Margaret Crowley is up this week. Margaret travelled all the way from County Cork to join Sportsworld. She has been a fantastic addition to the women’s team since joining the club less than 12 months ago. Running a speedy 68 seconds over 400m in the Dublin Graded series. Margaret is sure to get even better over the next year.
When did you join Sportsworld?
August 2014
Where do you work?
I recently started a new role as a Quality Operations Specialist for Endo Ventures Ltd. located in Ballsbridge. I am resposible for ensuring the quality of several branded and generic pharmaceutical products that are manufactured by Operating Companies of Endo International plc as well as Contract Manufacturing Organisations. I have also worked for Novartis. Many of you may use Voltarol Gel which is Manufactured by Novartis. I would have regularly worked on the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient for this product.
What is your favourite club session?
Without doubt, Saturday morning track training sessions.
What is your favorite race distance?
5km but I have recently started doing 400m on the track and I am starting to enjoy it.
What is your favorite meal before a big race?
This usually would be a bowl of porridge and a slice of homemade brown bread with peanut butter
My Favourite place to train/compete is?
I most prefer the track training sessions in Tallaght
What is your target for the next year?
A good novice cross country season for the remainder of 2015 followed by some PB’s in next years graded track events
What is your best Sportsworld memory?
Doing the cross country Meet and Train event in Busy Park. It was great to be able to race where we train on a weekly basis. The club organised a great race and there was plenty of support from the club throughout the race.
What international events have you ran?
I have not ran any international events yet.
What do you like doing when you don’t run?
I like to meet up with friends, go for the odd hike in the Wicklow mountains and I love to sit down and relax when I am not rushing around the place.
How/When did you start your adventure with running?
I did my first ever 5k in July 2012. I was working for Novartis in Ringaskiddy, Cork at the time and they held an annual 5 km run. I entered the 5km run with two friends. At this stage I had never ran more than 10 minutes on a treadmill. We had great plans on following a couch to 5km plan but we never followed that through and did not train for the race at all. We did it in 32 minutes. It was an achievement that we managed to jog all 5 km and not have to stop. We were delighted with ourselves.
Tell us about your PB’s / What is your biggest achievement?
I got a PB of 68.7 sec recently for the 400m, This was my first year competing in the track events and I am very happy with that time. I am already looking forward to next years track events.
How often do you run / What is your typical weekly mileage?
I always try to attend the club training sessions on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday. I hope to start doing a long slow run on Sundays also.
What would you say is the best thing about being in a Running Club?
Definitely the team environment, There have been several evenings where I have gone down to the club house for training feeling tired and drained wondering how I am going to be able to do any bit of running. As soon as I start talking to people and do a warm up, I don’t even realise that I have been running because I have been chatting away to friends. The club definitely masks the pain and boredom of running alone.
What made you join a Running Club?
I saw everyone training one evening when i was jogging in Bushy Park and just decided to join in.
What was your first day at the Club like?
It was very enjoyable. Everyone made me feel very welcome. I got talking to Sandra Gowan throughout my first session. She told me alot about the club. We are both good friends now. We would often run close to each other during the training sessions and always try to push each other to go faster.
Why is running important to you?
I enjoy being outdoors and running is a great way to get outside. Since I am still improving my times on a regular basis, it gives a challenge to do better.
Is there anything you would like to see more of or less of at the Club?
Ideally it would be great if more people got involved in the novice cross country races. It was my first time taking part in them last year and the races are so much more enjoyable when there is a good group from the club running in them. I was not by any means an experienced runner when I first ran in them and I was surprised how well I did. I would encourage all runners who run the road races to try the novice cross country events.
Who is the person in the club who inspires/drives to run better?
There is always so much support in the club that it would be impossible to say just one person. Emily and Myles are great coaches and always encourage me to run faster. Paddy is always at races supporting everyone. The people I train with on a regular basis are always motivating me to run faster. Recently everyone in the club has started to cheer each other on in the sprint sessions, so the good atmosphere motivates us all to run better.
Do you do any cross training / other sports on a regular basis?
I go to Mick Dowling’s class once a week in the KCR for strength and conditioning. I also do Yoga at home to stretch out after the speed sessions.
