Hackett, like me, still talks in old money, as in miles, so metric-lovers beware: “So these next few months are about gradually building up the stress on the framework, by gradually increasing the mileage. So to avoid that, the most important thing is getting the frame used to running, by slowly increasing and adding miles.” “The biggest pitfall at this early stage is stressing the framework too much or too soon and getting injured. “The framework, as in the bones and the attachments, and then the engine, as in the heart and the respiratory system. “For any running purposes, particularly the marathon, the first thing to do is break the body into two parts,” he says. It helps, naturally, that Hackett has also run several marathons – including Boston, New York and London – and is well trained in sports psychology too. We go back a bit and used to share some very long runs in the Dublin Mountains before gravity warned us off: Hackett has coached several elite Irish runners over the years, including James Nolan and Maria Lynch, and has also served his time coaching Gaelic football, including senior inter-county roles with Longford, Offaly and Westmeath, and more recently he managed Ballymun to the Dublin title. Which is the first thing Brendan Hackett tells me too, and he needs to know what he’s talking about, because he is the coaching expert for this year’s Irish Life Dublin Marathon, with the role of supporting the full range of runners on their journey to the start line.
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