Waterford A.C. athlete targets podium at Dublin Marathon

Waterford A.C. athlete David McGlynn will vie for a place on the national podium of Sunday’s Dublin Marathon, attempting to one-up his fourth-place finish in 2024.

McGlynn finished 11th overall in the international field last year, clocking a time of two hours and 15 minutes in his debut outing over 42.2 kilometres.

“I was actually delighted with that last year. It was my first marathon, and I didn't really know what to expect from racing for that long. I had ran a few halves before, but the marathon is a totally different beast,” he said to the Waterford News and Star.

McGlynn now finds himself in an even richer vein of form a year on.

“I think I’m in the best shape of my life, and just going off last year, I’d like to get into the top ten this year and definitely hope to get on the Irish podium. That would be kind of the big goal for me this weekend.” A first stint training at high altitude in January created the launch pad for a breakthrough year. In February, he posted a 62-minute half-marathon in Barcelona, a strong indictment that there was untapped potential over the full marathon. He says the performance shifted his expectations to a “different level.” Now he is back from altitude again, having spent weeks perched in the thin air of Font-Romeu, France, at 1,850 metres elevation- a height that starves the body of oxygen and forces physiological adaptation.

In his corner, guiding him to the promised land is another Waterford man- Ray Treacy, brother of John, the 1984 Olympic marathon silver medallist.

Treacy’s school of marathon athletes is prolific- in 2022, he guided Emily Sisson to an American record when she finished the Chicago Marathon in a time of two hours and eighteen minutes.

“I think he's one of the best marathon coaches in the world…I have 100% belief in his training and what he gives me, which makes it a lot easier for me as well,” McGlynn says.

“I never have to think about what I'm doing. He sends me a schedule and I just do it, and I know that come race day, I'm going to be in the best shape possible.

“Ray said to me [before Dublin Marathon 2024], the main goal has to be to get to the start line. You need to be able to handle the training and not push the boat out too far. You need to get to the start line and try and race the distance, and understand the distance.” McGlynn explains Treacy’s philosophy centres around the maximisation of his aerobic capacity. Long runs, high mileage and threshold sessions that teach the body to keep lactic acid at bay are cornerstones of his training plans.

At peak mileage in the lead-up to Dublin, McGlynn was churning over 200 kilometres a week. He credits his improved performances to an increase in mileage and his first exposures to altitude.

McGlynn straddles his high mileage and twice-daily runs whilst working four days a week with EY in Dublin, who he credits with affording him the flexibility to pursue marathon training.

For some, the transition to the marathon can be an uncomfortable one. High training volumes, dozens of lonely hours are a requisite. The painstakingly long, nerve-racking build-up to one singular day of consequence can cause confidence to waiver at any moment.

For McGlynn, coming from a background on the track, the graduation to road racing has been nearly seamless.

“When you’re racing on the track, you can kind of bounce from race to race over the summer and pick up PBs, or if a race doesn’t go well, you always have another one in a couple of weeks.

“I think one of the things I enjoy most about the marathon is that it’s a big build up to a big day...I think I thrive in that.

“You can circle the 26th of October. That’s the day I need to get everything right.” The prospect of a national medal on Sunday isn’t the only motivating factor for McGlynn. Crucially, it presents itself as a pathway towards a first Irish singlet over the marathon distance.

The automatic qualifying time for next year’s European championships stands at 2:09:30, more than five minutes quicker than McGlynn’s personal best. With European Athletics’ point qualifying system, not all athletes have to hit that qualifying time. Instead, they can qualify by recording two strong marks over the marathon (or one marathon and one half-marathon).

McGlynn says Dublin will act as his first bite of the cherry in his bid to qualify for next summer's championships.

“If I can put a performance on the board this weekend, that puts me in a good position. Then I just have to either run a full or a half (marathon) again in the spring to make up the second performance and try and put myself in a position, points-wise, to be selected.

“Looking down the line further, you will be thinking Olympics and World Championships over the marathon. That is the ultimate goal in this sport, to become an Olympian.”