The Finish Line meets Lilly-Ann O'Hora

By Paddy Ryan

January 21, 2019

This week, the team here at reached out to some of the runners on social media. We follow a whole host of great runners as well as up and coming athletes. We will showcasing these runners in the weeks to come!

This week, we chat with Lilly-Ann O'Hora. Lilly-Ann is the 6th runner in our weekly series of “The Finish Line” where we talk to club runners around the country. The goal of the series is to highlight the achievements of runners of all abilities around Ireland.

Name

Lilly-Ann O'Hora

Club

Dooneen A.C

Favourite Event

100M Hurdles

Running Level

Advanced

How did your athletics journey begin?

My Dad was a competitive athlete and taught PE , so I was always out in the garden running and racing ! I was 7 when I attended the local trials for the Limerick Community Games . A neighbour of mine brought me down to the trials and I ended up qualifying and she didn’t unfortunately… There was a lot of tears on the way home , is all I will say !

What were the early challenges you faced? How did you over come them?

I got injured when I was 16 years of age with a few stress fractures and reactions in my foot . That was the toughest time I had ever experienced, especially when the injuries reoccurred for the next few years. This went on and off until I was 21 years. My Dad is my coach and he did everything possible to help me with every physio, doctor , specialist you name it . I wouldn’t be running today if it wasn’t for him, he always made sure the love for the sport came first and it would make the comeback a bit easier when I did eventually get back racing.

Do you use data for training? What wearable tech do you use?

A stopwatch doesn’t lie (unfortunately )

What have been your biggest achievements to date? What are some of your PB’s?

Running for Ireland as juvenile was amazing, but I am probably more proud of myself for sticking with the sport when things got hard. I never thought I would have gotten as far as I have today and ran times I never thought were possible.

What is your current goal?

Stay fit and healthy, try compete with the best girls !

What would you do differently if you had to start again?

I wouldn’t change a thing, keep enjoying the sport and having amazing people around you makes it all the more enjoyable !

What’s the next event you've planned?

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What advice would you give the readers of Run Republic?

The most important thing is to enjoy it . Stick with it , even when it seems you will get no joy out of it ! There is light at the end of the tunnel !

Whether you are a coach, a committee member, a recreational runner enjoy every bit of it ! The people you meet , the places you can go , its fantastic !

Athletics is so much more than just running and I am thankful for every single opportunity it has given me. I am working with Athletics Ireland now as a development officer and I am very fortunate to say I have a job that I love !

Only for a great coach, great training partners, a great club Dooneen AC and a great College DCU, I wouldn’t be where I am today..