Today, Monday, March 1st, Niall Breslin launches a unique and ambitious project on the Where Is My Mind? podcast that will document the journey of four individuals as they train for one of the most testing of all endurance events, a Marathon.
In 2021, Niall, alongside a team of passionate professionals, will be coaching, training and mentoring four individuals to complete a 26.2 mile marathon. The aim of the series is to train the mind to make the body strong, not the other way around - and to invite listeners to join on their own journey, too.
Previously, Niall undertook a similar challenge through the hit RTE TV show, “Ironmind”, told those stories and had a massive national impact on the conversation around mental health and emotional well-being – Niall is now revitalising this format and taking it to a deeper level for a podcast audience, with personal stories and journeys at the centre.
‘Marathon Mind’ will bring together four individuals, each with their own unique challenges in life, to go on a nine-month journey to complete 26.2 miles of mental, emotional and physical endurance.
Niall will be with them for every step, including the marathon itself. Over the nine months he’ll be helped by an incredible team of focused and driven individuals which consists of Olympians and world champions. They’ll be supporting the individuals taking part along every step of the way to work towards getting them across that finish line.
The ‘Marathon Mind’ expert team consists of: Chartered Psychologist - Louize Carroll Mindfulness Coach - Niall Breslin World Champion and Marathon Coach - Rob Heffernan Strength and Conditioning and Physiotherapy Coach - Colin Griffin Sports Agent and Athlete Liaison - Derry McVeigh Head of Performance Sport at the Irish Institute of Sport, Dietician - Sharon Madigan Behavioural Neuroscientist and Chartered Psychologist – Dr. Michael Keane
After a lengthy selection process with over 800 applicants, the team of experts have selected four individuals with powerful personal stories.
Niall is making this full psychological, spiritual, and physical programme available on the 'Where Is My Mind?' podcast, exclusively on Spotify, so that listeners can start their own journey, too.
'The Marathon' event itself will take place in November, with full details to be announced on the podcast and Niall’s social media over the coming weeks. Follow the ‘Marathon Mind’ journey on social media at Marathonmindofficial on Instagram.
Speaking about using the podcasting platform for this project Niall says, “I am constantly looking at ways of using the podcast platform in other ways, like using it in conjunction with multi-platform approaches… It’s the most exciting, dynamic and powerful medium in the world today in my eyes but I think we are only scratching the surface. ‘Marathon Mind’ will be a challenge for me physically, but also a personal challenge in bringing my own podcast to another level of ambition not yet seen in Irish podcasting.”
Speaking on the announcement, Sports Agent and ‘Marathon Mind’ Athlete Liaison, Derry McVeigh said, “My involvement in Marathon Mind as an athlete liaison officer is really exciting, over the last 12 years of managing athletes I have always had to assist and deal with various mental health challenges with athletes and try to assist them as best I can or point them in the right direction. I am looking forward to following each journey linking the benefits of running and exercise to help assist in creating a healthy mind space”.
Discussing her involvement in ‘Marathon Mind’, Head of Performance Sport at the Irish Institute of Sport and Dietician, Sharon Madigan said, “My career path has allowed me to work with people who have or are experiencing significant health challenges in their lives and those athletes who are aiming to stay healthy while improving and attaining performances that they aspire to. This project allows me to combine my experiences in order to support the four participants to train and participate in this project while ensuring that they remain healthy along the way”.
This is an exciting new project for the Where Is My Mind podcast, which has seen Niall and his guests explore different coping skills for the ever-changing, always-on, head-melty world we’re now living in; from nature, to laughter, to tattooing, to brain surgery. The podcast won creative podcast of the year at the British Podcast Awards in July 2020.
Stream the latest episode of Where Is My Mind? and check it out for yourself.
Slán go fóill,