Women’s mini marathon: ‘Running can mean so many different things. It’s about finding the meaning it has for you’

“I would describe myself as a reformed drama kid: drama, musical theatre, that was always more what I was into. I kind of dabbled in running off and on, but really, I had a dread for it. I would be an asthmatic and exercise could be one of those things that could trigger it for me. I just never really found my groove with it,” she says.

But when she moved to Ireland for college, fell in love, moved to Belfast and was engaged to be married, a growing interest in running was just one of the many life changes that came about as a result. She decided to start a Couch to 5k running programme ahead of the wedding, and never looked back.

Couch to 5k is seen as the gateway for many a runner, as the accessible programme starts with walking and running intervals, the former of which get shorter and the latter get longer. Eventually, people should graduate to being able to run 5km consistently.

For Eileen, she needed to set a goal to keep her feet on the pavement. “I was living in Boston at the time. To keep myself accountable, I was going, okay, this is a 12 week program, it’s January, 12 weeks takes me up to around St Patrick’s Day, it’s Boston, there has to be a 5k,” she explains.

She found one and signed up. “On race day, I just absolutely loved it. I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the feeling afterwards, and that just kind of encouraged me to keep pushing myself, and keep pushing myself, and keep pushing myself.”

Now in her 30s, she has since tackled the Boston Marathon and the Dublin Marathon several times over. “I had no interest in running a marathon whatsoever. I joke that basically because I’m such a middle child, my husband and a whole bunch of our friends were running the Dublin Marathon one year and I felt so left out that I went, ‘I’m running this next year, just to say that I did it’,” she says with a laugh.

One race she rarely misses is the Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon. “Whether it rains or shines, there’s no beating it, really. It’s really wonderful. It’s a great atmosphere, it’s just such a great buzz around the city. I mean, Dublin is such a fun city anyway,” she says.

“I think what I really love about it is that feeling… all the way from beginners to Olympians are lining up there. And particularly that stretch — I think it’s sort of around the 5km mark where you start to make your way back, and you just see all the runners in front of you and all of the runners behind you, and everybody’s cheering for everybody. There’s not too many races, I think, where you get that.”

Eileen spent many years thinking her now-favourite sport was not for her, and to people who may think the same, she has some advice. “I was that person at one point. I would be like, ‘I can’t run, I have asthma’, and these kinds of things. The thing about running is it’s such a microcosm of anything in life. It’s just literally that one step at a time. Taking it one step at a time, and just really trying to be confident and try it and enjoy it. I’ve gone from being a complete newbie to quite a really fairly competitive runner — running 60 miles a week — to being a new mom who hadn’t run in a year, trying to get back into it and feeling like a beginner all over again,” she says.

“Running can mean so many different things to so many different people. And I think it’s about finding the meaning it has for you as a person — and that could be going out for some easy jog, some walk jogging, a bit of fresh air, a bit of sunshine. That could be going after race time, it could be more the social aspect of it, and it’s something that can definitely contribute to your well being,” she adds.

Another tip she offers is finding ways of making it fun. “When I first started running, I used to listen to music. Now, I actually don’t listen to music. There’s something for me that I just enjoy being out on the road, no headphones, and just clearing my head,” she says.

For Eileen, who relocated from the US to Ireland, there is a community aspect that can help when it comes to getting involved. “It can be something that can really add so much to your life. One of my friends that I’m going with — we met through a park run — we have such a deep, wonderful friendship. It’s a real sisterhood that we have,” she says.

These days, Eileen’s running has morphed to fit the stage of life she is in — it’s fitting, then, that her mantra is to “run the mile you’re in.” One significant influence is her three-year old son. “He definitely keeps me on my toes. He’s going through a phase at the moment where he loves having little races while we’re walking. So we’re holding hands and he’s like, ‘on your mark, get set, go! And we have to race. It’s quickly getting to the point where I can’t just power walk to keep up with him,” she says.

“I feel like I’m at a point now where I’m not the runner that I used to be, but I am trying to run and train consistently and I do a bit of strength and conditioning, which I find for me as a runner, is really important,” she adds, “so I think it’s just allowing it to be what you want it to be for you at whatever point you are in your life.”

​The Vhi Women’s Mini Marathon takes place on June 2 in Dublin. You can enter at vhiwomensminimarathon.ie