Mark English is an athlete with no complaints. That probably makes him something of an exception these days, but then he is an exceptional athlete.
He’s certainly not complaining about getting a €12,000 grant, nowhere near the maximum amount but a lot more than most athletes get. No one could complain about having adidas as a shoe sponsor. He does have to drive to either Santry or Irishtown for certain training sessions, but has a free car, courtesy of Hegarty’s Motors, in Letterkenny, and there’s no point complaining anymore about UCD digging up their running track, is there?
Besides, UCD serve him up great porridge every morning and a healthy dinner every evening, and no student in the world is going to complain about not having to cook for themselves.
Impact
English has no complaints about his form, either, and despite missing a week's training earlier this month with a respiratory infection, his form over 800 metres this season suggests he is the one Irish athlete capable of making some sort of impact on the World Indoor Championships, which begin in Sopot, Poland, on Friday week.
He doesn’t turn 21 until next month, although English will be the first person to complain to himself if he doesn’t at least run to his maximum potential.
So, while some Irish athletes have been complaining about their level of grant aid, English is happy to maximise all the support he currently gets. “I can only speak for myself, but for me, it’s perfect, at the minute,” he says. “One thing that’s often forgotten is that we get a lot of other support, too. Like the physiotherapy, and travel. I know some of the hockey players in UCD and they get none of that.
“Sometimes athletes don’t know how lucky they are. I also have great support from adidas, my shoe sponsor, and getting the car is a big help as well with the travel. So I would say things have definitely improved hugely from what they used to be. There’s a lot of support in UCD as well in terms of strength and conditioning. So I’m looked after for everything I need at the minute.”
As part of UCD’s Astra Academy squad, the Donegal athlete does get all his studies paid for, plus room and board, but it doesn’t mean English gets all the study done for him, too. This year, he switched from physiotherapy to medicine, having originally started in psychology: “Only five more years to go,” he says about his current degree, without any sense of complaint.
Nor was there any complaint about his opening indoor race of the season, his 1:46.82 in Athlone on February 2nd breaking the Irish senior record of 1:47.21, which had stood to Daniel Caulfield since 2001: "I think the only surprise was that I ran it from the front, whereas I normally sit back.
"It hasn't been ideal since, missing some training, but I feel I'm back to my best, feel I'm in around 1:45 shape. It depends a little on the draw in Sopot, for the heats, and a little bit of luck too. I haven't really been in a big indoor race yet, so tactically, it will important I get things right, try to involve myself
as much as I can.
'Learning tactics'
"The 800 metres is one of those events you could spend a lifetime learning the tactics. I'm trying to learn as quickly as possible. For me it's also all about progress, all gearing towards Rio. But I treat every competition as seriously. I know that's a slight contradiction, because it is going to be a big learning experience too, but my goal is to make the final."
Last summer, English ran within the width of his vest from breaking the Irish outdoor record, with his 1:44.84, and his only complaint at not progressing beyond the heats of the World Championships in Moscow was that tactically he got it all wrong.
“That was hard to take. I’d invested a lot of energy, but I got my tactics wrong. That’s the bottom line. But I also feel you do learn so much more, when you run badly, like that.”
Which is not a bad complaint, really.
