Pauric Mc Kinney
Irish International Long Distance Runner

I first became interested in running at school. There were a few teachers who did a lot of sports and one of the sports was running so I said I'd have a go.

Yes I do. My diet requires eating lots of carbohydrates which are foods like potatoes, fruit, bread, porridge (my favourite food) and not eating fatty foods.

My sporting hero is Paul Mc Grath. In terms of running Eamonn Coughlan and John Treacy were two heroes of mine.

My first coach was Ben O`Donnell, of Lifford A.C. I am now being coached by Eugene Coppinger of Civil Service Harriers.

I have twice competed in the World Cross Country Championships. In 1994 I ran in Budapest and in 1996 I competed in Cape Town, South Africa.

Never. I intend running a marathon when I am 87 years old, just like the man who recently ran the London Marathon.

Before a race it is important to eat the right food if it is a long distance race. You have to eat food like cereals, bananas, spaghetti and pasta. Drinking plenty of water is also important.

My father played football and my mother played camogie but neither were runners. I have an uncle who was a very good cross-country runner. He was a Donegal champion years ago, so there is a bit of talent in the family.

When I go out running I don't tend to think about anything, in fact I think its a good way to forget about things. If something was bothering you or annoying you running would help take away the stress.

It depends on the time of the year. When I'm training for a marathon or cross-country I run over one hundred miles per week. I run 5 miles every morning and in the evening I do a variety of training and the total amount at the end of the week comes to over 100 miles. On Sunday I do an extra long run of 20 to 24 miles. During the track season I do less mileage and concentrate more on speedwork.