Bryan Cullen on the Samsung Night Run and a big year for the Dubs

Ahead of the Samsung Run Dublin @ Night next month, we caught up with ambassador Bryan Cullen to talk about the event and what lies ahead for the Dubs in 2013.

If the thought of getting in shape and taking in some of the capital’s best known landmarks on what will hopefully be a beautiful spring evening wasn’t motivation enough to take part in the Samsung Run Dublin @ Night next month, then what about the prospect of taking on – and possibly getting the better of – the only Dublin captain to lift the Sam Maguire Cup this millennium?

2011 All-Ireland winning captain Bryan Cullen will be one of the thousands of participants expected to take part in the run on Sunday 28 April and having never taken part in a 10k before, it’s something that the Skerries man is looking forward to, particularly because it is one of the only distances he would feel confident of getting the better of his new wife, Irish women’s 100 metre record holder Ailís McSweeney.

“Ailís is more of a short distance specialist so 10 k is a bit out of her range and it might be a little bit more specific to what I’m doing as a footballer,” Bryan told JOE recently.

“But anything that gets people out and gets people active and promotes a healthy lifestyle; we’re more than happy to throw our weight behind and support in any way we can.”

Until then, Bryan will have plenty to occupy himself with as after their victory over Down in Croke Park at the weekend, the Dublin footballers have ensured that their participation in the National League will extend to at least the semi-final stages.

Given their blistering form in the competition to date, the Dubs are rightly being tipped to win their first National League title in 20 years but although the evidence suggests otherwise, Cullen insists that league success wasn’t specifically targeted as a platform for success further down the road.

“Not as such,” Cullen responds when asked was winning the league a specific target at the start of the year.

“All we want to do is get the best out of ourselves and deliver the best performance we can each time we get onto a pitch. Hopefully that will bring victory as an end result but it’s more about performance for us, about getting the best out of ourselves every game and making sure we play to our capabilities every time we take to the pitch.”

They’ve certainly succeeded in doing that so far. The Dubs have lost only one game in the league – against Tyrone – and have scored 8-92, an average of nearly 20 points a game, in six games against the best quality opposition in the country on their way to qualification for the semi-finals; impressive statistics in any man’s language.

I think in the GAA we often look to what rugby or soccer teams are doing and at times you forget that’s it a completely different sport.

Experienced players like Cullen and Bernard Brogan have played their part, but is the injection of youth – including the return of Ciaran Kilkenny from his brief AFL experience – which has arguably been the most refreshing aspect from a Dubs perspective, something Cullen is inclined to agree with.

“We’re fortunate at the moment that there are a lot of good young players in Dublin showing good form. We’re obviously delighted to get Ciaran back and I’m sure he’ll have a very promising future in a Dubs jersey but there are a lot of good players coming through vying for places, not just Ciaran.”

Despite their impressive showing in the league so far, Cullen knows not to read too much into it. Donegal, for example, could feasibly be relegated to Division Two next weekend but that isn’t likely to in any way diminish the threat they’ll pose later in the summer.

Question marks will be raised about their hunger to win back-to-back All-Ireland’s, but Cullen knows all too well what that’s like and doesn’t feel it will be an issue.

“I think it’s the first thing that’s thrown at team when they fail to match the heights of the previous season but anyone that’s been there will know how difficult it is to recreate success,” Cullen says.

“The hunger is always there, otherwise guys wouldn’t go back. It’s not in our nature to go through the motions; we give it the best every time. When you’re playing through until September and then you have club championship afterwards it takes its toll and it can be difficult to get back to the levels of the previous season no matter how hard you try.

Cullen and Cian O'Sullivan get to grips with Down's Benny Coulter on Saturday evening

“Donegal are up there, they’re the team to beat at the moment and it certainly gives us another target to reach. They’re where everyone wants to be, not just ourselves; they’ve raised the bar and it’s up to ourselves to get up there.”

Speaking about raising the bar, it was readily accepted, perhaps too readily accepted given the supreme fitness of other inter-county teams, that Jim McGuinness’ men were on another level in terms of fitness from everyone else last year.

Whether that’s true or not is another matter, but what can’t be denied is the constant evolution with regard to conditioning evident in the inter-county game in recent years.

Cullen knows more than most when it comes to that topic given his role as a sub academy fitness coach with the Leinster Rugby team but despite his link to both sports, he expresses concern about the tendency to lean too heavily on information gleaned from other sources.

“I don’t know what other counties are doing to be honest with you but I’d always be wary of coaches at any level doing what coaches in other sports are doing,” Cullen says.

“I think in the GAA we often look to what rugby or soccer teams are doing and at times you forget that’s it a completely different sport.

“We need to condition players for Gaelic Football, not for other sports, it’s not a matter of taking a template for another sport and applying it to Gaelic Football.

They (Donegal) are where everyone wants to be, not just ourselves; they’ve raised the bar and it’s up to us to get up there.

“I suppose when I first started playing there was an emphasis on total volume in terms of getting miles under the belt and there has been a gradual progression over the years to a more sports specific conditioning where you’re looking to replicate what you might do in a game more.

“So as opposed to total volume, as the years have gone by there has been more emphasis on shorter duration, high intensity work compared to the more volume-based training in my early days.”

Conditioning is a topic on which Cullen is quizzed regularly these days but not as often as his famous speech following the 2011 All-Ireland Final, where he made reference to a certain Harcourt Street nightspot popular with members of the GAA community.

As such we can’t help but inquire how often he gets asked about the Coppers Gold Card he was surely rewarded with as a result of the plug from the steps of the Hogan Stand, to which he diplomatically replies: “It’s a long time ago to be honest with you; it’s something I get pretty much on a day to day basis so I’m well used to it."

The Samsung Run Dublin @ Night 10k takes place on Sunday 28 April at 9pm.

For all the information you need regarding the event, check out the website here.