Heffernan walks off with top awards

It says everything about his frame of mind that three months after becoming world champion Rob Heffernan is already stuck in the future, his gold medal success in the 50km walk last August drifting into the past.

That’s not saying he’s walked off the celebration circuit just yet: in Dublin for the National Athletics Awards, which inevitably saw Heffernan named Athlete of the Year, plus Race Walker of the Year, there’ll be a few more salutes before the curtain is drawn on his amazing performance in Moscow.

He’s just back from Monte Carlo and the IAAF Gala at the weekend, when Heffernan spent some time alone with Marian, his wife and coach, for the first time since Moscow.

But there are big changes coming on, with Marian now seven months pregnant with their next child, while Heffernan is already building not just towards his own future in the 50km walk but also to that of his event itself.

He'll be 36 in February but his graph of improvement, he firmly believes, is still pointing upwards. The targets are already clear, too, starting with the European Championships in Zurich next summer, and taking in the Rio Olympics in 2016.

Privileged position
"I'm still in a privileged position that I can still improve, knowing what I know now," he says. "So why not keep going? Because once you're stopped, you're stopped. I'm still hungry for more, and because physically I'm still able to do it, why not go on, and try to back up this year?

“And I know I’ll be going out next year with everyone else thinking ‘we’re going to take him’. “I love that. It’s a new challenge, not going in as underdog. You’re in there on top of the pile. And I look at other athletes that produce medals year in, year out, and come back mentally strong, in any sport.

“Then I look at some athletes in Ireland and they hit one high and come back down. And I don’t want to be one of them. Like the typical Irish thing, ‘Oh, your man went on the beer for a year, or whatever’.

“To be honest, I was sick of all the publicity stuff after two months. Luckily, Derry (McVeigh), my manager, has looked after everything. I think the win still kind of seems in the public eye, but at the same time I’ve been at home, the family man, kicking around with the kids.

“But it was non-stop, something on nearly all the time, and I could have been 10 times busier if it wasn’t managed. But I’m delighted to be back into the training routine, to be honest. With any job, you want to get back to reality. I’m a sportsman. I’m not a TV personality or a politician.”

November 1st was the official deadline, when training for 2014 began in earnest.

“It was non-stop, loads of stuff. Like, I was asked to be the corner man for Kenny Egan in the Mardyke, last week. And loads of charity stuff too. But the phone is on block now. Once I’m back training, I’m back training.”

He’s aware too Irish athletes are still sometimes criticised for not being tough enough, or, more recently, for not putting something back into the sport. Heffernan uses the old idea that an athlete is only as tough as they’re prepared to be, and he’s already preparing athletes in the same mode – setting up a centre of race-walking in Cork, albeit on a small scale.

"We've set up an athlete's house, with three walkers living there, Brendan Boyce, Alex Wright (from England) and a local junior as well, Luke Hickey.

Another best
"Luke wasn't on the radar at all and went to European Juniors this year and set a personal best. Brendan set another best in Moscow. Alex trained with me last year and is the first Brit to go to a major championship in a long time. They're lucky, they're in on the back of my system, and just eat, sleep and train.

“It’s easy to be tough when you’re prepared. Like, if I had to run a 50km in the morning, I couldn’t walk 5km at the pace I walked 50km this summer. For any athlete, it’s about preparation, and environment. You can throw booklets and plans at them. But unless an athlete is willing to live, sleep, eat and train – with no distractions – then they’re never going to be any good.”

Heffernan is also working with Athletics Ireland to stage two mass participation walks next May – in Cork and Dublin – with any revenue generated going towards setting up a more permanent high-performance race walk centre in Cork.

It’s what happens when an athlete isn’t just content to reach the top of his sport, but wants to see his country staying there, too.

Other awards winners on the day included two-time European cross country champion Fionnuala Britton, who took the endurance athlete award; track and field athletics Mark English; indoor athletics Ciarán Ó Lionaird; junior athletics Sarah Lavin, and her coach, Noelle Morrissey, was given coach of the year.

The inspirational performance of the year went to Kelly Proper for her four gold medals at the National Championships in July; the Team Of the Year Award went to the Irish women’s cross country team that won European gold last December; and Limerick man Ronnie Long was given the Lifetime Achievement Award for his enduring contribution to Irish athletics.