Avril Copeland on adventure racing, sleep deprivation and her famous Da

Ahead of her involvement in the Killarney Adventure Race later this year, JOE caught up with adventure racer, physio and former Nashville resident Avril Copeland for a chat about her eventful life to date.

Adventure racing isn’t for everyone, but it seems perfectly suited to Dubliner Avril Copeland because her life has been one big adventure to date.

And suited is an even more appropriate word in the circumstances considering that Avril is the daughter of none other than Louis Copeland, one of the doyens of the fashion industry in Ireland.

But Avril is a lot more than her father’s daughter and has packed an awful lot into her eventful life so far.

From playing international hockey for Ireland and working in the country music business in Nashville to battling sleep deprivation in some of the most physically and mentally challenging endurance races on the planet, it certainly hasn’t been boring.

Avril is currently in training for the Adventure Racing World Championships in Raid in France in September and manages to fit in around 15 hours training a week while still holding down a job as a physio in Beaumont Hospital. Multi-sport and adventure racing has become quite popular in Ireland in recent years, but it was in America where Avril first got bitten by the bug.

“I suppose I started it when I was living in the US, I was really serious for the first five years,” Avril told JOE recently.

“I did a lot of racing, so anytime anyone asked me to be on a team, I just said ‘Yeah’. It can be hard to get girls to do it, because not a lot of females do expedition racing, especially the stuff that goes on for days.

You’re always hallucinating and if you stand still for too long, you’ll fall asleep on your feet. I had a teammate before who fell asleep on his bike coming down a mountain.

“I was doing loads of racing then, but when I moved back to Ireland I didn’t do that much racing because I was trying to get through college, but I suppose the last few years I’ve got back into it.”

The likes of the Killarney Adventure Race and the Gael Force races have become extremely popular in Ireland recent years and Avril has noticed a massive increase in the participation in such events in this country of late.

“Yeah, there’s been a huge rise in interest in Ireland,” she says.

“You can see it with all those types of races, the multi sport races, for example. There’s been a huge rise in participation in those and I think people are just looking for another challenge. Some people who might have competed in marathons or triathlons are crossing over to multi-sport adventure racing; it’s adding another challenge to what they already faced.

“Even if you look at the numbers, it’s just grown exponentially as far as participation is concerned because it’s been opened up a bit more. You see people doing mud runs and things like that and people think ‘That was grand, I’ll move on and do the Gael Force or the Race2Glory (an adventure race in Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo)’.”

Avril herself, however, is more drawn to expedition racing, which takes place over several days and is a real test of a participant’s physical and mental capabilities. For the uninformed, expedition racing includes a combination of two or more endurance disciplines (running, cycling, kayaking etc.) and spans several days, often ten or more.

During that time, there is no set timetable, participants rest when they choose and when they can. If they've to go without sleep an odd night to improve their chances of a better finish, so be it.

Avril competing at Primal Quest in Montana in 2008

When you have to factor in sleep deprivation as a potential pitfall to success you know that an expedition race isn’t a run of the mill affair and having participated in numerous events in the US, in Canada and in Europe, Avril can testify to the level of steel required to compete. Let’s just say it ain’t for the faint hearted.

“Sleep deprivation is probably the biggest thing you have to cope with,” Avril says.

“You’re always hallucinating and if you stand still for too long, you’ll fall asleep on your feet. I had a teammate before who fell asleep on his bike coming down a mountain.

“It was the middle of the night in a race in Washington state and we had all got down to the bottom of a mountain and were all wondering where one of our teammates – Joe was his name – had gone. None of us wanted to go back up the mountain because we were all wrecked and then 15 minutes later, Joe turns up in a stupor and he was like, ‘I fell asleep and I hit a tree’, but thankfully he was OK.”

As one of Ireland’s most well-known adventure racers, Avril is well placed to pass on a few nuggets of advice to those dipping their toes into it for the first time and with that in mind, she is heavily involved in the Killarney Adventure Race, which returns to the Kingdom for the second time later this year.

Some people who might have competed in marathons or triathlons are crossing over to multi-sport adventure racing; it’s adding another challenge to what they already faced.

The Race was widely acclaimed after the inaugural event proved to be hugely successful last year and with an even better event promised in October, she is delighted to be involved in some capacity, even if she is unsure of her own participation as of yet.

“I’ve done up the training programmes for the different levels of participants who will be taking part – beginners, intermediates, advanced etc. – and although I wasn’t there last year, the feedback I got from everyone was there was brilliant; they loved it. Outsider Magazine rated it as the number one event last year as well.

“The thing with these types of races in the past was that you had to be careful which ones you picked because there were so many events that were really badly run, but Ollie (event organiser Oliver Kernan) is doing a brilliant job in Killarney and has done in the past and that always goes to making a great race – when there’s a lot of preparation done beforehand.

“I haven’t actually decided if I’ll be taking part for certain yet because I’ll be competing in the World Championships a couple of weeks before,” Avril says.

“I’m going down to give a talk the night before and I’ll be there for the race but I’ll just have to see how the body is before I decide if I’ll compete or not.”

While her day job as a physio and experience in the world of strength of conditioning is handy for preparation, recovery and injury rehabilitation, surely being the daughter of someone so intricately linked with the clothing industry must help out when it comes to acquiring gear for all her adventure racing exploits?

Not so, it seems.

“No he’s brutal for that!” Avril laughs before correcting herself with a kind word or two about her Da.

“Ah no, my Dad has been brilliant, he’s really into it and has always supported me and my racing. People come into the shop all the time and he tells them about it and what I do even if they don’t care and even if half the time he doesn’t even realise what exactly it is that I do! But he’s always been a brilliant supporter and he does everything he can to help me out.

“I wish he designed some fitness gear; that would be the ultimate!”

For more information on the Killarney adventure race, visit the website here.

Main picture via Brian W. Knight/Swim Bike Run Photography