'Going to war is a term he’d use quite often with us, but that’s kind of what it is' - David Kenny on working with Rob Heffernan

Heffernan takes no nonsense as a coach, understanding like very few in Irish athletics exactly what it takes to succeed on the global stage. If you’re in, then you’re all-in.

David Kenny of Farranfore Maine Valley AC, Kerry, on his way to winning the senior men's 5k walk during day one of the Irish Life Health National Senior Indoor Athletics Championships at the National Indoor Arena at the Sport Ireland Campus in Dublin. Photo by Sam Barnes/Sportsfile

Every gifted young sportsperson eventually comes to a crossroads, typically in their late teens, as diverging paths necessitate a choice – at least if they want to become elite.

If David Kenny had chosen Gaelic football, who knows? Maybe the Farranfore native would be getting ready to play in Croke Park next week. But instead he chose athletics, and as a result the 23-year-old finds himself almost 5,000 miles from home, preparing to take on the world’s best race walkers today in an 80-minute, 20-kilometre sufferfest around the sun-drenched streets of Oregon.