 Okay, time to talk Olympic news and I'm delighted to say I'm joined by Ireland and Donegal Olympian Brendan Bosch. Brendan, it's good to see you. Welcome back to Highland once again. Yeah, thanks for having me. Listen Brendan, since the last time we spoke a lot has happened. First of all, family life. You had a couple of new additions. Congratulations. Yeah, we had twins back in February, so a boy and a girl. So it's been a different few months that I would have normally had leading up to an Olympic games. But no, it's different life now and different motivations. So you take the good and the bad together. Sorry, do you find it difficult at times to juggle the family life on the training given that you basically are a professional athlete? Yeah, I guess the biggest thing is the recovery and the sleep. So I'd be getting, at the minute I'm sleeping in a different room in the house to my wife and the kids are in a different room as a kid. So sometimes I can get a knock on the door if things are getting too wild at night just for a tag me in if the two of them are going bananas at the same time. But normally it doesn't happen too often. Yes, you guys are life sodas, Brendan. Well, listen, you're heading to your third Olympic games. You're the first athlete to qualify from Ireland for Japan 2020. And obviously it was delayed. We all knew you were going because you had hit the standard quite a long time ago. It was beneficial when the team was released. The first part of the team was released this week. And it was a lovely touch by you to mention your old leader and your old comrade down there at Malford, Hugo Dugan, Brendan. Yeah, I mean without Hugo there would have probably been no athletics in Malford at all when I was growing up. And I think he came in, actually the club I think was set up the year I was born. So it kind of worked out really well for me. And then obviously my older brothers were involved. Manus was an Ireland champion in sprints. So I started out with the sprints as well. But Hugo was so versatile. I'd go and do long jump high jumps. And then when I came and started doing race walks, he went away and learned how to do a bit of coaching with race walking. So he brought the knowledge back to me in Malford. I didn't have to go looking for it. So yeah, like he was just such a big athletics person. And the fact that he was a world champion as well just made it seem more possible for us as athletes to really achieve high. And I know I met him back in September just before he passed away. And I went in and he was so delighted that I called in to see him after being away for so long. And he was like, you deserve it more than anyone to go to the Olympic Games. He's always been dedicated athlete. And so there was always kind words and he always made sure athletes had the best of everything. So now without Hugo, I probably wouldn't have been doing athletics at all. Yeah, but he'd be very, very proud to be watching down as you head to Japan and tell Olympic Games for a third time. So how have you managed to delay to the Olympics? Because you got your spot and then everything was put back and hold and put back and put back. How have you and obviously Rob managed to deal with the whole COVID situation and try and keep yourself fat at such a level that you will be competitive coming to Japan, Brendan? Yeah, I guess the initial kind of news, I guess back in March, April last year, there was a lot of confusion. So we decided until it's officially cancelled, we just have to keep preparing. And even when it got cancelled then, we were like, you know, we still need to hit certain standards throughout 2020. So we decided I ended up doing a marathon time trial on my own in May. So I did a 308 marathon just by myself in an industrial estate in May. So that was a good sign that the fitness was still there. And then I managed to get in a race then in September when things looked like they were calming down. So I went to Lithuania in September and managed to get in a 20K. And then we kind of finished the season then and then we started back up again in November. So I had a pretty normal season, I would say like last year, despite the fact that we didn't actually have competitions. So I still trained at a very high level last year and we still hit a lot of the goals that we wanted to hit for 2020. And then obviously leading into 2021 and obviously, and then back in December, I did a PB over 30K. So it's still been a progression of years. So 19 to 20, 21, like I feel like I've still been able to stay on it and keep progressing over the two years. So maybe it would be nice to have it last year, but I don't think it's going to be too negative to have it another year later for me. But yeah, it's probably the fact that no one will be there. It will be a bigger factor than the fact that it was delayed by year. Was it very disappointing that you weren't able to carry that direct form from the World Championships when you finished 6th and into the Olympic year? It was, I guess, in a way because it was such a big thing for me at the time to finish 6th in the World Championships and to have that momentum pushed through because it would have been, I guess it was late September, the World Championships. And then obviously it was going to be August for the Olympics. So it was only a nine month or 10 month turnaround. So it was going to be a short window to have a break and come back. But I was really, really motivated. I felt like all the planning we'd done for the couple of years before that were just getting in, and then the next thing it's all gone. So we did have to readjust things. And I think especially with Rob being there as a mentor and just being very, very clinical with how we approached 2020, even though everything was cancelled, it really helped. So yeah, look, I feel like I'm in a good position at the minute. So I'll head away on a training camp now on Sunday for a month. And I'll know more than when I get that training done. I know you were in training camps before and you were living like a caveman at one stage. You were in caves and high altitude and all sorts of things. Is that part of the plan now in the coming weeks, is it again? Yeah, yeah. I'm going back to the south of Spain to go up to the mountains and I'll be back living in a cave again. So yeah, the caves are actually better because they're cooler. You don't need air conditioning. So sometimes that can affect your breathing and stuff. You're in air conditioning all day, every day for a month. So I prefer to live in the cave and cook away and do everything for myself. We go back to caveman life. How many years have you done that? How often have you gone back to Spain? Yeah, Spain is probably the main camp. We did one or two years. We went to Morocco as well, which is very good. I probably was considering doing it this year, but just with the COVID restrictions I didn't think traveling outside of Europe would have been a good idea. So we're sticking with Spain and then we'll fly back to Ireland and then go straight to Japan. So yeah, trying to keep it as simple as possible. How would you compare yourself as an athlete now, Brendan, to what you were when you were preparing for your first Olympics in 2012 in London? It's very much chalk and cheese. London for me was such a massive bonus because I hadn't even done any big championships before that. I went straight in at Olympic level. I didn't do a World Champs or a European Champs or anything. So it was very much thrown into the deep end. And obviously after London is when I moved down to Carthage to train with Rob. So I should have been on this massive hike from going to the Olympic Games to training with Rob. And he was just like, you need to do this, this, this, this to improve. So yeah, it was probably good in a way that I wasn't going to rest on my laurels at that stage. And Rob really took me to another level again. And it's obviously even 2013 to now, like it's a lot of years of progress in between. But yeah, I feel like I'm in a really good position now. And then obviously Rob is retired. So all of his energy is going into my training at the minute. Do you feel that you're in a better place, fitness-wise, mentally going into those games than you were in any of the years and any of the competitions you competed on? Yeah, I guess maybe outside of Doha. Like Doha was probably the one big competition where I actually went in there with a mindset that I was going to be one of the top finishers. And I get everything up to that was kind of just learning my event, learning how to race. I didn't really have any pressure with other championships. Yeah, so Doha was probably really the first time I'd gone into a big, big championship with kind of even just internal motivation and pressure because I don't think a lot of people from the outside really were expecting it. But with Rob and the way we trained that summer, we just knew something big was going to happen. So I'm glad we were able to do that once. And now I can justify that again a second time going into an Olympic Games. So yeah, my mentality is definitely that I'll be going there to compete for the top positions. If I'm outside of top eight in Japan now, it's going to be a bad result. So it's a big difference between London where I was absolutely delighted to be top 30. You have to develop as a sport. If you're happy with 30 every year, there's no point in competing. It's going to take a massive effort. A huge effort, is it, to get inside that top eight? Yeah, like 50K is probably like it's a weird event because like there's so many different factors. And I mean, if you look on paper, there's probably up to 20 guys who probably fancy their chances of winning the medal. Whereas in other events, like the 100 meters, there's probably like six people who would bank on to win a medal. Whereas there's so much can happen in a 50K. If you can prepare right, if you can deliver your result on the day, you know, have a race plan that fits the conditions of the race. You know, it's four, it's almost four hours. So like there's such a long time for you to even mentally get inside your own head and mess up the race. So really like, so I feel like I'm coming from a position where I need other people to crumble. And then for me to come through in the last part of the race. So yeah, like anything can happen in a 50K. You know, a lot of people say that in other events, but like there's no guarantees with 50K. Like Johan was world champion, world record holder, and he didn't even finish in Doha like so. So like, yeah. How much is achievable then for you? Yeah, I definitely think, especially like the top, the top of the race. So that's why I think Doha suited me like it really leveled the playing field. I feel like everyone was going to be struggling with the conditions. And I think if it's going to be tough again in, in, in Sapporo, in Japan, then, you know, I feel like I'm, I'm prepared to hurt more than anyone else and just get through whatever it takes. Like, you know, so yeah, if it was perfect conditions, if it was 14 degrees in somewhere in Europe in May, I wouldn't have a chance. But in a championship race in the heat, in Japan, like anything can happen. And I feel like I'm, I'm prepared more mentally to win a slower race than anyone else. So bring it on, I think. And was the move of a venue to the city 700 miles north of where the games hub is that a good move? And your eyes, is that a good move for you that if you are going to go top eight or even metal that that's the perfect venue for it? I probably would have preferred Tokyo because that's going to be even harder like so. But yeah, initially when they, when they announced that it was going to be a change of venue to the north, I wasn't too happy about it. But now that there won't be crowds or atmosphere, even in Tokyo, like it kind of, you know, I felt like not being in Tokyo would have taken away from the Olympic experience, but it looks like no one's going to get that now. So the fact that it's in Sapporo maybe won't make too much of a difference now. What does it drive you for all of this, Brendan? Because we have athletes who competed 100 meters, 200 meters, even 800 and 400 and they put in a massive amount of effort. You're a guy that has competed very early in your career at 50Ks, which is a huge undertaking. You might maybe give us an understanding as what does it drive you to do this endurance event? I just feel like I just want to get better and better at this one event. And over the years, I've always managed to increase my performance every year. So when it comes to building or looking at a new season, I'm like, yeah, I'm still getting better. I can still do more. And, you know, that's a massive motivation, especially after coming sixth in the World Championships to think that you're actually not even at your really the peak of your performance. And the Olympics is just, you know, who doesn't want to compete at that level? I do another two or three Olympics if the body holds up. Yeah. How many more years do you think the body has for all this endurance events that you compete on, Brendan? Yeah, it could be a lot of years. In the 50K now, in Japan, there's a Spanish guy and he's like 51 years old. And he's going to be the oldest track Olympian in history. And he was only two places behind me in Doha. So he was eighth in the World Championships at the age of like 49. So these old guys keep me going as well. But unfortunately, I feel young at 35. I'm up against these nearly 50 year olds. I don't feel like I'm the young fella coming through. But unfortunately, it looks like there might be a 50K in Paris in the following Olympics. Is that correct? Yeah, I might have to change event if I wanted to do another Olympic Games. So yeah, they're going to cut the 50K and it looks like it'll probably just be 20K. So I mean, for me to qualify over 20K would be massive luck. I've never qualified for 20K in any major championship. So it would definitely be a huge change in my mentality mindset, you know, to go back down in distance and try and get faster at my age like so. But we still have a 35K event at the World Championships next year. So I'll definitely keep going for at least one more year. So I mean, you were to talk now in a number of months time towards the end of August and where would you like to be sitting in life after an Olympic Games in Japan, Brandon? Yeah, I mean like the podium is not like, it's not fantasy like, you know, like I trained with Rob in 2013 and I saw exactly what I took to win a World Championship and you know, it would surprise you how it's just down to consistency. Like he does like Rob's training, there's nothing special there. There's nothing, there's no one day where you're like, geez, this fella's the best ever. Like, you know, it's just like, no, eight months of just consistency, just banging out to training. So if I can finish out this final block and the training is done, then you can step on the start line and you can think in the back of your head. If today is my day, like I just need to go get it like so. Yeah, especially with in my events, like if you perform, if you get your result, like there's always a chance. Yeah, well, listen, we hope that day comes for you on at the start of August in Tokyo and you'll be a very proud man of it happens. The county will be very proud of you. I'm sure Master Hugo Duggan will be looking down on you as well. And he would be a very proud man to Brandon Boyce. Delighted to talk to you and we wish you all the best in the upcoming Olympics. Thanks very much.