The Final Split

Conor, Mark and Gerard are back with Show 2 of The Final Split, featuring guest Emmett Dunleavy and usual features including Training Talk, Parkrun Podiums, Social Media Sprint, plenty of opinions and craic.
Emmett Dunleavy is known to many on the Irish athletics circuit. An Athletics Ireland's Endurance Coach, originally from Sligo, he’s a former top Irish international distance runner, National Novice and Intermediate Cross-Country Champion, and multiple national senior championship medalist. His PBs include 3:47 for 1500m, 8:16 for 3000m and 14:35 for 5K on the road.
We talk about his recent spell in Font Romeu with some of the Irish endurance squad (and Kiwi Miler Legend Sam Ruthe), his company Perfect Pacing and his role as 2026 Irish Life Dublin Marathon Group Coach.
Emmett gives some last minute advice for runners in taper week, details of how to follow the race (TV4?) and we dig him for insider knowledge on the elite entries and top Irish contenders for national titles.
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Thanks for following, sharing and listening. 
🌐 www.thefinalsplit.com
📸 Instagram: @thefinalsplitpodcast
𝕏 @The_Final_Split
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#TheFinalSplit #DublinMarathon2026 #IrishLifeDublinMarathon #DublinMarathon #MarathonTraining #RoadToDublin #IrishRunning #AthleticsIreland #PerfectPacing #Parkrun #RunningPodcast

The cross-country season is underway, and there's plenty happening on both sides of the Atlantic.
In this bonus episode, Conor is joined by Elizabeth Egan, co-founder of www.trackathletes.ie, the brilliant website dedicated to following Irish athletes, their results and performances around the world.
We hear how Elizabeth and Irish Olympian Louise Shanahan developed TrackAthletes.ie, and discuss the new collaboration between the website and The Final Split.
We also take a closer look at:
The standout performances from the Irish Universities Cross Country Championships in Dundalk last weekend.
Irish athletes who have been competing in the early NCAA races, including Anna Gardiner, Cormac Dixon, Cillian Gleeson and others at the Nuttycombe Invitational and elsewhere.
How the NCAA cross-country system works, from invitationals and conference championships through to Regionals and Nationals.
A preview of the main events at Autumn Open International at Abbotstown this weekend.
Ireland's prospects at the European Cross Country Championships in Belgrade in December.
Plenty of names to watch, performances to analyse and predictions for the months ahead.
🌐 www.thefinalsplit.com
📊 www.trackathletes.ie
📸 Instagram: @thefinalsplitpodcast
✉️ thefinalsplit@gmail.com
🎁 WIN A FREE RACE ENTRY!
Thanks to the brilliant PopupRaces, we're giving away 5 FREE race entries!
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Leave us a 5-star rating or positive review on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Pocket Casts or Amazon Music to be in with a chance of winning.
🏃 Five lucky listeners will be selected at random. 
Just DM us on Instagram to let us know you've entered!  If you don’t DM us, we won’t know who you are ! 
Thanks for following, sharing and listening. 
🌐 www.thefinalsplit.com
📸 Instagram: @thefinalsplitpodcast
𝕏 @The_Final_Split
📧 thefinalsplit@gmail.com
#TheFinalSplit #IrishAthletics #CrossCountry #NCAA #TrackAthletes

John Creane: London Irish AC, Arthur Lydiard & Time on Feet
In this episode of The Final Split, I sit down with former Irish international runner and coach John Creane to explore his background in running and the remarkable story of London Irish Athletics Club.
Founded in 1969, London Irish became far more than a running club. 
Rooted in London's Irish community, it developed into a formidable force in British athletics, with athletes including future Olympic champion Linford Christie, Olympic finalist Ade Mafe and a host of Irish internationals wearing its famous green and black vest.
John takes us inside the club's glory years — the characters, rivalries and races, and the extraordinary influence of John Dorgan, the Cork man he describes as London Irish's own "Alex Ferguson".
We discuss John's own running career and his Time on Feet coaching business, including the enduring influence of legendary New Zealand coach Arthur Lydiard and why aerobic development, consistency and patience still matter in an increasingly data-driven sport.
A conversation about running, identity, community, coaching and a remarkable athletics club that deserves to be remembered.
Connect with Time on Feet on X @LydiardsWay and instagram @timeonfeetrunning
John's running CV
Clubs
Finn Valley AC, London Irish AC, South Kent Harriers, Folkestone AC, Corby AC, Kettering Town Harriers, North Belfast Harriers.
PBs
800m 1.58
1500m 4.01
3000m 8.29
5000m 14.41
5m 24.31
10m 50.50
Half Marathon 68.10
Marathon 2.37
Honours
Irish Masters XC 2007/2008
Connacht XC Champion 1997
Southern Inter County 5000m Champion 
London Colleges XC Champion 
Team medals at Irish Novice/Intermediate/Senior XC

Episode 2: Fintan Reilly
In this interview, Conor sits down with one of the best-known figures in Irish athletics, Fintan Reilly.
Fintan has seen the sport from almost every angle: as an athlete, coach, commentator, international team manager, former Chair of Athletics Ireland’s High Performance Committee and now Deputy President of Athletics Ireland.
We chat about Ireland’s remarkable recent success, managing the next generation at European U18 (Rieti, 2026) and World U20 level (Oregon, 2026), why County Louth continues to punch above its weight reflecting the meteoric rise of its most famous daughter, Kate O’Connor.
There’s also a more personal side to the conversation, as Fintan talks about the Reilly family’s relationship with athletics and the progress of 3 of his children: Neasa, Finn and Clíodhna.
From grassroots clubs to international championships, this is a wide-ranging conversation about where Irish athletics has come from, where it is now, and where it might be heading next.
If you enjoy it, please share on socials and leave a review on your podcast platform.
Thank you !

Conor

Callum Morgan & Eimear Maher: From Font-Romeu
In this interview, we head to the French Pyrenees and the altitude training base of Font-Romeu to catch up with two of Ireland’s most talented distance runners, Callum Morgan (Candour Track Club) and Eimear Maher (Dundrum South Dublin AC).
Callum and Eimear join Conor to talk about life at altitude, the thinking behind their training, and the work that goes on away from race day. We look back over their 2026 seasons. The races that went well, the ones that didn’t quite go to plan, and what they’ve learned along the way.
There’s plenty of training talk too: mileage, sessions, recovery, periodization and how they approach the balance between building fitness and being ready to race when it matters.
And, as Callum and Eimear are also a couple, we get into what happens when running and life overlap: training together, travelling to races, supporting each other through good and bad performances, and whether having another serious athlete in the house makes the whole thing easier…or occasionally more complicated.
We also talk about the attraction of Font-Romeu, what altitude training actually feels like day-to-day, and what both athletes hope to take from the camp into the next phase of their racing.
Two athletes, two different journeys and an interesting insight into the work behind the performances.
Follow @thefinalsplitpodcast on Instagram and @The_Final_Split on X.