The National Endurance Group is created to help support the ongoing development of distance runners in Ireland. We have a long and rich history of success in distance running, continuing in recent years with individual and team successes in Global and Continental Championships. It is also recognized, however, that the standard of middle and long-distance running is improving globally, driven by a number of factors, including shoe technology, increased access to training information, and most relevant, the creation of training groups by National Federations and shoe companies. Our goals with the Irish National Endurance Group are:

• Provide a more challenging, stimulating training environment for athletes training in Ireland with international aspirations.
• Provide training camp opportunities for these athletes at altitude and warm weather to facilitate ongoing development, and preparation for specific competition.
• Provide performance service/sport science support to athletes to ensure that development can be tracked objectively, and in line with international best practice. In turn this can provide a database of information for coaches/younger athletes to access.
• Provide social support to athletes by building a team environment, with regular training sessions in Ireland, in addition to training camps.
• Facilitate further development of the Endurance Coaches Network in Ireland, with 4 sub-event leads/co-ordinators (details below) communicating with coaches of athletes involved in the group, and the development of an aligned calendar to help identify competition and training opportunities.
• Provide opportunities to developing athletes of a minimum standard to train with the group on camp/in regular domestic training sessions. These athletes, who may miss out on group support, may still be able to self-fund to go on National Camps/attend sessions within the group. It is hoped that this provides incentive to these athletes by making the process of achieving performances (eg top 8 in European Championships) more realistic and tangible.

Structure:

The group is based around 3 four-week training camps per year, as well as weekly session in Sports Institute Ireland, and 8 National group sessions spread across the country every 6 weeks approximately. There are 3 levels of support within the group, Tiers 1, 2 and 3, and support across different areas for each Tier is detailed below, as well as the obligations of being a group member.

People:

The group will be led by 4 coaches who will act as co-ordinators/points of contact for different sub-event areas, namely:

• 800/1500m: Joe Ryan
• 1500/5000m: Mark Kirk
• 5000/10000m: Emmett Dunleavy
• Roads/Marathon: Mark Kenneally

The 4 leads will liaise with athletes and their coaches to ensure alignment of training plans with camps, national group sessions and physiological touchpoints, aligning with the national calendar.

Camps:

Tier 1:

3 x fully funded camps per year. For 2025 these are proposed to be:

• April-May  Font Romeu
• Sep-Oct Font Romeu
• Dec-Jan Dullstroom/Tenerife/Portugal TBC

Tier 2:

1 x fully funded camp in Font Romeu per year. This can be either April or Sept-athlete discretion

Tier 3:

No support for camps but comms on camp location and capacity to self fund

Roads:

2 x fully funded camps per year-likely Camp 2 and Camp 3

Performance Services:

Tier 1:

Full access to S+C (including gym access at SII) and Nutrition services within group. Frequency individually defined

Further provision of soft tissue service

Assistance(Referral/recommendation) in accessing additional support if required

Profiling report in following areas:

• Injury risk
• Performance (Event Specific Strength, Power/Range)

Tier 2:

Access to Physiotherapy assessment/referral

S+C via Satellite/Pathway Groups

Tier 3:

Referral Pathway for specialist/recommended physios/Sports Med pracititioners

Access to document containing key metrics for S+C development-for sharing with own provider

Roads:

Full access to physiotherapy, S+C (including gym access at SII) and Nutrition services within group. Frequency individually defined

Further provision of soft tissue service

Assistance(Referral/recommendation) in accessing additional support if required

Profiling report in following areas:

• Injury risk
• Performance (Event Specific Strength, Power/Range)

Coaching/Physiology:

Coaches Network for collaboration and sounding board

Yearly calendar including racing/training camps/championships for alignment/recommended physiological benchmarking points

Physiology support via practitioner/Performance Endurance Lead

Training Planning and Language documentation/alignment

Health Insurance:

Tier 1:

Contribution to Health Insurance (must have)

Tier 2:

Contribution to Health Insurance (must have)

Roads:

Contribution to Health Insurance (must have)

Race Access/Entry:

AI has a relationship with a European Agency and may be able to provide assistance with access to/direction on race access

Obligations of being in National Group:

Camps:

Tier 1:

Expected to attend all National training camps unless injury/illness prevents.

Tier 2:

Expected to attend minimum 2 National Camps

Tier 3:

Expected to attend minimum 1 National Camp

Roads:

Expected to attend 2 National Camps

Group Sessions:

Tier 1:

Compulsory attendance at 8 National Group Sessions per annum

Compulsory attendance SII Wednesday morning (geographical considerations may affect this)

Tier 2:

Compulsory attendance at 8 National Group Sessions per annum

Compulsory attendance satellite S+C sessions

Tier 3:

Encouraged to attend as many National Group Sessions as possible

Roads:

Agreed schedule of National Group Sessions to reflect preparation for marathon/variation in season

Application:

Applications for the group for 2025 open on, and close on via the link below:

Apply Here

Tier 1 and 2 selections will be a competitive process, with a limited overall number of places on the team, so achievement of criteria (detailed below) does not guarantee selection to the team, or to a specific level of support. Coaches’ decision on the selections will be final. The decision-making process is detailed in the below table:

Guideline criteria for Women Tiers 1 and 2 are detailed in the table below:

Guideline criteria for Mens Tier 1 and 2 are detailed in the table below:

Tier 3

It is recognised that the criteria above represent a high standard for athlete selection, and that athlete development happens at different paces. With this in mind a Tier 3 category is created for athletes of a minimum standard nationally (details below) to allow them to train with Tier 1 and 2 athletes and facilitate the potential development this may bring. There will be no direct support for athletes who fit within Tier 3 category, however they will be offered the opportunity to self-fund (or access club/university funds) to take part in group camps and sessions. Tier 3 criteria are detailed in the table below: