About Me
Kevin English – A Brief Running Biography
BEGINNINGS –
Like many youngsters of my time, I gladly tried my hand at a whole range of different sports, and generally found little luck in any of them.
It wasn’t until I was first introduced to distance running in sixth class that I found myself making some progress of note, and with that decided to join the local running club.
It was here the coaches began to take some notice in my ability, encouraging me to train a little harder and also presented me with many important opportunities to progress even further.
Among my first coaches at age 12 was Tony Byrne, and part of his coaching philosophy was to develop both speed and agility. Neither of these were my stronger areas, still this helped me understand my overall abilities as a runner and again make further progress as things become that bit more competitive.
When I reached the senior ranks, I joined up with Clonliffe Harriers, and it was there I had the great fortune of being coached by Jerry Kiernan, a proper legend of Irish distance running.
Jerry always knew how to get the best out of me. Part of his philosophy was that the person mattered first, and after that the performance always followed.
INSPIRATIONS –
From the beginning my mother was a huge inspiration, and always encouraged me to keep on running even when things weren’t going so well, and progress seemed slow.
She also thought me that family is everything, should always be there for one and other, and that’s a part of the running philosophy too.
As my interest grew so did my admiration for international competition, particularly the Olympic Games, and I’ll never forget watching Haile Gebrselassie win the 10,000 meters at the Sydney Games in 2000.
I had the great luck and pleasure to be in the Olympic Stadium that famous night, and witness first-hand the excitement of the race and effort it took to win.
MEMORIES –
For me the memories of running are the best part. Not just the travels around the world, but also all the good friends made along the way, most of whom I’m still friends with many years later.
And of course, the stories. To this day, when I tell some people of my training stories from the early days, they always find it hard to believe we trained without watches, running to how we felt mostly, in fields roughly measured, or measured by a trundle wheel.
Still, they really were great days, a reminder that running any distance is all about the journey and not the destination.
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