ERNEST ASENSIO BLASCO

1.When did you start running?
- I’ve always looked up to my brother-in-law, Andy Linsley; he’s got this amazing attitude to life and has achieved so many things in both; his personal and professional life, so it was easy to follow him around when I moved to Ireland. He got me into Triathlon about 11 years ago and although I hated running at the time (and I would for quite a good number of years until very recently), eventually I got the running bug.

2. How did you end up joining the club?
- I wanted to improve my running as that’s where I was losing all my triathlon races against my peers.
Quinton, who took me under his wing a few years ago, started introducing me to proper running and eventually brought me to one of our club sessions… That evening, I barely hung 200m behind the last runner on my group but I loved the comradery among the members.

3. Favourite race (Excluding the Trim 10 Miler and Braveheart 5k)
- I don’t have any. I race anything I get my hands on.

4. What do you crave after a run?
- Nothing. I can’t drink or eat anything as my stomach shuts down… but 2-3hrs later, I usually empty the entire fridge and my kids’ sweets cabinet.

5. Pre-race meal?
I usually can’t eat anything.

6. Miles or KM?
- Kms… That’s what we use in Europe. I leave the miles to the Brexiteers.

7. Any race superstition?
- No.

8. Track, road or XC?
- Road

9. Why do you run?
- Official answer: to improve my Triathlon overall times.
- Unofficial answer: to try to beat you all

10. Best running memory?
- After having swam 3.8km, cycled 180km and ran 40.2km I saw a sign by the side of the road that stated “ONLY 2KM TO GO”, all the sudden I realised that even if I broke a leg, I would still be able to crawl to the finish line and hear those legendary words “YOU ARE AN IRONMAN!”.
All my emotions went wild & completely took over my mind and I broke down to tears... I don’t even remember anything else about those last 2kms, I just was floating on air.

Nothing really beats your first Ironman or Marathon. Any other ones that follow can bring you loads of joy & great memories but they are usually linked to a specific finish time which is not the same as knowing you’re capable to finish the distance.

11. What do you miss most from a running perspective during lockdown?
- Racing.

12. Most memorable race that you didn’t compete in?
- The Olympics? I don’t know. I don’t have any.


13. Who is your running hero?
Quinton Bourke. I’ve been exceptionally fortunate to have him as my running mentor and running partner for the past 4 years. He’s brought my marathon times down from 3:15 to 2:44 and he keeps pushing me to get faster and faster every time I race. My admiration for our club member is beyond limits, I absolutely owe EVERYTHING I’ve done in my running career to him.


14. Split shorts or tight shorts?
- Tight shorts. I come from a swimming background so the tighter the clothes are the better.

15. What do you listen to during a run (music/podcast)?
- Mostly Heavy Metal …. But I’d listen to anything as I can’t run without music… I even got in trouble for it recently.