Adventure racing may not be for everyone but it certainly suits Dubliner Avril Copeland down to the ground.
The 36-year-old is currently in training for the upcoming and extremely gruelling The Race which kicks off in North West Donegal this weekend and sees competitors traverse a 250 kilometre course that tests endurance, stamina and indeed, every single bone in your body in the space of just 24 hours.
In order to complete the race, competitors have to finish 15km of kayaking, 166km of cycling, 5km of mountain running and 64km of road and trail running.
Phew.
We catch up with Avril ahead of the big event to see how she is prepared for it and what attracted her to adventure and expedition running in the first place.
“I started taking part in these races in 2002,” she explained. “I had played lots of sport growing up and then in 2000, I moved to Nashville, Tennessee.
“I loved country music and thought that if I moved to Nashville I might have a chance of marry Garth Brooks,” she continued with a laugh adding, “Yes, I’m still devastated about the Croke Park debacle!
“For the first year in Nashville I worked in a recording studio where I was working all hours so I didn’t do any sport.
“I was home in Dublin for Christmas that year and on New Year’s Day 2002, I was flicking channels and came across the Eco Challenge Borneo and I was immediately hooked.
“I wen tback to Nashville that January and emailed the team that won the race to learn how to get started. I bought a bike, started running and kayaking and did my first race that year – a 48 hour adventure race in West Virginia known as the Odyssey Endorphin Fix.”
“It started from there and now, 13 years later, I’m currently training for The Race, which takes place this weekend in Donegal. It is a 250km 24-hour race and I’m aiming to finish it within the 24 hours.
“It is my first solo race in a long time, so my aim is to complete it. Normally, if you can survive the race, the placings sort themselves out.
“After I finish this race, my next big adventure race will be the Patagonia Expedition Race in 2016.”
Indeed, it’s not just adventure and endurance racing that Avril has been involved in, as she also played hockey for Ireland.
“I played provincial and international hockey from the age of 16 up until the time I left for Nashville,” she explained. “I captained the Irish Under 21s during that time. Once I moved to Nashville, I took up adventure racing and since then, have taken part in about 13 expedition races (which are seven days plus) including five world championships.”
“Now, I try and train in the mornings. I always find that if I leave it until the afternoon, something will com up or I will let myself off the hook.
“I cycle or run around 7.30am and then will head to work. I’m lucky in that if I do a long morning session, I can start work that bit later and finish later.
“I think everyone has commitments they have to juggle, whether it be sport, work, or family. I think it’s about budgeting your time and only committing to things you know you can fit into your daily life,” she added on reflection.
“There have been some difficult challenges. In one race, the Eco Primal Quest Montana, we had to swim 10 miles down a raging white water river.
“We had elbow pads, helmets, thigh pads, shin guards and what was essentially a boogie board. It was terrifying and definitely the most challenging section I have ever done.”
“Then, in our last race in November, we were held up at 2.30am in the morning by some machete-wielding moonshine distillers and their dogs on the side of a mountain – another not so pleasant moment.
“Expedition adventure racing has been described as a ‘microcosm of life’, where you have all the highs and lows that you would normally have in a lifetime in eight days.
“It can be utter misery at times, but the feeling you get from crossing the finish line is indescribable. You are out in the middle of nowehere with three other people.
“No emails, no phones, no computers. It is a total switch off from reality and your only job is to keep moving forward, despite the inevitable adversity and sleep deprivation.
“It also makes normal life seem that much sweeter when you finish. You really appreciate things like a warm dry bed, a cup of coffee… the list goes on.”
With such strain on her body, Avril admits that there have been a few injuries along the way.
“I’ve had a broken ankle, broken sacrum, broken elbow and a twig in my eye!” she said. “But it’s all worth it. I’ve been involved in sport all my life, so pretty much most of my good friends also take part in racing and training.
“My old school friends are very understanding and just tell me I’m mad.”
With so much going on, is it possible for her to have a highlight?
“A highlight would probably be captaining the Irish Under 21s in hockey or our Top 10 finish at the Eco Challenge Badlands, South Dakota,” she reflected, adding that Sonia O’Sullivan is her own sporting idol as she is “a superb athlete, humble and incredibly hard-working.”
Indeed Avril herself has become an inspiration to thousands of young athletes across the country, so what advice would she give them?
“Commit. You will never be fit enough, strong enough, fast enough… none of us are. You just need to put an event in the diary and get moving. My first run when I started back training for adventure racing was a three-mile run around Music Row in Nashville.
“I lasted half a mile and walked the rest. You have to start somewhere.”
