The text from Niamh Allen lands at 6.37am. She’ll be driving from Cork to Dublin for work and is leaving at around 7am. She suggests that once she’s on the road, it might be a good time to chat.
“I’ve always been a bit of an early-morning riser,” she says, already close to Dublin by the time the call is made. “Especially having been in Australia, where some people seem to have everything done by 5.30 in the morning. You start feeling lazy if you stay in bed past 6am. You just get into the swing of it.”
Allen is clearly an athlete with no time to lose and there’s lots to chat about. Since returning from a two-year spell in Australia in April 2024, then almost six months pregnant, she’s been juggling motherhood, marriage, a return to work and a sharp rise to the top of Irish women’s distance running. She wouldn’t have it any other way.
It’s an impressive trajectory: Allen is arguably the most improved Irish athlete in the last year. After finishing second in the National Cross-Country in November, just 12 weeks after giving birth to daughter Lily, she went on to finish 11th in the European Cross-Country, her first international. In March, she won the National 10km road title in 31:44 – the fastest time ever clocked by an Irish woman on home soil.
RM Block
She made some headlines in May when winning the Midleton five-mile road race in Cork by 22 seconds, beating all the other women and men in the field of 340 runners. A spontaneous return to the track saw her run 8:51.08 for 3,000m at the Cork City Sports, before she came out earlier this month and won the 5,000m at the National Track and Field Championships, beating plenty of younger and more experienced athletes.
She’s also a breath of fresh air. She turned 30 in April, her daughter Lily turns one at the end of August, and there’s no moaning about lack of funding or facilities, or false modesty. Just an infectious enthusiasm to be the best she can possibly be. All while ensuring running stays fun.
“Not having any pressure to perform, I think that does me the world of good,” she said. “Just enjoying each race as it comes. It’s working so far, so I’m just trying to keep that mentality. Rather than start setting any expectations.
“You just need to stay in your own lane, do the best you can do with your own ability. I’m still learning a lot on the job and that’s why I love jumping into all the different kinds of races.
“I wasn’t even thinking of running track this season. Maybe I was a bit too old. I’d kind of written myself off as a track runner, would stick to more cross-country and the road. My coach, Donie Walsh at Leevale, just told me to jump in, see how it goes.
I was lucky to be able to keep training during most of the pregnancy
— Niamh Allen
“I’d only done one 5,000m on the track before and ran 17-something. So there was definitely a chunk to take off that. But winning the national title also gave me confidence that maybe I do still have a bit of speed in these old legs.”
It was a hard-won race, Allen dropping a 67-second last lap to win in 15:35.90. In doing so, she saw off the challenge of her Leevale clubmate Anika Thompson (22), who last month won gold in the 10,000m at the European Under-23 Championships, then added silver in the 5,000m.
Allen made sure to get a photo of Lily sharing the medal podium with her afterwards, just like she did after finishing second in the National Cross-Country last November. She’s also quick to point out that none of this would be possible without the support of her husband Will.
“Lily’s been with me now since my first race back in Ireland, so she’s my lucky mascot. I’m still trying to find that balance, but that’s the same for every parent. Some days you’re just tired, but because running is not the priority, I think that’s why you can enjoy it more. The family will always be number one. Running is just something I do for myself.
“Even today, I can’t train because I have to collect Lily on the way home. I know I’m not a full-time athlete, I have a lot of balls to juggle, but I think that’s a good thing. It puts a lot less pressure on my running. There have been days I’ve been super-exhausted and you just can’t train.
“Even from a nutritional standpoint, you need to be a lot more mindful. But I’m lucky to have a very supportive husband and parents. Any high-level athlete, full-time or not, is a team effort. And I heavily lean on my support network. I couldn’t do it without them.”
None of this was exactly planned either. Allen says her running pre-motherhood and pre-Australia was more of a social thing. She admits to “probably going out way too much for an athlete”.
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She ran a bit while studying at UCC, then after moving to Dublin joined Crusaders AC, further encouraged by coaches Michael McGovern and Susan Walsh. The plan had always been to spend some time in Australia. With that in mind, and once the pandemic cleared, she headed to Sydney with Will in April. 2022. The move helped reinvigorate her appetite for running. Especially in the early mornings.
There is plenty of circumstantial evidence that women can also return to distance running after childbirth with renewed vigour and strength. And well into their 30s too. Allen references Mayo-born Sinead Diver, who only started running competitively in 2010 at 33, following the birth of her elder son, after moving to Australia with her husband in 2002.
In 2022, Diver ran a 2:21:34 at the 2022 Valencia Marathon, at age 45. It was an Australian marathon record and the fastest time by an Irish-born woman – faster than the current national record of 2:22:23 held by Catherina McKiernan.
Other women closer to home have inspired Allen too. Sonia O’Sullivan finished fourth behind a trio of world-class women in the 1999 Great North Run Half Marathon, just 13 weeks after giving birth to her first daughter Ciara. A year later, O’Sullivan won the Olympic silver medal in the 5,000m
“I was lucky to be able to keep training during most of the pregnancy,” said Allen. “But there are a few factors. I suppose you never feel as old as you probably are. Maybe I still think I’m a spring chicken a lot of the time. And because I don’t come from a running background, and would hang around with a lot of non-runners, you don’t consider being 30 as that old.
“Maybe age will be a hindrance over the next few years, but I’m enjoying the process. And with the running technology, the improved running shoes, maybe the life cycle of the athlete is extending. So maybe you can still set ambitions and goals.
“The plan was always to come back from Australia after two years and it’s worked out well timewise. I also feel I’ve got all that travelling and fun part over with, I’m more prepared to give the running and training a bit more now.”
The early-morning trip to Dublin is more a once-off, as Allen is working in HR with IT specialists Nostra, based just a few minutes from her home in Cork city. Still, everything about her day is based around flexibility
“Work are very supportive, and it’s three days a week for now, up to four days when Lily starts creche, in October. The easy or steady runs, I would do a lot of those by myself. I can keep to my own pace, depending on how the day’s going. So I throw on a podcast, keep to my own pace.
“In the training sessions, I try to meet up with the Leevale group, on Tuesday evenings and Saturday mornings. Because you’ll definitely get pushed along in the group like that. But I’m always mindful of the need to be flexible.
“I suppose my whole family would be competitive. Like in Midleton, once I got in front of the men, there was no way I was letting them overtake me. That competitive nature is definitely in me.
“But next year, and long-term, it will be the marathon. All my coaches have said the marathon, and endurance, would be my strong point. Even if I do think I still have a bit of speed. But I’m definitely not a 1,500m runner.
“I do hope to give the marathon a good crack, and of course every athlete has the Olympics in their head somewhere as the ultimate goal. So I’ll see how it goes next year, then maybe think about LA in 2028. Just putting that out there for now.”
