Full Name: Stephen O’Donnell
When did you join Sportsworld? March 2016
Where do you work? Statestreet, I get paid not much money to look after very rich peoples
money.
What is your favourite club session? Pretty much any Thursday session, I love a good fartlek session, the old fartlek loop in the park is by far my favourite though.
What is your favourite race distance? The longer the better, so I’d happily jump in any race from 3k on the track all the way up to the marathon.
What is your favourite meal before a big race? Shamefully I don’t alter my diet all too much before a race, so it’ll inevitably be a pizza or something super unhealthy and greasy.
My Favourite place to train? Definitely Marlay Park. It’s where I first fell in love with running through the parkrun there. Unfortunately, I don’t get over there very regularly any more especially since moving out.
What’s your favourite race? The “half marathon” in Lanzarote, the views are spectacular and it closes out a great challenge of the 4 races in 4 days. You just have to ignore the fact that it’s about a kilometre short.
What is your target for the next year? I’d just love to get back to something that’s even remotely close to PB shape. It’s been a while.
What international events have you ran? There’s been a few. I’ve gone on the Sportsworld trip to Lanzarote & competed in the challenge 4 times now. I’ve done a few races in the UK and a half marathon to forget in Berlin.
Where’s the most interesting place you have run? I’d have to say the now defunct, Great Newham Run. It was a 10k around the Olympic village in London. The last stretch of the race was through the Olympic stadium and out onto the track. It was one of my most unforgettable race moments.
Where’s the most interesting place you’ve been? (Doesn’t have to be running related) Most places I’ve travelled to have been usual tourist locations, so nothing very “uniquely interesting”. I would say the place I enjoyed the most was Santorini in Greece. It is beyond beautiful there. Not too great for running though.
What do you like doing when you don’t run? (hobbies/past times) In the last year or so, my friends and I have got very into pub quizzes. I don’t contribute much though, unless there are athletics questions.
How/When did you start your adventure with running? When parkrun started in Marlay. My Dad read an article in the newspaper about the success of it’s first event, so myself and my brother went up to try it the following Saturday, having never really done any running before. We both immediately got hooked.
Tell us about your PB’s / What is your biggest achievement?
5k: 16:30
10k: 34:09
Half: 1:16:39
Marathon: 2:46:52
These were all long time ago when I was a hell of a lot fitter than I am currently. As I mentioned earlier the main aim for this year is to get back to running close to these times again. In terms of my biggest achievement. I would have to say running every day of 2023 would have to be probably one of the ones I’m most proud of, outside race times and PB’s.
How often do you run / What is your typical weekly mileage? Definitely not as much as I should. I have my weekly goal on Strava set at 50 miles. Some weeks I make that goal. Some weeks I don’t. More often the latter unfortunately.
What motivates you? Running or otherwise. The enjoyment of it, I love running and I love racing. I find there not much motivation needed when you enjoy something as much as I love running.
What would you say is the best thing about being in a Running Club? The social aspect, I have made so many friends in the 8 years I have been in the club. It also just makes running easier. I don’t think anyone would be able to do the type of sessions we do on their own.
What made you join a Running Club? I was running parkruns every week and my times had
plateaued. I knew Karl Chatterton from parkrun and knew he ran for Sportsworld. After chatting to him and ex club member Diarmuid O Suilleabhain after The Great Ireland Run in 2016 about the club, I decided to come down and try out the club session the following Tuesday.
Why is running important to you? The health benefits both physically and mentally. There is nothing better for clearing the head after a stressful day or if you’re going through something than going out for a run, especially if you have company for that run.
Who is the person in the club who inspires/drives to run better? Obviously, Emily and Myles. The amount of time and effort they give up for all of us in the club, can’t not inspire you to run better.
Do you do any cross training / other sports on a regular basis? In the summer months I play a good bit of pitch & put, and I play some 5 a side football every now and then but nothing much. I feel running takes up most of the time I set aside for sports these days.
