“This can never be taken away from me”- Donore’s Travers
By Stephen Leonard
DONORE Harriers athlete John Travers insists he was not even thinking about producing a historic run ahead of this week’s AIT International Grand Prix that saw him become the first Irishman to run a sub-four minute indoor mile on home soil.
The Drimnagh man crossed the line in 3:59.40, finishing third behind Ryan Gregson of Australia and Poland’s Grzegorz Kalinowski.
John Travers crossed the line in 3:59.40
“Coming into this race I wasn’t even thinking about times, and it was great to run with no pressure on me,” Travers told Echo.ie.
“If I had done a 4.04 or a 4.05 I would have walked away happy. That would have been a good time.
“I had been running 80-100 miles a week, but no track work and zero speed work.
“This was my third race. I had run in Armagh and then I won the 3000m in the Nationals, so after this [the AIT International], I’m just out on my feet.
“Even at the start of the race my legs were feeling all lacticy and I thought I could be in trouble here. To be honest there was not one part of the race where I felt comfortable.
Absolutely amazing crowd
“But the crowd was absolutely amazing. You would have thought there were 10,000 out there and, from the feedback from them, I could tell that I was close.
“I was delighted to do it and delighted that I did it at the AIT. I study there. They wanted it to be me who did it and I wanted to be the one who did it there,” he said.
Such a feat is reminiscent of another former Donore athlete, Eamonn Coghlan who clocked sub-four minute miles abroad on a number of occasions.
“Don’t get me wrong, I’m nowhere near the athlete that Eamonn Coghlan was, but to be the first Irish man to run a sub-four minute indoor mile on home soil is something that can never be taken away from me,” said a delighted Travers.
It is a huge boost for the in-form runner who will soon be looking to make the cut for the European Outdoor 5000m Championships this summer.
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