Monthly Newspaper Column
I now have a monthly column on the Evening Echo newspaper within the Sports Supplement. It has been a really enjoyable, if not theraputic experience! I have pasted a copy of some of what I have written here and will scan and upload the actual articles as they come out. I am writing about sports, health and life from my own angle, both as a sportsman and an adventurer. I even managed to squeeze in some acting experiences!
It is the first step in my communication of my own experiences, in a way which can be understood by everyone. I feel there is little point in keeping experiences like Olympic sports and situations I have faced, to myself. If they can be used to help people in their personal or work lives then I am really happy to do so. In fact, I am quite motivated now to develop this side of my work and to provide a service in which my experiences can be used for the good of everyone, if they choose to join me.
On Monday 30th of May 2011 18:05 PM
Article 1 - Published 02.05.2011
Many of you might know me as the Olympic rower who appeared on these pages after winning or losing one race or another. Or some of you might know me as the guy who willingly put himself in a twenty three foot boat to row across the Atlantic Ocean only to fall foul of a tropical cyclone after six weeks at sea. If you don’t know me, then I hope the introduction will encourage you to read my column as years spent living in the self confined bubble that is “striving to achieve” has provided an education which I am sharing through my work. I hope I can share my insights through my words in this publication each month.
Olympic athletes have a short time span in which to achieve their goals and then you are a retiree at the age of thirty one. Life has really only just begun and most, myself included, do not easily fit back into the flow of everyday living and the key is to recognise that everything you have been through to get to the Olympic level has a value and a use to so many other people, if you choose to share the information.
My current goal or challenge is to take what I learned and experienced both as an Olympic athlete and an ocean rowing adventurer and channel it into helping others become exposed to situations where they will be asked similar questions. I do this one-on-one, in small workshops or I organise sports events which are aimed at all levels of athlete, with primary focus on getting people to try events for the first time. The first step in anything is to take action and my events are organised in a way which seeks to reduce the intimidation factor and show everyone that sport is not scary and in no way reserved for the elite and to let people know that it is all about personal feeling. The completion of a five kilometer running race is a great achievement and is within the grasp of everyone. We organise the Urban Trail Series every month, which are running races held in city parks and are entirely off-road on wooded trails, grass and heath and the vast majority of participants are not competing with anyone else other than themselves. Tense, serious faces leave the start-line to be replaced by beaming, joyous, endorphine fuelled finishers after five kilometers of running. They had just spent five kilometers in the moment, pushing themselves, surprising themselves and going beyond what they thought they were capable of.
As human beings, we have no idea how far we can push ourselves. If you imagine how far you think you could ever possibly go, multiply it by a thousand and you might get close. Humans are the most adaptable and amazing specimens and our bodies are extremely tough engines. They will adapt and grow in any situation. It is our mind and thoughts that usually let us down.
My first night on the Atlantic I thought I had made a huge mistake: how would I ever get used to rowing for two hours on - two hours off, sleeping on a boat that was being kicked around like a rag-doll and eating cardboard-esque dehydrated food for weeks on end. A week later I was in my element, like the place was my natural home. It opened my eyes to the power we have to be able to adapt to any situation and actually thrive in an environment that seemed horrible and alien at the very beginning. This is how I know we, as a nation, will survive this period of economic strife and build again. It is a matter of finding our footing after being knocked over and adapting to the new situation. There is a huge shift in attitude towards sport, healthy living and personal challenge in this country. In the nineties, people out running and cycling were an endangered species and put firmly into the eccentric category (“look at yer man”). As recently as 2005, the sports calendar was virtually empty of events unless you were part of a club of some kind.
There has been a huge shift in the psyche of Irish people in this area. Joggers, walkers, cyclists are now everywhere, getting out there whenever they have a spare moment and the calendar is full to the brim with events all over the country to cater for all tastes and levels. Ireland is not the same place it was before boom time, there has been a positive shift in the way people look after themselves personally and this will be a key factor in our recovery as a nation. Getting out there, taking on challenges and overcoming them all lead to increased personal confidence and collectively, the people of Ireland are doing that more than they ever have before. Go to any sports event like a marathon, mini marathon or adventure challenge and stand at the finish line and watch the faces as people finish. You will not see a glimpse of the recession, depression, strife or worry only joy, satisfaction, happiness, feelings of well-being and increased self-confidence. There are thousands more people signing up for this feeling every week than there was five years ago and this can only be a great thing for our people and the future generation of our country.
Olympic athletes have a short time span in which to achieve their goals and then you are a retiree at the age of thirty one. Life has really only just begun and most, myself included, do not easily fit back into the flow of everyday living and the key is to recognise that everything you have been through to get to the Olympic level has a value and a use to so many other people, if you choose to share the information.
My current goal or challenge is to take what I learned and experienced both as an Olympic athlete and an ocean rowing adventurer and channel it into helping others become exposed to situations where they will be asked similar questions. I do this one-on-one, in small workshops or I organise sports events which are aimed at all levels of athlete, with primary focus on getting people to try events for the first time. The first step in anything is to take action and my events are organised in a way which seeks to reduce the intimidation factor and show everyone that sport is not scary and in no way reserved for the elite and to let people know that it is all about personal feeling. The completion of a five kilometer running race is a great achievement and is within the grasp of everyone. We organise the Urban Trail Series every month, which are running races held in city parks and are entirely off-road on wooded trails, grass and heath and the vast majority of participants are not competing with anyone else other than themselves. Tense, serious faces leave the start-line to be replaced by beaming, joyous, endorphine fuelled finishers after five kilometers of running. They had just spent five kilometers in the moment, pushing themselves, surprising themselves and going beyond what they thought they were capable of.
As human beings, we have no idea how far we can push ourselves. If you imagine how far you think you could ever possibly go, multiply it by a thousand and you might get close. Humans are the most adaptable and amazing specimens and our bodies are extremely tough engines. They will adapt and grow in any situation. It is our mind and thoughts that usually let us down.
My first night on the Atlantic I thought I had made a huge mistake: how would I ever get used to rowing for two hours on - two hours off, sleeping on a boat that was being kicked around like a rag-doll and eating cardboard-esque dehydrated food for weeks on end. A week later I was in my element, like the place was my natural home. It opened my eyes to the power we have to be able to adapt to any situation and actually thrive in an environment that seemed horrible and alien at the very beginning. This is how I know we, as a nation, will survive this period of economic strife and build again. It is a matter of finding our footing after being knocked over and adapting to the new situation. There is a huge shift in attitude towards sport, healthy living and personal challenge in this country. In the nineties, people out running and cycling were an endangered species and put firmly into the eccentric category (“look at yer man”). As recently as 2005, the sports calendar was virtually empty of events unless you were part of a club of some kind.
There has been a huge shift in the psyche of Irish people in this area. Joggers, walkers, cyclists are now everywhere, getting out there whenever they have a spare moment and the calendar is full to the brim with events all over the country to cater for all tastes and levels. Ireland is not the same place it was before boom time, there has been a positive shift in the way people look after themselves personally and this will be a key factor in our recovery as a nation. Getting out there, taking on challenges and overcoming them all lead to increased personal confidence and collectively, the people of Ireland are doing that more than they ever have before. Go to any sports event like a marathon, mini marathon or adventure challenge and stand at the finish line and watch the faces as people finish. You will not see a glimpse of the recession, depression, strife or worry only joy, satisfaction, happiness, feelings of well-being and increased self-confidence. There are thousands more people signing up for this feeling every week than there was five years ago and this can only be a great thing for our people and the future generation of our country.
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