The Final Split

Malone is unavailable so we call in club mate and super sub, Matt McCombe to hold the fort for Show 3 which features Training Talk, Social Media Sprint, Parkrun Podiums, Prize Winner Announcements, Shout Outs and our look ahead to some cracking guests lined up for November.

In Part 2 of the Show, we are joined by Chris O'Sullivan (Naas AC), the founder and creator of www.splits.ie- the new Irish race results and ranking website which we've become more than a little bit obsessed with. Chris explains the idea behind the website, how it works and some fantastic features he's working on.

Stuff we mentioned:

• World Treadmill Championships.
• Ordinary Excellence: The Story of Grant Fischer.
• James Milner's New York Marathon.
• Article by Gladys Ganiel on Providence Coach Ray Tracey.
• Armagh 5k race entries (Instagram post).
• Article on Ciara from The Irish Examiner.
• Results from Cardiff Cross Country.
• Trackathletes.ie - the source of a lot of our information.
• Splits.ie

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One of the great stories of Irish Schools Athletics.

Four years. Five US victories. And a Belfast school that keeps producing world class runners.

Between 1997 (link to YouTube video of race) and 2000, St Malachy’s College won the Penn Relays Championship of America Distance Medley (DMR) relay four years in a row. And then added another 4x800m title to the list.

They broke records, became the first high school team in Penn Relay's history to go under 10 minutes for the DMR and somehow survived dropped batons and an extraordinary final leg chase from future American mile star Alan Webb who split 3.59.9 trying to catch them (click here to watch this video from RunnerSpace).

In this special episode of The Final Split, Conor is joined by three members of those legendary St Malachy’s teams – Joe McAllister, Conor Sweeney and Fra McCaffrey - to revisit their school days, training under Dr John Morrin, the Penn Relays and some of the moments that made them part of Irish athletics history.

But this interview is about much more than the victories in Philadelphia.

We ended up exploring the remarkable distance-running tradition at St Malachy’s, the coaches and characters behind its success, and the generations of outstanding athletes who emerged from the school including Greg Hannon, Seamus McCann, Brian Treacy, Gary Murray, Brian Conway, Gareth Turnbull, Colm McLean, Conor Sweeney, Kevin Seaward, four-time Paralympic champion Michael McKillop, Tony McCambridge, Fionntán Campbell, Ben Branagh, Ryan Faulkner, Dominic McAllister, Matthew Lavery, Callum Morgan, Luke Kelly, Finn Diver and many others.

A fascinating trip down memory lane, with some brilliant stories, plenty of nostalgia and a bit of craic along the way.

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#TheFinalSplit #RunningPodcast

Conor, Mark and Gerard are back with Show 2 of The Final Split, featuring guest Emmett Dunleavy and usual features including Training Talk, Parkrun Podiums, Social Media Sprint, plenty of opinions and craic.

Emmett Dunleavy is known to many on the Irish athletics circuit. An Athletics Ireland's Endurance Coach, originally from Sligo, he’s a former top Irish international distance runner, National Novice and Intermediate Cross-Country Champion, and multiple national senior championship medalist. His PBs include 3:47 for 1500m, 8:16 for 3000m and 14:35 for 5K on the road.

We talk about his recent spell in Font Romeu with some of the Irish endurance squad (and Kiwi Miler Legend Sam Ruthe), his company Perfect Pacing and his role as 2026 Irish Life Dublin Marathon Group Coach.

Emmett gives some last minute advice for runners in taper week, details of how to follow the race (TV4?) and we dig him for insider knowledge on the elite entries and top Irish contenders for national titles.

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#TheFinalSplit #DublinMarathon2026 #IrishLifeDublinMarathon #DublinMarathon #MarathonTraining #RoadToDublin #IrishRunning #AthleticsIreland #PerfectPacing #Parkrun #RunningPodcast

The cross-country season is underway, and there's plenty happening on both sides of the Atlantic.

In this bonus episode, Conor is joined by Elizabeth Egan, co-founder of www.trackathletes.ie, the brilliant website dedicated to following Irish athletes, their results and performances around the world.

We hear how Elizabeth and Irish Olympian Louise Shanahan developed TrackAthletes.ie, and discuss the new collaboration between the website and The Final Split.

We also take a closer look at:

• The standout performances from the Irish Universities Cross Country Championships in Dundalk last weekend.
• Irish athletes who have been competing in the early NCAA races, including Anna Gardiner, Cormac Dixon, Cillian Gleeson and others at the Nuttycombe Invitational and elsewhere.
• How the NCAA cross-country system works, from invitationals and conference championships through to Regionals and Nationals.
• A preview of the main events at Autumn Open International at Abbotstown this weekend.
• Ireland's prospects at the European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in December.

Plenty of names to watch, performances to analyse and predictions for the months ahead.

🌐 www.thefinalsplit.com
📊 www.trackathletes.ie
📸 Instagram: @thefinalsplitpodcast
✉️ [email protected]

🎁 WIN A FREE RACE ENTRY!

Thanks to the brilliant PopupRaces, we're giving away 5 FREE race entries!

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave us a 5-star rating or positive review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or Amazon Music to be in with a chance of winning.

🏃 Five lucky listeners will be selected at random.

Just DM us on Instagram to let us know you've entered! If you don’t DM us, we won’t know who you are !

Thanks for following, sharing and listening.

🌐 www.thefinalsplit.com
📸 Instagram: @thefinalsplitpodcast
𝕏 @The_Final_Split
📧 [email protected]

#TheFinalSplit #IrishAthletics #CrossCountry #NCAA #TrackAthletes

John Creane: London Irish AC, Arthur Lydiard & Time on Feet

In this episode of The Final Split, I sit down with former Irish international runner and coach John Creane to explore his background in running and the remarkable story of London Irish Athletics Club.

Founded in 1969, London Irish became far more than a running club.

Rooted in London's Irish community, it developed into a formidable force in British athletics, with athletes including future Olympic champion Linford Christie, Olympic finalist Ade Mafe and a host of Irish internationals wearing its famous green and black vest.

John takes us inside the club's glory years — the characters, rivalries and races, and the extraordinary influence of John Dorgan, the Cork man he describes as London Irish's own "Alex Ferguson".

We discuss John's own running career and his Time on Feet coaching business, including the enduring influence of legendary New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard and why aerobic development, consistency and patience still matter in an increasingly data-driven sport.

A conversation about running, identity, community, coaching and a remarkable athletics club that deserves to be remembered.

Connect with Time on Feet on X @LydiardsWay and instagram @timeonfeetrunning

John's running CV

Clubs
Finn Valley AC, London Irish AC, South Kent Harriers, Folkestone AC, Corby AC, Kettering Town Harriers, North Belfast Harriers.

PBs

• 800m 1.58
• 1500m 4.01
• 3000m 8.29
• 5000m 14.41
• 5m 24.31
• 10m 50.50
• Half Marathon 68.10
• Marathon 2.37

Honours

• Irish Masters XC 2007/2008
• Connacht XC Champion 1997
• Southern Inter County 5000m Champion
• London Colleges XC Champion
• Team medals at Irish Novice/Intermediate/Senior XC

Episode 2: Fintan Reilly

In this interview, Conor sits down with one of the best-known figures in Irish athletics, Fintan Reilly.

Fintan has seen the sport from almost every angle: as an athlete, coach, commentator, international team manager, former Chair of Athletics Ireland’s High Performance Committee and now Deputy President of Athletics Ireland.

We chat about Ireland’s remarkable recent success, managing the next generation at European U18 (Rieti, 2026) and World U20 level (Oregon, 2026), why County Louth continues to punch above its weight reflecting the meteoric rise of its most famous daughter, Kate O’Connor.

There’s also a more personal side to the conversation, as Fintan talks about the Reilly family’s relationship with athletics and the progress of 3 of his children: Neasa, Finn and Clíodhna.

From grassroots clubs to international championships, this is a wide-ranging conversation about where Irish athletics has come from, where it is now, and where it might be heading next.

If you enjoy it, please share on socials and leave a review on your podcast platform.

Thank you !

Conor

Callum Morgan & Eimear Maher: From Font-Romeu

In this interview, we head to the French Pyrenees and the altitude training base of Font-Romeu to catch up with two of Ireland’s most talented distance runners, Callum Morgan (Candour Track Club) and Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC).

Callum and Eimear join Conor to talk about life at altitude, the thinking behind their training, and the work that goes on away from race day. We look back over their 2026 seasons. The races that went well, the ones that didn’t quite go to plan, and what they’ve learned along the way.

There’s plenty of training talk too: mileage, sessions, recovery, periodization and how they approach the balance between building fitness and being ready to race when it matters.

And, as Callum and Eimear are also a couple, we get into what happens when running and life overlap: training together, travelling to races, supporting each other through good and bad performances, and whether having another serious athlete in the house makes the whole thing easier…or occasionally more complicated.

We also talk about the attraction of Font-Romeu, what altitude training actually feels like day-to-day, and what both athletes hope to take from the camp into the next phase of their racing.

Two athletes, two different journeys and an interesting insight into the work behind the performances.

Follow @thefinalsplitpodcast on Instagram and @The_Final_Split on X.

Episode 1 of The Final Split

Conor Curran, Mark Malone, and Gerard Heaney reunite for the first show to talk training, Irish running news, and the week’s biggest talking points.

Gerard shares an update from Sydney as he builds fitness back toward bigger mileage and regular sessions.

Mark talks through managing a hernia and keeping his running easy, while Conor reflects on his own training week, track sessions, and winter racing plans.

Elsewhere, the boys discuss Dublin Marathon’s new entry price, the launch of the splits.ie results platform, the Armagh Road Race’s expanded women’s programme, and standout Parkrun performances from around Ireland.

Plus: shoe chat, race news, Melbourne Marathon, and a preview of the upcoming interview release with rising Irish distance talents Callum Morgan and Eimear Maher.

Timestamps

• 00:00

– Welcome and introductions

• 04:58

– Gerard's Sydney training update

• 09:51

– Mark’s injury update

• 14:41

– Conor’s training week

• 20:34

– Running news and Spotted on Socials

• 25:07

– splits.ie

• 29:13

– Dublin Marathon pricing

• 33:18

– Armagh Road Race update

• 36:19

– Parkrun (Ireland) results

• 41:43

– The week ahead

• 44:32

– Wrap-up and giveaway

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Please leave a review on Spotify, Amazon Music or Apple Podcasts to be in with a shout of winning a free race entry courtesy of popupraces.ie

Ahead of our launch on Monday 5th October, we've stitched together a few bits 'n' pieces from our conversations over the last few weeks - and to test out the podcast sharing platform.

There's really not much entertainment value in these 12 minutes but we promise our upcoming Episodes and Interviews will be a lot more informative !

We've got some great guests lined up for October.

Thanks for checking us out.

Do subscribe, like, share and leave us a review.

The Final Split
@thefinalsplitpodcast (instagram)
www.thefinalsplit.com