In 1987 at the Cork City Sports meet, a seventeen year old Sonia O’Sullivan ran a time for 3000 metres that would have qualified her for the 1988 Olympics. It was the race that put her on the map. We go back to that summer’s evening when the legend in the making took a bus from Cobh to Cork to stomp her opposition into the ground. Injury adversity would strike soon after but it was this taste of success that drove her through the long weeks of rehab that would follow. How exaclty was the mindset of athletes in 1987 different today? What can it teach us about resilience and toughness? Is talking about problems the right answer to all problems or can we make them bigger by expanding the headspace they occupy?

The Irishman Running Abroad Podcast is Ireland’s number 1 running podcast  and each week examines a different aspect of training. This week we catch up with the GOAT as she travels to Washington to visit her daughter Sophie - an NCAA athlete on the rise herself. The “grand” forests and hills, the lunch box of champions and a trip around the Strava parishes for Sonia’s runners of the week make up the rest of this jam packed episode of Ireland’s favourite running podcast.

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If you’d like to contact me, that is easy too. You know what to do!

1. Irishman Abroad Live Line: You can now get in touch with us and feature on our shows by sending your WhatsApp voice note to 00447543122330.

2. Email Jar, Sonia and Marion directly on [email protected].

For updates on future episodes and live shows follow Jar here on Twitter, visit www.jigser.com or subscribe to the YouTube channel here.

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