Mick Clohisey’s build-up ahead of the Olympic marathon hasn’t been ideal, but he says he’s over the worst and is raring to go.
Clohisey got a blister on his foot at the Team Ireland athletics training camp in Uberlandia, about 500km inland from Rio de Janeiro. Shortly after he arrived at the athletes’ village in Rio it became infected and required careful treatment.
If all of that wasn’t enough, he was then struck down with a fever. Not a great build-up then, but he’s keen to put a positive spin on his race preparations.
“The last week or so hasn’t been ideal, but that’s always the way with a marathon build-up - not everything is perfect,” explained the 30-year-old Raheny Shamrock runner.
“In some ways it could be a blessing because I was doing less training and you don’t want to be doing too much training the week of a marathon and you have to hold yourself back because you’re used to training all the time.
“About a week ago a blister on my foot got infected, so I had to get that looked after. That’s fine and since I came to the village I’ve felt a little under the weather, a bit of a fever but it’s lifted now and I’m feeling a lot better today,” he said, speaking to RTÉ Sport on Friday.
“In some ways it might do me good because I haven’t been training as much as I usually do, I’ve been resting and hopefully that will stand to me.
“It’s all part of it - you never feel great the week of a marathon so I wouldn't dwell on it. It’s part of the marathon taper, something always comes up and I’m feeling fine now.”
Clohisey is part of Ireland’s three-strong marathon team alongside Kevin Seaward and Paul Pollock.
He likes the look of the 42.2km course, which incorporates three laps of a 10km loop and offers stunning views of iconic landmarks like the Christ the Redeemer statue and the Sugarloaf Mountain, though he knows the weather will make it tough.
Athletes from colder climates are expected to struggle somewhat to deal with the high temperatures around the Brazilian city.
“The weather has been hot, sticky and it’s not ideal for marathon running,” he said. “The (Irish) women last Sunday, in those conditions, were brilliant, I thought. When you’re here you really feel it and they were really great performances.
“Looking at the forecast it looks like there’ll be a fair bit of rain coming in on Sunday, which I wouldn’t mind! Still, it’s going to be mid-to-high twenties (degrees).
“I think the plan is to be a lot more cautious early on because it’s going to be early on when the heat takes its toll.
“I’ll be a lot more cautious than normal and I’ll hope to come through later on because you want to get to halfway and beyond feeling good, as opposed to getting halfway and realising you’ve gone out to hard and things aren't going according to plan.
“So that’s the plan - hold back a lot more than usual and, obviously, getting as much fluids in as possible.
“As it’s a championship, race time isn't going to be a priority - it’s about getting as high a placing as possible. If a good time comes, it does, but in the conditions it’s not likely. I just want to maximise my performance with the highest placing.”
