Register at YourHappyPace.ie and access six-weeks of coaching to run – with walkers and volunteers also welcome
Now he wants anyone struggling with fitness or isolation to sign up for free Parkrun coaching to improve their physical and mental health.
Gillick (42), from Ballinteer, south Dublin, experienced depression after he retired from elite athletics 11 years ago. But the former 400m runner – who competed at the 2008 Beijing Olympics – won’t forget the impact the VHI Parkrun at Dublin’s Marlay Park had on him two years after he retired from athletics.
Back then, he felt unable to run due to a mental block and an identity crisis.
“When I retired from elite athletics, I didn’t want to run for two years,” said Gillick, who is a VHI ambassador.
“I went through counselling. I felt like I’d lost my identity because I’d been running since I was seven. It was part of me.”
The athlete is today helping to launch Your Happy Pace, a VHI initiative to get as many people as possible participating in Parkruns from this September.
Gillick pushed himself to go to Parkrun at Marlay Park, after repeatedly battling with himself about whether it was something he should do. The experience was transformative.
“It became like part of my therapy,” Gillick said.
The release of endorphins was amazing and I felt good about myself again
“I was in Marlay Park, where my athletics club was. I had the label ‘I’m an Olympian, that I can do every event great’.
“But it wasn’t the case. After the first one, I died. I thought I could stay with the others but I couldn’t. I ran a 5k in probably 25 minutes.
“I expected more but even after feeling I’d not done enough, I realised I was out in the air, I was with my wife Charlotte, I was among people and I was already starting to feel better.
“We grabbed a coffee and I was set up for the day. The release of endorphins was amazing and I felt good about myself again.
“I wanted to better myself and I was eating and sleeping again. It was a massive benefit to me.”
David Gillick takes a selfie at the Marathon Kids Run in Ballymore Eustace GAA. Photo: Michael Kelly
Gillick is set to release his memoir, The Race, in October, which will track his entire career and the world of Irish athletics.
But right now, he’s launching free places available for a six-week couch-to-Parkrun programme in Dublin, Cork, Limerick, Galway, Kilkenny, and Donegal. This is part of his life after athletics – and he says he’s keen to help make society a better place.
The programme, beginning on September 1, will give participants a training plan supplemented by weekly in-person training with a qualified coach at one of six selected parkrun locations nationwide.
Gillick says he understands some people feel out of place when it comes to running. But he assured interested applicants, “there will be someone there to support you every step of the way”.
There’s coaches on board, webinars and WhatsApp groups, to help runners. And the public don’t have to run, they can walk or volunteer. The initiative is about “building community, helping physical and mental health and ending isolation”.
There’ll be people with you every step
“This is about physical and mental health. It’s not to put pressure on people to see how fast they run. This is geared towards people who were never involved in parkrun.
“Maybe you might be a bit intimidated, you might not want to go and feel maybe you’ll be isolated and left behind.
“That won’t be the case. There’ll be people with you every step. We want to target people who aren’t Parkrunners.
“We want people to embrace it. Maybe you’ll ease your way into a jog, who knows.”
Gillick still attends the Marlay Park Parkruns and he’s witnessed young people increasingly coming to the events. But there’s older people too, sometimes volunteering. The events help provide opportunities for people to meet others and form friendships.
“This type of coaching would cost so much if you paid for it, so it’s just great,” he said. “For me, it’s about creating an environment we want to live in, where we want our kids to grow up in. An environment where there’s opportunities and fun, a chance for people to be happier and take those initiatives because I’ve gone through it – feelings of isolation and feeling lost.
“And I know the impact running had on my life and what it can do for others, too. We can all play our part in making life better. And tell your friends and family about this too.”
Register at yourhappypace.ie. There are up to 50 places available at each of the following Parkrun locations, with applicants notified in advance.
The locations are: Poolbeg Parkrun, Ringsend, south Dublin; UCG Parkrun, Co Galway; Ballincollig Parkrun, Co Cork; Mungret Parkrun, Co Limerick; Kilkenny Parkrun, Castle Park, Co Kilkenny; Letterkenny Parkrun, Co Donegal.
