Updated at 08.23
CIARA MAGEEAN DOESN’T like to think of her post-race vomits as part of her routine.
Naturally, she’d rather it didn’t happen at all and that she could just put the performance to the back of her mind with all her other races.
But there’s little she can do to avoid it. That familiar nauseous feeling has long been a burden for Mageean, even when she was running at junior level.
She has a better chance of keeping the food down if she gets a chance to do a warm-down jog after, but now that she’s a seasoned senior runner, that’s not always the case.
Her races at European and World level are more likely to be televised, meaning those first few minutes after the race are gobbled up by interviews and other media obligations.
“That’s when it comes,” says Mageean about the grim reality that awaits her after her 1,500m races.
The Down woman has spoken openly about her need to get sick in the past. She even introduced some people to the word ‘boke’ recently, a colloquial word for vomit used in Northern Ireland.
"I'm feeling good. There is nothing to be left to chance out there. Don't take any rubbish and hold your ground." @ciaramageean is safely through to the 1,500m semi-final and gives herself a big chance of making the final. pic.twitter.com/ErN36cP1Lc
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) October 2, 2019
“I did my usual, had a little boke,” she told David Gillick on RTÉ Sport after qualifying for the 1,500m final at the World Championships last month.
According to Mageean, Gillick has had the privilege of witnessing her get sick after many races, and he’s always on hand to help her through it.
David Gillick is always there with the bin for me,” she says. “He’s been thrown up on too many times now. He’s a good man for keeping me right.”
Mageean went on to finish 10th in the final at the Worlds, setting a new personal best time of 4:00.15. in the process. Sitting in front of the media a few weeks on from that incredible result, she goes into a bit more detail about why she gets sick after races.
“There probably is a psychological aspect there,” she begins.
It’s something that has happened to me a lot and my body ends up going there. I do have the ability to run my body into the absolute ground and to cross that line knowing that I have given absolutely everything.
“It’s probably a reaction to the lactate I have produced. If I took a lactate test after a race I’m sure it’s sky high.
“I think my stomach is a bit sensitive. It never happens at training. As much as I push myself, it only happens after races.”
At the time of this chat, Mageean had yet to sit down and watch the 1,500 final at the World Championships in Doha.
In truth, she doesn’t enjoy watching her races back. The whole process of holding a mirror up to her performances can be off-putting. And understandably so.
“Is that what my face looks like when I run?,” she sometimes thinks to herself while watching the footage.
Still, she understands the importance of reviewing her races and taking the key lessons she needs to improve for future competitions.
As a middle distance runner, the start isn’t hugely important for her. That’s for sprinters to zero in on.
Mageean is critiquing the way she positions herself in the field and whether or not she let other competitors push her out of that position. It’s a tactical race and she has many questions to ask herself during those analysis sessions.
“Another thing that I would look at is my last 400m. Even that within that, more specifically, the last 200m, 1,500m. [We'd be] looking at my form: Did I maintain my form? It’s something we work a lot on with my coach in training.
“Whenever you are you are tired you want to fall into certain patterns, I’d want to start grinding my arms. It looks hard. You don’t run fast doing that. It’s a battle to stay tall, stay sharp and stay moving really well and run through the line.”
Ciara Mageean was at the launch of Circle K’s “Here for Ireland” initiative.
Originally published at 0730
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