Declan Walshe talks to Waterford Viking Marathon
Declan Walshe is the epitome of many marathon runners of our generation. He played club hurling and football to minor level but after that, in his own words, ran only to get out of the rain. Once he decided to give up smoking after many years, his weight started to go up and up as he replaced the smokes with chocolate and Doritos.?Then, 2 years ago, the big 4-0 hit and he realised that, at 14stone, he needed to do something about his weight before it became a real health issue for him.
Waterford Viking Marathon : What did you decide was the best way to lose the weight Declan?
DW: I live in the country, I work from home, so the easiest, cheapest way to lose weight was to just hit the road and go walking. After a few weeks, I got bored, plateaued and started to pick up the pace a bit with some jogging. I listen to geeky podcasts like Science Friday or Future Proof to distract me.
WVM: So, you were running at this stage, but always on your own?
DW: Yes, I always just ran on my own, until Parkrun came to Kilkenny. I missed the first week of it in the Castle Park, but went along the 2nd week in October 2014 and got totally hooked. I’d been running on my own since about January, so this opened up a whole new world in one sense. Working from home, living in the country, my circle of friends was restricted to locals and family. Running or volunteering each week at the Parkrun meant I met loads of other people. By Christmas I had dozens of new ‘friends’ on Facebook!!
WVM: Any races at this stage??
DW: No, but I made the decision heading into 2015, that it would be my year for half marathons, so I signed up for the Mount Juliet half in February 2015. In hindsight, a hilly first event to do, but at least anything after it should be easier! My longest run prior to MJ was 20k, so I had almost completed the full half marathon distance in training. I was very nervous on the day. I purposely didn’t drive the course beforehand so that I wouldn’t psyche myself out even more! I found the 2 loops difficult mentally and twisted my ankle on s stone with about a mile to go. I hobbled that last mile with loads of encouragement from other runners and finished in 1.45. ??WVM: 1.45 is a very respectable time indeed for a first half marathon! Had you been doing any speedwork aside from the weekend Park runs?
DW: Not at that stage, all my training was on my own, which wasn’t ideal. I joined Kilkenny’s Fit For Life crew in September last year. They do twice weekly speed sessions on the track. Tuesdays are short and sharp, while Thursdays are a bit longer, more like tempo intervals. These 2 sessions have brought me on significantly. I still do all my long runs on my own however, I find it difficult to match paces exactly with others and quite enjoy my podcasts!
