Powered by WHOOP the Sonia O’Sullivan Cobh 10 squad for 2025 assembled in the GOAT’s hometown this weekend. The time for training and talking is over now. On April 6th at 10:30am, it was time for this squad of hardy souls from the four corners of the world to take on the hills of Cobh over the 10 mile distance. Join Sonia and Jarlath as they hand each member their New Balance specially designed singlet for the day. Hear the sounds, see the sights, come with us as the streets come alive with support from people of all ages. This epic episode of Irishman running Abroad captures every drop of sweat every bit of adrenaline that poured out onto the streets of Cork this past weekend. Jarlath ran the race himself and managed to capture the squad as they crossed the line. In this the final instalment of the road to Cobh series powered by WHOOP, Jarlath takes you to Sonia’s local pub for a live podcast recording and awards night like no other. Special thanks to everyone who supported the podcast, who volunteered on race day and all those who have been in touch wishing the squad well. This series would not be possible without the generous support of WHOOP and New Balance. To gain access to the Sonia O’Sullivan 10 mile, half marathon and full marathon training plans and to listen back to the entire archive of Irishman Abroad episodes come on over to patreon.com/IrishmanAbroad .

Sonia and Jarlath want you to experience WHOOP for yourself—completely free. All our listeners can enjoy a 30-day free trial of WHOOP. Simply visit join.whoop.com/IrishmanAbroad to sign up, and WHOOP will send you a device, wherever you are in the world, for your trial period.

Visit www.jigser.com/gigs to see Jarlath's latest tour dates.

With just a week to go until Sonia O’Sullivan’s homecoming race—the Cobh 10 Mile, in association with Ballymore Cobh Athletic Club and in aid of Breakthrough Cancer Research—the Irishman Running Abroad podcast presents Week Nine of the training plan. In this episode, Sonia, the GOAT of Irish running, shares everything you need to know for race day.

How can you manage race-day nerves? How do you plan for the most enjoyable experience possible? How do you find the right pace to ensure you cross the finish line with a smile? It’s all here in today’s episode.

For the past two months, Sonia has been coaching our listeners as they train for the Cobh 10, serving as a virtual mentor. Along the way, she’s had an extra tool in her arsenal: WHOOP. WHOOP is a wearable health and fitness coach that tracks your sleep, recovery, training, and stress, offering actionable insights to help you perform at your best. Unlike devices that just collect data, WHOOP provides personalized advice to improve your workouts and overall health.

Jarlath, Sonia, and the entire squad have been using the WHOOP 4.0 throughout the training plan, and the insights it has provided have been invaluable. Now, Sonia and Jarlath want you to experience it for yourself—completely free. Thanks to David, all our listeners can enjoy a 30-day free trial of WHOOP. Simply visit join.whoop.com/IrishmanAbroad to sign up, and WHOOP will send you a device, wherever you are in the world, for your trial period.

With race day fast approaching, the squad reaches out to Sonia with their final questions about preparation—covering everything from pacing strategies to race-day nutrition, sleep, kit, and recovery. Jarlath also gives listeners the chance to ask Sonia anything, leading to some truly fantastic questions.

This week, Jarlath heads to Dunboyne for the National 10K Championships, capturing the sights and sounds of race day. Wearing a recording device on his wrist, he chats with fellow participants, checks in on his own fitness, and assesses how ready he is for the Cobh 10 next week.

To hear the full episode and get access to Sonia’s training plans for half and full marathons, visit patreon.com/IrishmanAbroad.

Here’s this week’s plan.

M - As always, rest today.

Maybe plan a recovery day at a SPA

(My notes) “About Time - The Bathhouse”

T - 30-45 mins very easy run

W - Cross train or easy run 30-45 mins.

Thursday Mini-Session

Fartlek Run 5-6 × 1 min

fast relaxed pace, striding out

1 min easy jog

Friday - Day off or cross train 30 mins → Go for a walk.

Sat - Easy run 20-30 mins

Go check out the start/finish areas

Sun - This is it! Race Day. Relax, Enjoy & Do Your Best!

Running is simple. Finding the right gear is not. Let the legend Sonia O’Sullivan help you with the essentials you’ll need to take your running up a level. From the home gym to the sock game, this episode has it all and a free training plan from the GOAT herself. It’s less than 3 weeks to Sonia’s 10 Mile Road Race in Cobh and the training is ramping up. We get the week 7 plan fully explained and hear from her handpicked squad on the subjects of injury, compression leggings, superstition, shoe rotation, gels and storage.

Week 7 Training Plan (Be sure to adjust this to your paces and training level)

Mon - Recovery Day

Tues - Easy long run 60-80 mins. Include 6x 100m strides This can be uphill if you can, doesn’t need to be a steep hill.

Wed - Cross train or 30-45 mins easy run

Thurs - 10-15 mins jog warm-up

10-12 x 1 min @ 5-10 km pace

1 min easy jog

10-15 mins easy jog warm down

Fri - Day off or cross train 40-60 mins easy

Sat - 30-45 mins easy run

Sun - Long run 90 mins steady pace throughout. Include 15-20 mins @ goal race pace.

(Get the full plan and explanation at www.patreon.com/irishmanabroad plus a further 30 mins in this episode)

Don't forget that the The Road To Cobh Irishman Running Abroad are proudly sponsored by Whoop! WHOOP is a wearable health & fitness coach that provides you with feedback and actionable insights into your sleep, recovery, training, stress, and overall health, and empowers you to be the best version of yourself. The whole squad including Sonia is wearing one. Why not see for yourself what Whoop can do for you and your health/fitness. Have a 30 day free trial on us! ◦ https://join.whoop.com/ie/en/IrishmanAbroad/

New Balance have provided the whole squad with shoes and training apparel. Thanks to New Balance - why not check out their range at a New Balance store or stockist today.

Catch Jarlath on tour across the world in 2025 with the new standup show “In Bits” www.jigser.com/gigs - he just added dates in Australia, New Zealand, Chicago, Wexford and Dublin.