Bobby Behan Interview

EnduranceSource managed to catch an Interview with the former Irish International Triathlete Bobby Behan, on his career to date and Triathlon in Ireland.

Bobby Behan is a former Irish International Triathlete, who has pretty much participated at all levels. “I know what it takes to be a top age grouper (in 1999 Bobby was the North American Age Group Champion) and in conjunction with that, combining training and sport with a normal working day to day life.

In 2004 Bobby had a successful domestic season while working up to 60 hours per week. “At the other end of the scale I have put everything on the line including career, family, social life and have made huge sacrifices to pursue rather lofty goals. If anything for any athlete aspiring to race internationally, I can give them a good lesson on this type of life and what is required and more importantly the pitfalls to avoid!

Bobby currently works as a Director Sportif / Team Manager for Specialized Bicycles, and also setup “Bobby Behan Triathlon Coaching” in December 2007.

Bobby how did you first become involved in endurance sports, was it something that was in your family?

My dad played rugby to a pretty good level and also played club level Gaelic Football, while my mum although sporty, never had the exposure or opportunity to do sport competitively. She would have been good though and this is definitely where the engine came from, although my dad and his 6ft 2 inch, 23 stone frame, would always say running distance came from him in his usual joking manner!!!
I ran distance events in primary school and was successful, then joined a local swim club, who trained twice a week and before I knew it I was hooked on swimming. I was actually a sprint swimmer (50m freestyle and 50m butterfly). Swimming was my passion in my early years, so from 1986 to 1993. I did most of my swimming alone and was pretty much self coached and educated from a young age, apart from during my term time in secondary school. In the midlands, even still, there are no national level swim teams.
For some reason Sean Kelly and Stephen Roche grabbed my attention from a very young age and that ignited my interest in cycling. I watched the Tour De France from 1985. People mentioned triathlon to me, but I knew nothing about it and it was not known to people around me in Ireland at this time. I only found out more about triathlon in 1997, while at university in England.

As you progressed through your career would you say that there was a particular main motivation which drove you?

When I look back now at some of the things I did to try to make it, I shake my head and do wonder what drove me. I suppose there was this deep desire to get the best from myself. I also enjoying competing and of course training. To go to the lengths I did, it was imperative that I really enjoyed myself, because there were many sacrifices, but in my opinion they were worth it!
I also aspired to greatness and watching great athletes: Mark Spitz, Matt Biondi in the 1988 Seoul Olympics (my childhood hero), Carl Lewis (the greatest athlete of all), Alex Popox, Sean Kelly, Stephen Roche, Miguel Indurain and Simon Lessing – these athletes inspired me.

What do you feel were perhaps the main obstacles which you faced training in Ireland, when on your road to competing internationally?

There were just too many obstacles, which in my opinion were the reasons why I did not go as far as I think I could have, coupled with many other Irish Athletes like me.
In my early years, being self coached in swimming, not knowing or having access to people who could hone my swimming (or other disciplines) to top level was a major deterrent. Were these opportunities available, when I took up triathlon I would have been ideally suited to ITU Style Racing. It was only in South Africa in 2000 where I gained some of this exposure, at the age of 25. And it was really in 2005 / 2006 that I really knew what was required. I was 30 at this stage.
When I look back to when I first arrived in South Africa in 1999, where I met Simon Lessing and many other great British Triathletes including Tim Don (now a good friend), I was amazed at the coaching support they had at the time. Unfortunately, because I was foreign I could not train with their group sessions although I did join them on bike rides! I would have given an arm and a leg to have had this expertise in Ireland. My motivation back then was to train with the best – when I read that Simon Lessing was going to South Africa to train I made sure I was training in South Africa too!

Back in the late 90’s, Triathlon although being awarded Olympic Status (Sydney 2000) was not featuring on the horizon of the supporting sports bodies here in Ireland. Even the funding structures were not geared towards triathlon. It was pretty disappointing. Only this week i.e. July 2008 have we had the first official Triathlon Ireland resident training camp, all based around a national squad structure. Chris Jones has been appointed national coach – it’s funny now looking back but Chris was one of those coaches with the British Team in South Africa in 1999. Chris was bound by rules back then; other than that and I know he would have helped me. He’s a true gent. Now Chris is getting that opportunity and we are really benefitting. Chris in many experts’ eyes consider Chris to be one of our sports greatest elite level coaches on a worldwide scale. We are at least 10 years behind other countries, but I suppose it’s better late than never! Learn from the past and build for the future!

Looking positively forward I would like to think the powers that be will implement an educated support system for our athletes here in Ireland. The ground work has started but there’s a long road ahead and we are a long way behind, but I believe the steps made especially in the past ten months have been huge and represent a very positive step in the right direction. I am happy that my fellow athletes are getting these opportunities and hope they will embrace them, which I am sure they will.

How important would you say good nutrition is to an athlete improving their performance?

You don’t run a good engine on bad petrol! It’s very important especially in a sport like triathlon. Triathletes in my opinion push their bodies harder than any other athlete on the planet, so it’s imperative to give these bodies the foundation in order to do so. Diet is an integral part of that.

 
Many athletes here in Ireland would highlight the questionable weather and short winter days as stumbling blocks in their annual training, what advice would you offer them for their winter training plans?

I think breaking up the winter is vital for success. Personally, I would advise a winter in the Southern Hemisphere and a summer here in Ireland with training camps to places like Spain and Italy to break the monotony. Coupled with each location; albeit in the Southern Hemisphere or here in Ireland access to top level coaching, training infrastructures and mentoring is vital. Simply having the sun on your back is not the answer. This is a huge stumbling block for most athletes. It’s so hard to attain the ideal environment in one location let alone at two or three locations. Combining this with triathlon i.e. three sports makes it even more challenging.

If I were doing it all over again I would spend winters in Stellenbosch, South Africa, which offers the same time zone as home and a great climate. I would spend summers here in Ireland (the area I am in right here in Emo is very good) with training / racing trips in Southern Europe, but most importantly at every location I would insure to have a group training environment with top coaches and mentors and other support structures especially medical support (Doctor and Masseuse). The coaches would need to be paid by the Irish Sports Council / Triathlon Ireland / Olympic council etc. If coaches are incentivised they too will do a professional job. There’s too much reliance on volunteers here in Ireland, which is great at grass roots level, but not at elite level sport.
It’s easier said that done to achieve these components – it takes a national system (which we are on the road to having now) to have ensure these components are in place and athletes get the right opportunities. I cannot highlight enough the important of an elite group environment with coaching support at all key sessions. No matter where you go this is the key: success breads success …. Excellence breeds excellence.

You are now providing specialised training camps for athletes, can you tell us a bit more about the types of programmes you offer?

I started the camps in December. Typically a weekend caters for all components of triathlon specific to the time of the year for example pre season training or winter training. The most important component I advise is keeping everything fun, balanced and in perspective. I keep the groups very small i.e. 10-12 people, which means every athletes gets lots of individual attention. If the athletes leave with a sense of accomplishment and a smile on their faces, then I am happy! So far that seems to be the case.
I also do some one to one coaching, but my time is limited so I do this only when I can fit it in, which is typically in the winter.

Is there a particular fitness / skill level someone would need to be at, before joining one of your training camps?

The camps are for everybody. Specifically they are aimed at age group athletes from entry level right the way up to top domestic athletes.
I do offer advice to elite athletes and help as much as I can. They are also welcome to attend my weekends (some have), but as I highlighted above elite athletes need to be in a focussed training group with so many other key facets in place. I suppose I am very aware of their needs and know that to fulfil their needs many other key components need to be in place and to do so it would take more than just me!

Finally, if you could only offer a triathlete 3 pieces of advice, what would they be?

 Have fun
 Keep the sport balanced and in perspective
 Train consistently

Thanks a million Bobby for your time!

For more information on Bobby Behans Training camps vists his website at:

One of his training videos is also featured on our videos page!