Olympics call hasn’t annoyed racing ace
Olympics delay won’t upset Curracloe-based runner
PHIL HEALY’S Olympic dream may have been pushed further down the road with the announcement that the Games has been postponed, but Ireland’s fastest woman is still putting in the work in Curracloe.
Having relocated to the Wexford seaside resort from her usual training facilities in Waterford, she’s determined to make the most of her time, even if a cloud of uncertainty still hangs over what her next target will be.
When she ran in the national indoor championships in Abbotstown in February, her coach, Wexford man Shane McCormack, predicted that it could be her last race of the year, and whether his soothsaying abilities prove to be perfectly on point or not, the sprinter has been prepared to play the waiting game.
‘Shane was well ahead of the whole thing. Even in January he was telling everyone about coronavirus so we were sick of hearing about it,’ she said.
‘Before it came to Ireland he was well prepared and he knew the year was going to go like this, so we had to make the most out of the indoor season because there was a big chance that we weren’t going to be racing again.’
When the decision to postpone the Olympics finally came, it was a relief as much as anything for athletes because at least they have some sort of clarity, but with the European championships pencilled in for August 25-30, the calendar is still far from set in stone.
‘It was only a matter of time with the Olympics. Every athlete was prepared for it, it was just a matter of getting the final confirmation that it’s actually off.
‘We’re meant to have European championships at the end of August. They still haven’t been cancelled so we don’t know yet if they’re going to be going ahead,’ she said.
McCormack sorted out accommodation for the 100- and 200-metre Irish record holder at a friend’s holiday villa in Curracloe, and she’s no stranger to the sandy strand, having gone there for training camps in the past.
It might be a change from her usual facilities in W.I.T., where she is in her final year of a Masters in Enterprise Computer Technology, but she is clearly comfortable in her surroundings and is determined to make the most of the situation.
‘I would have been up and down for sessions that we would have done with the group. We might have a session in Wexford some weekends, instead of Waterford.
‘It was definitely the right call to make because the track in Waterford was closed. Just in case we went into full lockdown, there was no point in me traipsing up and down from Waterford when I don’t have the facilities to train.
‘I was taking myself out of the risk in my own college house, and it wasn’t as simple as moving in with Shane’s family because they had been in school and work and different things, so again I would be putting myself at risk,’ she explained.
‘I moved into Curracloe holiday villas on my own, in perfect isolation. We had the track in Enniscorthy (before it was closed) some of the days, used the beach the majority of time, there’s a gym in the house so we’ve everything we need,’ she said.
Healy has been making full use of the natural amenities on her doorstep, utilising the beach, dunes and forest for her daily sessions as well as using the makeshift gym in her temporary accommodation.
‘You have wide open space, the dunes. It’s ideal and I have a change of scenery and no better beach to be running on.
‘Everything is on your doorstep, whether you want to go into the dunes or the forest, and you’re away from everyone,’ she said.
It may have been difficult to train in anything resembling a solitary fashion in recent times as families flocked to the popular beach in great numbers, but Healy said it didn’t pose any particular problem or hinder her training regime.
‘It was like a summer’s day with the amount of cars sometimes, but our sessions would really depend on the tide, so the majority of the time we’ve been training in the evening. It’s been pretty quiet and we’re well away from everyone else,’ she said.
If the European championships don’t go ahead in August, athletes will be looking far into the horizon to next March, with the European and World indoors set to take place in quick succession, and Healy says whatever way things pan out she’ll be ready.
‘For now it’s just about training away, keeping fit, and it’s a window of opportunity to push things on in different ways, where we wouldn’t have had that opportunity when there’s races to be run.
‘The world indoors was cancelled this year because of the coronavirus, so we have European championships and World championships indoor next year. That’s never happened before.
‘They’re two weeks apart, so I’ll be aiming for the 400 indoor as there’s no 200 indoor in major championships. What better opportunity to build a base now and take that into next year and come out fighting in March next year,’ she said.
The Cork native is well used to adversity, having suffered a broken foot last season, severely disrupting her preparations for the World championships in Doha, so she’s well equipped to deal with her current plight and won’t be swamped with any sort of negativity.
‘Plan A went out the window last year because I couldn’t run, whereas this year Plan A went out the window because you don’t have your normal facilities. You have to adapt straight away and you have to get on with it.
‘You can’t be feeling sorry for yourself and moaning that you haven’t got this or you haven’t got that. You get on with it and embrace it or you’re wasting your time.
‘Training stays the exact same, it’s just a different location. We’re still doing the same type of stuff and it allows me to push on my fitness type of work.
‘Last year I was going into winter training about six weeks later than I normally would, but now I have a whole summer to push things on and take it into the winter and next year,’ she said.
Having had to deal with injury ahead of the World championships last season, preparations looked to be going much better this time around as Healy began the year in blistering fashion, setting a new Irish 200 metre indoor record with a time of 23.10 seconds at the A.I.T. international grand prix in February, and two weeks later she posted a championship best when winning the national title in Abbotstown.
To be in that sort of form with the Tokyo Olympics looming large, before it disappeared with the sunset, means she does harbour a slight disappointment that her efforts didn’t bring even greater rewards, although she typically remains focused on the positives.
‘It put me 29th out of 56 in the ranking scheme for the Olympics. It’s disappointing that you were qualified for the Olympics, but it gives you that encouragement to fight harder again because you don’t want to be qualified for the Olympics that didn’t happen, you want to get your spot and earn your ticket again.
‘It’s just about repeating that year and coming out with the same performances.
‘We’ve the European leading time indoor at 200 so there’s a high chance we’re going to be quickest in Europe for the year if there’s no outdoor season. That’s one positive to take.
‘To finish with a national record, just shy of my outdoor P.B. as well, so there’s lots of positives we’re going to be taking into the rest of the year,’ she said.
What the rest of the year will hold, only time will tell. However, one certainty is that Wexford will remain her adopted home for the foreseeable future until the country returns to some sort of normality.
She can continue to dream of making her mark at the Olympics as she carves a well-worn trail around the beach, dunes and forest in scenic Curracloe.