Irish athletics reels from the loss of another tireless evangelist and foot soldier, Ray Flynn

Rob Heffernan pays tribute to his best friend, fixer, confidante, coach. Water carrier, dream sharer, master motivator.

INSEPARABLE: Robt Heffernan with Ray Flynn after being presented with his men's 50k walk gold medal at the 2013 World Athletics Championships in Moscow.

Every time Rob Heffernan stops for a breath, he exhales in soft disbelief. Disbelief that every time he pauses, he has to correct his verbs to the past tense.

Father, brother, best friend. Fixer, confidante, coach. Water carrier, dream sharer, master motivator. Ray Flynn was all of things all at once for Heffernan. All of them and more, for the guts of a quarter century since their paths first crossed and intertwined for good.