Home comforts put Heffernan on track

NOT too many witnessed Robert Heffernan clocking the fastest time in the world this year at 38 mins 48 secs in the 10,000m walk at the Munster Track and Field championships at the CIT track in Bishopstown.

After a “dodgy start” to the season in Mexico in mid-March, the 31-year- old Togher athlete had been searching for some semblance of the form that saw him finish eighth in the 20k walk at last year’s Olympic Games in Beijing or sixth in the world championships in Osaka a year earlier.

Since coming off an injury sustained in a freak accident early in the year, he was struggling. With his confidence at a low ebb, he pulled out of a race in Italy last weekend and decided to go back to his roots.

“To be frank I did not feel I was in that type of shape at the weekend,” he admitted. “I had a dodgy start to the year. I went to Mexico for the first of the Grand Prix races and I had a shocker. I could not drive myself forward at all. After 10 or 12 kilometres all I wanted to do was get it over with. I knew I was never going to be competitive that day.

“After that I went to Spain for another race and I was just dead. I feared I had lost the spark – maybe even the desire. I was very disappointed and, in situations like that, you have nothing to turn to. I was out there on my own for eight or nine days and I had no motivation. I was very despondent. I just felt terrible.”

He had a training camp planned in South Africa with his training partner, Francisco (Paco) Fernandez, a former world record holder, and they were joined by their coach Robert Korzeniowski, for five days.

“Paco and myself are good for each other – we help each other – and Robert (Korzeniowski) provides the training schedule so we are singing off the same hymn sheet as it were.

“But Robert just plans your training. It is up to yourself to get your head sorted out. He does not want to hear about any emotional problems or anything like that. He expects you to have your own ship in order.

“Before Bishopstown, I had done a session of 400’s three days before and I found I was able to hold it at that pace all the way through which was amazing. I was in brilliant shape.”

His next race is the European Cup in Metz on May 23 as he adopts a more conservative approach to the world championships in Berlin next August.

“I always like to compete for Ireland as part of a team,” he said. “Grand Prix races are fine but the competition is savage and the results fall on deaf ears. My next big race will be for Ireland in the Europa Cup.”