Ciara clearing all obstacles
National Senior champion has adjusted to new reality
CIARA WILSON of DMP AC is one of Wexford’s top senior female athletes. The now multi-sport athlete recently won her first national Senior title and has donned the Irish vest four times in the past two years at international duathlon competitions.
Ciara gives us an insight here into the world of duathlon, how she won her Senior title, life during lockdown, and plans for the future.
‘If someone told me that March 7 was the last day I would race for four months, not because of injury or any other reason but due to a global pandemic, I would not have believed them. A pandemic that essentially shut Ireland down from March 12 and in recent weeks [the country] is only starting to re-open.
‘I have been running for as long as I can remember. It is something that I have always loved. For the past four years I have been focusing on multi-sport, working with my coach Dan from Performance
Science Ireland.
‘Multi-sport consists of three disciplines: swim, bike and run. I have represented Ireland as an elite at World and European duathlon championships. A duathlon consists of a run-bike-run.
‘The most common distances involve a sprint (5km run – 20km bike – 2.5km run) and standard distance (10km run – 40km bike – 5km run). I have competed in both at national and international level.
‘These races are fierce and fast, particularly at international level. Races will often set off at a run pace of between 3.00/km – 3.20/km in the women’s field and faster in the men’s. You then transition onto a bike, pedal as fast as you can for fear of being dropped by the group, get off your bike and run at similar pace to the first run all the way to the finish.
‘In elite races they also have what is called the ‘lap out’ rule. The bike is often done on short laps of between 4km – 8km. For example, a 20km bike could consist of four laps of 5km.
‘If you become detached from a group there is a chance you will be passed by the lead cycle pack and essentially be lapped out of the race. This means you cannot finish. A cruel rule at times.
‘On February 29 of this year I competed in the 3,000m Athletics Ireland national Senior indoor championships, representing my club, DMP AC. As a now multi-sport athlete, myself and my coach (Dan from Performance Science Ireland) had set this as a ‘B’ goal for the year, with the European duathlon championships the following week the ‘A’ goal.
‘I was running well in training and we worked out what I would need to run to be in a shout of medals. I knew the numbers, we had a plan and I stuck to it. Earlier that day I asked Dan, “what happens if I end up at the front of the race?”
‘He replied, “focus on your numbers”. The race starts and 50m in I find myself at the front of the race with a gap opening up. All I thought about was numbers, numbers, numbers. Just run your numbers.
‘As the race went on, the gap wasn’t closing and I soon began to realise that not only could I be on the podium here, but I could be a national champion. The bell rang for the last lap, one last push, and I crossed the finish line. My first national Senior title, I could not believe it.
‘I was immediately congratulated by Fiona Kehoe of Kilmore AC, a former national indoor champion herself over 800m. Fiona was someone I looked up to a lot when I was younger, so this meant a lot. Winning that title was probably one of the proudest moments of my sporting career thus far.
‘I was delighted that my parents made the trip up to watch, and saw me winning my first national Senior athletics title. I often remember finishing last in races at regional and national level, but I kept going purely because I loved the sport so much.
‘John Joe Doyle from DMP AC was a fantastic mentor and coach in my early years and always told me that each individual athlete will develop at different rates and I would hit my peak in years to come.
‘When restrictions were put in place, it was hard to come to terms with the fact that I was probably the fittest I had ever been and no races in sight for weeks and possibly months. Being in Dublin meant I didn’t know when I would be able to see my family in Wexford again.
‘It was disheartening at first, but I decided to focus on training and why I took up this sport. Lockdown reminded that I genuinely love it and have always enjoyed training, and that is what has got me through the past few months.
‘I am based in Dublin and am very fortunate to live beside the Phoenix Park where I do the majority of my training. I was very strict when following the government guidelines, particularly when the 2km radius was in place.
‘The park was a very busy place, with people out walking etc. Myself and Dan found a 1km stretch of road on the outside of the park which is where I did a lot of running from sessions to long runs (a 21km long run at one point).
‘For the bike I was very lucky to have a turbo trainer at home which I could set my bike up on. Everything including training turned to the virtual world. In cycling there is a very popular online training platform called ‘Zwift’ where you can virtually cycle with anyone in the world in places like New York and London.
‘This was great as I was virtually able to cycle with friends and training partners from Performance Science Ireland. Routine was important for me during lockdown. We had three weekly virtual sessions each week through ‘Zwift’ as a group and this helped a lot.
‘My coach, Dan, organised a virtual race series over four distances: one mile, five miles, five km and ten km, which was a great motivator to stay on top of training. The swim had to take a back seat until travel restrictions were lifted.
‘I was very lucky that I got to race eight times before Covid-19 hit: Tom Brennan 5km (third); Ferrycarrig 5 mile (first and course record); Triathlon Ireland national duathlon series (three wins); Armagh International 3k (second Irish athlete home); Athletics Ireland national indoor championships (first), and finally European duathlon championships in Punta Umbria.
‘With restrictions now easing I’m hoping to get back racing in the coming weeks. As much as I love to train, you can’t beat the feeling of a race. I have a couple of 5ks on the road planned as well as some track races.
‘Hopefully I will get some duathlons and triathlons in too. I for one cannot wait to represent DMP AC, Wexford, and Ireland in races again.
‘We are all having to adapt to a “new normal” and a “socially distanced” way of life. This has altered how we live, train and race for the foreseeable future. It has challenged us in ways we could never have imagined. We have had to re-think our approach to training, how we train, where we train, our training and racing goals.
‘Finally, for any athlete who has lost their way during Covid-19, there is one quote I often refer to when a challenge presents itself to me. It is by Elaine Maxwell and its says, ‘My will shall shape the future. Whether I fail or succeed shall be no man’s doing but my own. I am the force. I can clear any obstacle before me or I can be lost in the maze’.
‘Stay safe, stay strong, and keep running!
‘I would like to say thank you to Wexford Credit Union and Performance Science Ireland for their continued support.’
CIARA WILSON