do and I think that maybe the systems aren’t there to get them home from school, if there are practices after school, and so on. I don’t see the participation levels now in my particular school, as high as they were 15 years ago.’


Boreham says that she attends some schools athletics events during the year and thinks that there are not as many competing as when she was a participant. She says,


‘Maybe our climate is not the climate for athletics. It’s an individual sport. Maybe it is more attractive to play a team sport, where you don’t put your self-esteem and everything else against anyone else. There is a lot of pressure on children in individual sports – you are not allowed to fail anymore. So I don’t know if that pressure affects taking part in athletics. Northern Ireland once produced lots of Commonwealth Games medal winners in athletics and that’s not happening anymore.’


But Boreham doesn’t think all is lost for our local athletes. She says that individuals will need the support of their families, coaches and clubs, as she received when she was competitive, but that with dedication and hard work Northern Ireland athletes can still reach the top:


‘They have to be hungry and keen and willing to work quite hard. But if they do then they can get what they really want out of athletics.’

Past and present marathon runners help Athletics Northern Ireland celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the Belfast City Marathon. Athletics NI have played an instrumental role since 1982 in the organization and logistics of the Marathon along with arranging the elite field over the years. Greg Hannon & Susan Boreham were the 1st winners in 1982 and are joined by marathon regular Alan McCullough (Willowfield Harriers) with his infamous hat and NI’s top finishers in 2010, North Belfast Harriers Breege Connolly and Lisa Sturgeon.

By Gladys Ganiel