"Outside The Clinic" - What does Sport mean to me?

My wife would describe me as a sports fanatic. Ultimately it is the reason why I chose to become a physiotherapist in the first place. Growing up my parents were both heavily involved in hockey and one of my earliest memories is standing on the side of a hockey pitch with a cut-down hockey stick.

For me, sport provides structure and the opportunity to challenge myself whether it be learning new skills on the hockey pitch or pushing my body to cover longer distances when running, cycling or swimming.

The team environment allowed me to develop social and communication skills and pushed me to the best that I could be in order to help the collective. Individual sports have allowed me to challenge myself internally, asking me to drive myself on to be the best that I can be without the fall back of the collective.

I was very lucky to have a very successful hockey career with both club and country encompassing World Cups, European Championships and European Club Competitions. Nothing could ever replace the sheer joy of celebrating a trophy win with all your teammates, knowing that everybody had to play their part to achieve that success. After being involved with team sports for most of my adult life, I thought it was time to find out what I could achieve in my own.

So I decided to start with triathlon – sprint distance initially and moving on to Olympic distance. After a few swimming lessons and investing in some new equipment I started to get the hang of it and really enjoyed being an individual but still in a group setting. Over the next couple of years, my times rapidly reduced but I still wasn’t satisfied.
The next stop was a long-distance triathlon, so I chose the Howth Triathlon in Ireland.

This consisted of a 2 km sea swim starting on Ireland's eye (a small island off the coast) finishing with a cycle and run around the beautiful seaside village. It was a fascinating day out, there had been a storm brewing and it was touch and go whether the race would go ahead but at 6 a.m. we were all systems go.

We boarded fishing boats out to the island and the swell was growing and growing but we were advised that everything was safe and we should proceed. At 07.30 the hooter went and 200 people started making their way over, unfortunately, that was the last time I say anybody as the swell consumed us and the sight buoys were nowhere to be seen. Just over 55mins later I made land and the proper race began. It was a fun circuit up on over Howth head with plenty of strength-sapping climbs followed by 2x5km run loops to finish. I finished in a respectable 15th and enjoyed it a lot more than the shorter distances so the question was where to next.

I later found out the Keith Duffy (of Boyzone fame) was completing this event as part of a learn to swim challenge to raise money for autism Ireland. With the poor conditions, it was an amazing achievement that he finished at all.

The answer to where to next, was a ½ iron man in Galway. I must have angered the weather gods at some point in my life because as event day neared the forecast got worse and worse, Ireland was due to experience the remnants of an Atlantic hurricane. It was decided the event would go ahead but the swim was shortened to 1.2km around the bay. It was like swimming in a washing machine with lots of people and a large swell in a small area. The cycle was even more fun, out and back along high hedged roads with a gale force crosswind.

This meant that people with disc wheels were being blown off the road when there were gaps in the hedgerows. It was scary to see a constant stream of ambulances up and down the sodden road. Eventually, we finished with a ½ marathon around the beautiful old town of Galway in glorious sunshine. It was a great day out and I managed to finish in the top 50 so goal achieved.

Not long after I moved to New Zealand, Wellington in particular and I found the sport I really enjoyed – long-distance running. It took away the need for planning training over 3 different disciplines and allowed me to get away into the tranquil freedom of the great outdoors. The real beauty of Wellington was that you had sea, hills and trails that ran for miles within close proximity. So it was on with the trainers and off to explore a “whole new world” as the song goes. I quickly found a group of like-minded souls and we went exploring the best of what New Zealand had to offer.

My first formal event in New Zealand was the Kepler Challenge - A 60km+ trail race over some of the most beautiful terrain I have ever seen. It was an amazing event but it also taught me some valuable lessons regarding nutrition. The race starts with a 1,000+metre climb before running over the mountain tops as seen in the picture below. I got a little carried away with all that was going on and forgot to follow my hydration and nutrition plan. 30km in I started feeling light-headed, then I noticed I was catching my feet, next thing I know I am lying at the bottom of a ditch staring up at Santa Claus (I’m not sure I mentioned that the race took place in December).

I had to spend the next 45mins replacing all my lost fluids and replenishing my glycogen reserves before I could carry on to the finish line looking like Casper the friendly ghost. At 64km I put on a sprint finish but I wasn’t kidding anybody my legs were gone and the world was spinning but it was a great feeling to get over the finish line.

It didn’t take long to forget about all the pain and hardship and look for the next challenge (with my wife silently shaking her head in the background). I took everything I learned from my first foray into ultra-running and signed up for the Tarawera 100km. To help with the nutrition I had a consultation with a sports nutritionist and we developed a plan for both training and race day.

Having this plan allowed my body to adjust to different food types during training so I was ready for race day. The summer of 2015/16 was one of the hottest and driest summers in New Zealand but typically as the race approached the rain began. It rained and rained and rained and with the ground being so dry flooding ensued. It made for fun and games, running down black mountain bike tracks, through forests, valleys and over mountains to the finish line 11 or so hours later.

While I would never stop running as it provides my life with structure and an opportunity to switch off from all the stresses of daily life, it was a couple of years before I had the time and opportunity to participate in my next ultra-marathon.
With my wife’s blessing, I entered for the 2019 West Highland Way Ultramarathon. With some of the most beautiful scenery in the country and easy access from Glasgow, it was a challenge I had been looking forward to taking on.

So I pulled out the calendar, the old training programmes, a map of the West Highland Way and I got planning. These types of events require a support crew as they are unsupported events meaning you need all your own food, fluid and kit. There were only 2 people who I thought would be stupid enough to agree…… my wife and father in law.

Being the support crew begins long before the event itself. My wife would regularly drop me off at 1 point on the West Highland way and pick me up at another. She would bring me food, water and changes of clothes along the route. She would give me the pep talk to keep going when the negative side of the brain was winning. On race day itself when I picked up a stomach bug and was unable to eat for the entire duration of the race (well I could eat but it just came straight back up), she managed to keep me putting one foot on front of the other.

So why do I put myself through all the hardships, well for sights like this?

The joy of hearing cuckoos, woodpeckers early in the morning, watching red deer roam through the valley below, seeing eagles sore in the skies above and otters swim in the rivers beside you. For me, it brings a sense of peace and tranquillity to a life that is dominated by deadlines and technology. Yes, it is my version of meditation.

I know now that I am never going to win these types of events. It is a personal battle of body and mind against the terrain and elements. The ability to plan, train and not give up is success in itself...