My Running Hero

Ross Runner

My Running Hero is Andy Ronan
Who is Andy Ronan you might say?

Andy is originally from New Ross in Co. Wexford who went to Providence on scholarship where he had a very successful coligate career... Andy is now a very successful coach and still lives Stateside...

The reason he is my running hero is because i grew up just down the street from his home place and was a local celeb after coming 3rd in the Boston Marathon in 91 but since I took up running myself ive come to realise how much of a star Andy really is.

Twin Cities Min/USA Oct 94, 2 13 49 4th
London Marathon UK Apr 90, 2 13 30 16th
Boston Mas/USA Apr 91, 2 11 27 3rd
Berlin Marathon Ger, Sep 91, 2 12 43 7th
Barcelona Olympic Marathon Aug 92 DNF
Boston Mas/USA Apr 93, 2 14 58
Chicago il/USA Oct 93 DNF....

Unfortunately for Andy on the biggest day of his career he got caught up in carnage at a feed station about 10mls in in the Olympuc Marathon where he had to hurdle a couple of competitors and in doing so picked up an injury which forced him to drop out...

Unfortunately for Andy he never fully recovered and never could regain his previous form....

It makes me think what could he have achived with todays magic shoes?
Being bumped from third on the all time list by runners who couldnt get near his times with regular shoes has to hurt...
Another great Mark Carroll being overtaken aswell considering he ran his best time in NYC a monster of a course has got to hurt too....

Anyone else got some not so well known runner as their Hero??

Swashbuckler

Alan King. He's old now but he used to be the running king

OOnegative

Swashbuckler wrote: »

Alan King. He's old now but he used to be the running king

Proper runner that lad!!!

Apollinaris

Sir Mo

OOnegative

Apollinaris wrote: »

Sir Mo

Who?? In Ireland he’s just Mo, no sirs here.

Annie get your Run

Orna Dilworth, for those who don't know her, have a read here aka Claralara

OOnegative

Annie get your Run wrote: »

Orna Dilworth, for those who don't know her, have a read here aka Claralara

Literally shocked and disappointed........

Annie get your Run

OOnegative wrote: »

Literally shocked and disappointed........

Was wondering what I'd done wrong now but I figured it out

SuspectZero

Mine is John Scanlon, probably unknown outside of anyone who ran during the mid-late 80's/early 90's. He's local to me and I see him most days so that plays a huge influence. He never made the Olympics or World Champs in what was probably the golden era of the Irish distance running boom with the likes of Treacy/Keirnan/ Berkley/Richardson/Cusack/Ronan and Woods to name a few but he was a serious athlete back then. I believe his pb's are 28:4x for 10k on the road, 48:44 for 5TH IN BALLYCOTTON IN 1988!!! He also ran 63 for the Half marathon when finishing third in the Great North Run.

He was a relatively latecomer to the sport starting at only 21 and he retired pretty early too in his early 30's but he's an absolute legend around my neck of the woods, I struggle to even imagine what it must have been like even turning a Limerick Senior XC race with the likes of John/ Robert Costelloe/Neil Cusack/Tom Brouder and John Downes coming in the early 90's and a slew of other sub-30 10k guys on their best day toeing the line for a County championship haha. I think John Scanlon had broken 50 for 10 miles and was still a Novice in Munster XC:pac:. I know one the guys who was on the same team as him had run 33 for 10k and 2:34 for the marathon and never got a county senior team medal in 10 years because he never made the first 6 home from the club.

The times and competition are one thing but probably the biggest thing is that John retired over 25 years ago, you'll still see him at every single county championship race from novice to senior, always has advice for anyone who asks for it and is genuinely inspirational to a lot of people that know him. I think he's a legend even though my days of fawning over people are probably a bit behind me. Its also pretty cool to say to my nieces who are sport mad "see that guy you pass every morning on the way to school... he was one of the best runners in the country and an International athlete"

walshb

Hicham.....

GOAT.....

Sorry, not so well-known......

Hmm.....get back on this....

Would Jason Smyth count?

token56

I'm lucky enough to call Anne Keenan Buckley my aunt and she is definitely mine.

I was only a year old when she ran in the Olympics in 1988 but was lucky enough to be there for the 2002 world cross country championships. I definitely did not fully appreciate what she did that day but looking back on it I think it has to go down as one of the greatest Irish performances on an international stage. The level she sustained into her late 30's and early 40's was unbelievable. She used to train with us sometimes when we were younger and I was always just in constant awe.

Even in retirement she excelled in her coaching and I would like to think is someone highly respected in the world of Irish athletics. Certainly somebody one could look up.

I'd also like to mention my uncle, a brother of hers. He was a very good club runner but also trained us at our local club when we were younger. He had such a strong and positive mental outlook I think anyone he came in contact with was inspired by him.

Edit:
Just to add a link to a recentish interview for anyone interested in reading a bit more about her
https://tinyurl.com/ty4lksn

Chivito550

Im going to resist the hipster underground stuff and stay mainstream.

Sonia O'Sullivan for me. She was my favourite Irish sportsperson when I was a kid (alongside Ken Doherty) and then watching back all her old races back in the late naughties inspired me to start running.

I'm terms of sprinting, Allyson Felix has the most beautiful technique there is.

sca21

Chivito550 wrote: »

Im going to resist the hipster underground stuff and stay mainstream.

Sonia O'Sullivan for me. She was my favourite Irish sportsperson when I was a kid (alongside Ken Doherty) and then watching back all her old races back in the late naughties inspired me to start running.

I'm terms of sprinting, Allyson Felix has the most beautiful technique there is.

Has to be Sonia for me also. I grew up watching all her races from cross county, to European and World Championships, and of course the Olympics. For me, her stride and posture made her such a distinctive runner. Her ability to kick for home leaving her opponents for dust was so exciting to watch. She always appeared incredibly modest.
My international sporting highlight has to be the Sydney Olympics and her tussle with Gabriela Szabo. I listened to commentary in secondary school on a Walkman with one ear. Still remember George Hamilton's commentary to this day as they approached the home stretch. I think the resilience she showed to overcome the nightmare that was Atlanta is something every runner on here can draw from. We'll all have bad races but it's how you bounce back that count. A true legend, whose achievements made a huge positive impact on Athletics in Ireland.