Sinéad Brannigan joins the WVM Committee for 2019! 

Hi, my name is Sinéad. Some might know me as a Fitness Tutor, Runner, Dog Walker, Good Singer, Chocolate Lover, or just a local Déise girl!

How did I end up here?
Well...I grew up in a sports mad house, so naturally I had no choice but to like sport, or else….! I honestly played everything under sun to get of school, which, in my defence and much to everyone’s surprise, proved beneficial in the end when I received my Honours Degree from the Department of Health & Exercise WIT.

I started running in Secondary School... on a cold wet day I ran with three other school friends in the school’s cross country. Now there were two elites in my year group, the Sonia O’Sullivan’s of this world! They went on to win in St. Augustine’s with 1st and 2nd. Myself and my other team mate fought hard to the finish.....we had agreed to finish together but she broke her promise saying ‘I’m sorry I can’t be last with 10 meters to go!’ I was gutted but, believe it or not, we ended up winning the team prize! Never give up and all that 😂

I eventually recovered and returned to running again in 2012 when the Waterford Viking Marathon came to town, so this event has always had a special place in my heart. It was my first Full marathon and since then I’ve paced the Half marathon on more than one occasion and appeared at Quarter marathon too. I love how the Viking Marathon offers something for all.

Since then others have even allowed me to assist them with their training for the event and that, for me, is my biggest achievement to date!

The Viking Marathon is just a fantastic day from start to finish. I have helped with the warm up each year on the Mall and the buzz of the crowd on a warm summers morning all set to head off on route always gives me butterflies! I find that the timing of WVM is a landmark target date to strive towards after which you can sit back and enjoy the summer months. Plus, as a local, being able to train on the route is such an advantage over the bigger events around the country.

I am very excited to be part of the WVM team for 2019 and I’m looking forward to serving all participants well on the committee.