[QUOTE=“TheUlteriorMotive, post: 1100888, member: 2272”]Seems every former model, musician, “celebrity” in Ireland is now a mental health advocate, health and fitness expert, general wellness expert, nutritionist, food expert
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we’re a nation of sheep always looking for a shepherd pal…that’s why all these celebrities are used…a lot of emptyheads buy into that shit…
its like this cycling crap…fellas putting up their time and distance for spending the day cycling around the fuckin Wicklow mountains etc… fuck off and take your bike with you…what’s wrong with stayings still for a bit ??..
The strange thing about all this is that in a sport that increasingly celebrates the perfectly ordinary, there is still some due respect left for an athlete like Mark English. In fact athletics must be the only sport in the world where those at the very basic entry level, who run for the mere pleasure of it, without actually achieving anything, are now deemed heroic in some sense or another, especially if they’ve lost a few stone in weight or quit smoking 40 cigarettes a day.
If anything those at the bottom end of the sport are now getting more recognition than those at the top - like some local Ardfert footballers kicking about on Banna Strand getting more media spotlight than [Kieran Donaghy](‘http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Kieran Donaghy&article=true’). This is not necessarily a bad thing, as they’re more likely to represent the very essence of sport, although athletics in this country is becoming increasingly prone to the purely standard heroics of mere participation.
But don’t just take my word for it. The cover story of this week’s RTÉ Guide - still the best-selling magazine in the country - features three “running junkies”, including [David Gillick](‘http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=David Gillick&article=true’), who certainly reached the top of his event, his 44.77 seconds for 400m still an Irish record of considerable worth, and who understandably misses the routine of the elite athlete.
Also featured is Ray D’Arcy, another RTÉ radio man, who “has got the nation running”, and enjoys running about three times a week, and [Nuala Carey[/URL], RTÉ’s weather and Lotto presenter, who runs three or four times a week. Both of them come across as wonderfully addicted to their running, for utterly justifiable reasons, although they’re hardly running junkies, at least not in the way Arthur Lydiard or [URL=‘http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Percy Cerutty&article=true’]Percy Cerutty](‘http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Nuala Carey&article=true’) meant running to be.
The cover story of this month’s Irish Runner - still the best-selling running magazine in the country - features something similar, an in-depth interview with singer-songwriter [Niall Breslin](‘http://www.irishtimes.com/search/search-7.1213540?tag_person=Niall Breslin&article=true’), better known as Bressie, who for several years now has been using running as a vital tool in his struggles against anxiety and depression. Bressie clearly has a passion for running - also promoting his 1,000 Hours project, as a way of drawing others in too - and again it’s a wonderful and utterly justifiable cause. The only worry here is that not even the specialist running magazines can find much room anymore for the thoughtful conversations about what it takes to succeed as an elite distance runner
I’m Zen, mate. Just making the point that only a complete spasticated cunt would make a comparison… I’m just on the coffee now after dinner. I haven’t drank since crimbo and have had a few shots already. I’m waiting for some roaster cunt to start singing the fields and I’ll slit his throat.
