Sebastien Locteau

What’s been your biggest learning as a manager so far? That there are different ways to achieve certain outcomes, or even better outcomes, than my way of working, and adapting my beliefs to others. I also change my ways of working at a fast pace, and prioritise what is important from ‘everything is important’. When I joined Specsavers, I learned the meaning of listening and understanding people rather than focusing on myself. It allowed me to bring people on the same journey rather than battling and isolating myself. I also established more honest communication channels to enable trust and confidence in people. I failed a few times myself, allowing my frustration of achieving at all costs to impair my judgement and see the bigger picture. I am lucky to have managers in Specsavers who trusted my ability to change and grow. I think this is key: bring people on your journey so they choose their own path, and potentially become great leaders themselves. How do you tailor your management st...

University of Galway Swim Team. Photo clicked by Éidhne Kennedy By Sanjukta Salgaonkar  https://galwaypulse.com/2023/04/05/university-of-galway-swim-team/   April 5, 2023     NUIG Newsroom Swimming is a very hard and tough sport. It not only needs physical fitness but also stamina and control over the whole body. Keeping this in mind and training as hard as they could the University of Galway Varsity Swimming has given its best this season. The team has trained very hard and did their personal best in achieving the great heights they have reached too. One of the reasons they were able to improve over time was that they got a new coach to help them out with their daily training. The competitions that they won this season are the race that was held in November 2022 for all the Universities in Ireland, this match was held in Galway at the Kingfisher in which they achieved their personal best times and the Relay team also ranked 1 st  in it. They also competed in th...

  Swimming across the English Channel with a team was a fantastic experience. 68km pacing 1min27 for 16h39 with a team of 5. Solo are a different kind of fish, it's a pretty individual experience, and for my second time in a relay, the experience is entirely different. Thanks to  Specsavers  and my team, who supported me in my challenge.   It wasn't just about the fundraising for Cancer care west; we raised €5000, but also about all the children who spend a lot of time in the children's hospitals worldwide. I grew up and went to school in a children's hospital, I was supposed to be paralysed at 35, and Now at 44, I achieved things I never thought I would. I promised some that I would wear a 'superman' hat for them, and I did in one of the swims, along with my Galway Swimming Club hats for all the young swimmers I coach weekly. It wasn’t an easy journey.   You have to work as a team; when one is not doing well, you have to lift them up. Waiting on the boat for yo...

I have been a military nurse and later an international coach for years. Like, everyone, I read, listen and watch carefully what is going on. I notice an increase of public panic and paranoia. Increase of articles trying to find faults in everything and a way to blame someone. Teachers are criticised for not home-schooling children immediately. Do people didn’t notice we are in an unprecedented emergency? Children will catch up soon enough, a few months won’t harm them. You as a parent are the ones putting that pressure with a deadline to pass exams and compete with other parents.  As a parent, you are responsible to educate them. What a great opportunity to learn more about hygiene, viruses, manners toward vulnerable people or even career options. What more valuable education are you looking for? It reminds me of people trying to be busy at work for the sake of being busy. Rather than looking to make the business more efficient and be creative, innovative they worry to lose the...

This one is not written by myself but does talk about me so thought I would share : Portumna has become a ‘must do’ event for those who know of its magic and what better way to describe it to other runners than from another runners race report. The following is an excerpt from one of Ireland’s best-known ultra marathoners – Gerry Duffy. Gerry has completed 32 marathons in 32 days and 10 full distance Iron Man events in 10 consecutive days. In his own word’s Gerry describes Portumna Forest Marathon…. Mike Curley Cunningham 2015 50k winner “A clue to its attraction is that it is organised by runners. Its founder – Sebastien Locteau – is a French native who lives in these parts. By day Seb runs ‘Sports Ireland’ a high performance coaching company. Indeed, Seb’s sporting CV is longer than some of his endurance events. Along with a great team -in his spare time- he gives back to sport by organising great events. Fr...

This year I really need to thanks our amazing training centre in Renmore the KingFisher club, and the support of the entire staff and especially Brian Clancy who, without a doubt, made our team a massive success in 2017 : I retired from full time coaching after the Rio Olympic Games in Agust 2016. I left Claremorris and Bluefin Swimming Club head coach positions with the feeling that I let my team down. I certainly cried a lot and wonder if it was the right thing to do, but I knew the people taking over could be trusted and would do a great job with a good legacy. I thought I left enough guidance and knowledge for them to grow and become their own inspiration to the new generations. But my heart was broken to leave my teams, as it happened in the past. But at the end of the day, I reached the best I had in me with the limited resources I had at the time. I also left my business in the trusted hand of my business partner Richie Feeney and my events department to my close friend ...

Going the distance World Marathon Championship in London in 2017,  Picture Sebastien Locteau After Dublin marathon, most coaches review there athletes plans. In 2012, Barbara Sanchez finished 9th and second at the Irish championship in the Dublin Marathon, James Doran Winning the Kerry cross country championship, and my Swimmer Sarah Kelly after the European championship had to improve their weekly long run. Or if you are like me, a occasional runner, improving your long runs is one of the base session to work on and certainly more important than speed work. So this is what I did at the time and still using it with the same success since 2017 and after 10 years still relevant. What distance are you training for?  On road, cross country, Mountain running ? What is your current training volume?  How many sessions do practice every week? What are your goals :  time & distance My suggestions for an improving athlete would be three se...

A four week build-up to your next 5km or 10km race Tavira, Portugal august 2017 training session, week 1, session 1 with 4x1000m I received a good few emails from people who could not find this article, So I just republished it ! These training schedules are here to help you prepare for your next 5km or 10km race. They cater for runners from 35 min to 55 min 10km finish time. 50 to 55min for 10km - 3 weekly sessions Week 1 Session 1 1h endurance, 8km/h with 2x 10min at 10km/h Session 2 30min warm up 4 x 1000m from 5m30s to 5m with 400m recovery 15min Cool down Session 3 Endurance recovery 1h20m at 8 km/h Week 2 Session 1 1h endurance, 8km/h with 3x 8 min at 10km/h Session 2 30min warm up 3 x 800m  from 4m30s to 4m20s with 400m recovery 15min Cool down Session 3 5 Km test race or time trial (Goal 27m30s) Week 3 Session 1 1h endurance recovery, 8km/h with hills Session 2 30min warm up 10 x 400m from 2m to 1m45s with 400m recovery 15...

Trying something different ! Galway Bay swim for Cancer Care West, swimming Sebastien Locteau Some are marathon runners or triathletes with a feeling of being invincible. Try open water marathon swimming. You will feel like a small vulnerable fish in the big big Ocean. Vulnerable is the best word to express my experience with mother Nature, a fragile human being, regardless off 28 marathons and 13 Ironman Triathlon. 18 years ago, I joined the coaching team of Galway swimming Club and played with Corrib Water Polo team. A lot of water went under the bridge since. At that time, I was part of a big picture and was highly involved in developing the west Ireland of running, triathlon and open water community with clubs and events. From Joining the new Athenry AC Senior Club with Mick Rice to the first Connemarathon with Ray O'Connor, Co-founder of Galway Triathlon club and later Predator Triathlon Club. Today we see so many events in the West like Triathlons an...