Mark Pollock Interview

It was not long after Mark had successfully completed the Gobi Marathons that he found himself at the Northpole preparing for one of the most extreme marathons in the world.

“It was great to go from the heat of the desert to the cold of the pole. It was the first year that they had opened the race up and I think there were 15 of us there in total. One of the people who was there for the race was Sir Ranaulph Finnes. It was just so great to be there at the North Pole with this living legend. At the end of the race myself and John O’reagan came joint 8th out of the 15. I think I still hadn’t quite made the transition from Rowing and after the race I was a bit disappointed and moaning about our performance. It was actually Sir Ranaulph Finnes who said to me “what are you trying to prove?”… I think if my mum had said it to me I wouldn’t have listened, but here I had this living legend say it and I had to stop and think. It was actually because of this that I began to understand that for me some terrains would always be about the experience, while others would be about the race – that was quite a milestone for me.

Was there a particular high point of the North Pole Marathon for you?

You know there are so many it’s hard to pick one out. We were there for quite a brief period and were sharing this tent with a bunch of hardened explorers, so I felt like a bit of an outsider looking in. Just sitting in the mess tent and listening to these guys telling us and each other stories, it was just such a luxury to be in the company of these exceptional people who had done amazing things. I think looking back at the Gobi and North Pole Marathons, that those events play quite a large part in the decisions I make today and what I’m about to do next.

After the North Pole the next event that Mark began to focus on was the Coast to Coast challenge in New Zealand. This was a cycling, Kayaking and running race which once again featured uneven and rocky terrain. In the run up to this Mark took part in the Liffey descent in order to familiarise himself with the kayaking skills he would later rely on. The Coast to Coast course involved a 3k run 55k bike on a tandum which was then followed by a 33k mountain run, cycling and kayaking.

 Having gotten advice from past competitors Mark was assured that mountain section was not too bad, but this advice had been given from a sighted perspective. When Mark arrived at that stage of the event, it became obvious that he was not able to jump from boulder to boulder like the sighted competitors and instead had to go around and then up and over each individual boulder. The result was that Mark found himself well outside the course cut off time and had to be choppered off of the mountain. Not being one to be deterred easily, Mark returned the following year to take on the challenge again. “ I just wasn’t sure that I had been as fit or as prepared as perhaps I could have been, so I wanted to give it a another go and see if I could complete the course.

 After a year of training Mark was back in New Zealand to tackle the event for the second time. “ I went back in 2006 and went for it again. The result was that I was choppered off the mountain again only it was a half an hour earlier and in exactly the same place!”

This second DNF was a huge blow to Marks confidence causing him to question his own ability. Luckily for him he was already commited taking part in Ironman Switzerland which was only a month after New Zealand. This meant that instead of dwelling on the second DNF Mark had to focus on the challenge immediately ahead of him:

 “At that stage I hadn’t finished a race for almost a year. I had trained so hard before the 2nd coast to coast that when I came back I automatically immersed myself in my Ironman preparations. Very soon I had fallen into a dangerous cycle of overtraining and not getting enough rest, which in turn affected my motivation and energy levels. On one particular day I arrived at the gym reception and one of the trainers saw me and asked if I was alright. I explained that I had to go in and swim and I think he picked up and how I was feeling. He just told me that he’d suggest that I should take the evening off and then come back the following day to meet with him. I came back the following day and after a few tests and questions the instructor made a few nutritional suggestions and suggested I take some supplements. The result was amazing and within a few days my energy levels were back through the roof and I felt like my self again. It was very shortly after that that I took part in the Ironman Switzerland.

* The Second Part of this exceptional story will be posted at the end of the week!.....*