RUNNING 5K OR 50K: SOME THINGS ALWAYS WORK / RedBull Interview

If it can be raced, John O’Regan has run it. The North Pole, Mount Everest, the Sahara Desert and the steps of the Empire State Building have all been tread by the Kildare man. He’s also sent himself into hallucinations while completing the historic 153 miles Spartathlon between Athens and Sparta in Greece. 

Last year he outlasted the competition to win the Wings for Life World Run in Co. Kerry, meaning he has his pick of where to race in the competition this year. Always with a plan in mind, O’Regan will be at the starting line in India so he can knock the Taj Mahal off his list as he aims to run past all the seven wonders of the world.

Before then the 45 year old will represent Ireland at the 24-hour world championships in Turin, Italy, but here he gives us some advices on how to gear up for our lone exertions.

The biggest challenge

“The most important thing with any race is getting to the starting line in good shape,” he says. “There’s no point trying to do more than you can in training or going at anybody’s pace other than your own, in training as well as in the race. If you are unlucky enough to get an injury, allow time for the injury to heal and remember injuries heal not just through rest but also by eating a healthy balanced diet.  Wait until you feel that the injury has healed before you start moving on again.”

Take a breather“Do make sure to enjoy your days off.  If you are starting back training after a lay off, bear in mind that chances are you’re going to be a little bit out of shape and have lost some fitness. So don’t try to start back where you left off, do a short easy recovery run first. Treat it like a race where you pace yourself from the start but do stay at a reduced rate before you start thinking about picking it up again.”

Enjoy it“Running is fun. It’s also a challenge for each individual so you have to strike the right balance between pushing yourself and enjoying it. You don’t want to be dreading putting on your shoes before your session. When you are training you should try finish with something left in the tank. No single session will do the work of two so don’t push yourself so hard that you can’t have another good session the next time out."

Defining Moment

Back in April 2001 I went for my first training run of 5K in preparation for the Dublin Marathon and struggled to run the distance without stopping and walking.  I stuck with it and went on to complete the Dublin Marathon 6 months later and used that race as a stepping stone to a race that had first put the idea of running into my head.  This race was the Marathon des Sables, a 150 mile self sufficient foot race across the Sahara Desert and making the decision to run this race was to become my Defining Moment.

Lateral Vision Productions feature Documentary on Irish Ultra Runner John O'Regan.  Shot on location in Ireland, Greece, UK, French Alps. Sahara Desert, N.Pole Antarctica, and the Yukon Territory.
A fascinating case of one person against the elements.  What are the ingredients that make an ultra runner go through such grueling mental and physical pain?  How is an ultra runner different from a marathon runner?  This intriguing documentary reveals what makes him tick using the background story of his participation in the 2010 “Spartathlon”.  Four hundred and fifty of the world’s top ultra runners passed the stringent entry criteria for the 246km non-stop race, but just 128 crossed the finish line within the 36 hour limit.

It's hot outside.

A question I'm asked quite often is which do you prefer, the heat or the cold? It's a hard one to answer because when you're competing in extremes of temperature you will always have times when you wish you were in the opposite.  Here's another of my many running related coincidences which had me thinking that way.  On April 10th 2004 I was running the North Pole Marathon with Mark Pollock and on that same date the previous year I was running the 80K stage of the Marathon des Sables.  I had never felt the cold like I did at the North Pole and I was almost envious of the runners in the MdS but I also remembered baking in the heat of the Sahara Desert and wishing the day to end.