'We just broke down, it was a very emotional moment' - John Kinsella on Ava Crean's stunning Dublin success

LAST MONTH, Limerick teenager Ava Crean claimed the Irish Women's title at the Irish Life Dublin Marathon in what was her third attempt at the landmark distance.

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Running for the Back 2 Boston Running Club, Crean, from Raheen, edged out veteran Ann-Marie McGlynn who was chasing her third national title. That is despite Crean having only taken up competitive running this year, running her first marathon in April.

The 19-year-old former Crescent College Comprehensive student finished the race in a time of 2:34:12, a nine-minute personal best. 

Ava's coach, John Kinsella, who has enjoyed a decorated running career himself, describes how he and Ava met, a meeting that would culminate in a National Title. 

"It was after the Great Limerick Run, I saw her pop up TikTok and things and I had heard about her but I hadn't seen any video footage until a video popped up on my phone and I thought 'I know that girl.'

"I work in Raheen and she runs past where I work pretty much every day so I've seen her for the last two years but didn't know who she was until she popped up on that video. 

"I had heard then that she had ran two marathons back-to-back a week apart and I just wanted to give her a bit of advice because I did the back-to-back marathons myself two years ago and I got a stress fracture after it and ended up missing the World Championships.

"So it was more just to contact her to congratulate her and telling her to look after herself but then she got back to me to say that she had actually been following me on TikTok," he said. 

Following on from that initial conversation, the pair decided to meet up and John says he could see the potential for Ava to perform better than she already was.

"We met up to have a chat, we met for coffee in the Crescent. We looked at the data and the stats from a few of her races and I told her that she has the capability to run a lot faster. 

"We spoke to her Dad and I just spoke about the huge potential that Ava has and it was gearing up to Dublin from there, that was five months before the race," he said. 

John says that at the heart of it all, Ava just loves to run, stating that the potential wins, podium finishes and popularity is secondary to her. 

"She absolutely loves running, besides all the stuff that comes with it like the wins and things, Ava just loves running.

"She obviously has massive talent and genetic ability but she loves running, she doesn't do it for the wins, it's her freedom, it's her thing and she's very good at it," he said. 

Southill native Kinsella says that he was quietly confident that Ava was going to do well in the marathon from their very first meeting. 

"Looking at last year's times, I thought she was going to be in the mix from day one, I just knew. I knew what to look for having done it myself and when I looked at her data, I knew she had more in the tank. 

"We tried to keep it a secret and train quietly in the background, we said we wouldn't post anything about times or anything like that," he said. 

The pair tried to keep Ava's progress under wraps but noticeable wins in Charleville and Manchester put the 19-year-old on the map. 

"The Charleville half marathon was five weeks before Dublin and she won that with a time of 1:15, people started to talk about her then, they knew who she was.

"Two weeks later she ran a 1:14 in Manchester which definitely got her on the radar even more but I met her the morning of the race and told her just to do her best and not to worry about anything else," he said. 

Kinsella, who won the over 45s category, minutes before Ava crossed the line, says that she can be a role model for others in Limerick. 

"It's amazing for me. I started the Back2Boston project to help people around the city and it was Ava who came to me from a pure coaching point of view because she liked what I was doing with the project and things.

"Ava can be a role model for all these young people in the city and she likes that idea, she bought into that from day one," he said. 

The emotions that came with seeing Ava cross the finishing line is something that John still has difficulty describing.  

"I was emotional when I saw her coming around the corner. I finished a few minutes before her and I wasn't leaving until I saw who was coming around that corner and when I heard it was Ava in the lead, I was jumping up and down.

"I couldn't get to her initially because she was surrounded by people but I eventually did and we just broke down in tears, it was a very emotional moment," he said. 

John, who established the Back2Boston Project a number of years ago, says it is a different type of satisfaction coaching someone to a win as opposed to when he competes himself.  

"It's a different type of satisfaction, it's hard to explain. I was just so proud of her and it's very emotional seeing someone who has put in so much hard work get rewarded.

"I was meeting her nearly every day and I could see the amount of work she was putting in. Being 19, I didn't want her to get overwhelmed or be under any pressure but she went out there and she owned the race. 

"Seeing her come around the corner, I just knew it was going to happen then, I had tears in my eyes as well because of the pride I was feeling. 

"It was a special moment for the whole year, for that to happen and I was buzzing, I'm still buzzing now. The last five months training her have been very special, she just has so much hope in her heart and I just want to support that. It was one of the proudest days of my life," he said. 

John says that he will be there to support Ava with whatever she needs, even if she does end up 'passing him out' over the coming years. 

"I told Ava that I'm here for whatever she needs, even when she ends up passing me out in a few years!

"Whatever Ava decides to do, I'll be here to give her mentorship or guidance or advice, I'll always be there for her because she's a Limerick woman and she's very special," John concluded.