The magazine Irish Runner did the athletes of Ireland something of a service recently when reporting from Kenya, the home of the best middle and long distance runners in the world. Frank Greally and his team lived with and observed the masters in action - their training, eating, resting and whole attitude to the sport.

What emerged from the trip, apart from the simple diet and fierce running sessions that the runners undertake without breaking down, was their equally serious attitude to resting.

"The training regime is rigorously followed six days a week, but there is usually a rest day on Sunday when athletes will relax fully. The schedule is two weeks hard training followed by one week easy . . . The athletes show a great ability to rest and totally unwind between training sessions and they appear very much in tune with their bodies. A missed day does not bring worry or frustration and there is something deeply spiritual in the way many of the athletes approach training and racing," writes Greally.

Talent aside, the highly-strung thoroughbreds and potential burn-out victims in Ireland could learn something from their attitude.