Westmeath manager Tom Cribbin brings endurance athlete Gerry Duffy on board

Running 32 marathons in 32 consecutive days, or completing 10 ironman triathlons in 10 consecutive days, would almost certainly contribute to some player burn out, although it has inspired the Westmeath footballers to set the early pace in division two of the Allianz League.

Manager Tom Cribbin - himself a three-time ironman, just not on consecutive days - never doubted their ability when he started in the job last December, even though Westmeath hadn't won a competitive football match since May 2013, some 20 months and counting.

Cribbin did recognise some self-doubt within the players, however, so when assembling his backroom team, he called up Gerry Duffy, the Mullingar native who has become something of a guru of endurance events, after completing his 32 marathons around Ireland in 32 days (in 2010), and following that in 2011 with the "DECA" ironman challenge (2.4 mile swim, 112-mile cycle, and 26.2-mile run), 10 times over 10 consecutive days.

“I would have attended a couple of Gerry’s talks about goal setting and fitness and inspiration, stuff like that, and was very impressed,” says Cribbin, who is also a late convert to such endurance events, finishing his first ironman in the UK when he turned 50, in 2013, and finishing another two since, including in Austria last summer.

“When you hear Gerry’s story (a one-time overweight smoker), then hear he did 10 ironman triathlons, back to back, one day after another, it’s hard to even contemplate how this is possible, and the mental demand, as much as the physical. Even running one marathon, everyone knows, takes a huge effort, so again to run 32, one day after another, is difficult to fathom.

“He’s also a Westmeath man, so when I rang him up, asked would he like to get involved in some way, he straightaway said yes, and we were delighted to have him. We train in Mullingar, he only lives out the road, so he’s actually in with us a lot more than we originally agreed to.

“He wouldn’t do any specific coaching work, but is just there to help the players in whatever he can, and to help me too. He has plenty of advice to offer, mentally and physically. Because he has dealt with it all. The lads have massive respect for him. We’ll have to get them out for a long run with him one of these days.”

Not that Duffy is the sole inspiration: Cribbin - who previously managed both Laois and Offaly - assembled a highly experienced backroom team, including former British Olympic nutritionist Barry Murray and Westmeath's own former All Star goalkeeper Gary Connaughton.

It was while running the New York Marathon last November that Cribbin first convinced himself to take the job, and while Westmeath lost their first competitive outing of 2015 (to Meath, in the O’Byrne), they finally ended their losing streak by beating DCU the following Wednesday. They were still tipped to lead the race to relegation from division two, but instead opened with an excellent win over Laois the first day, should have beaten Galway the second day, then beat Kildare last Sunday. Indeed that Kildare victory was marked by the return of Connaughton between the posts, who not only came out of retirement but was named man-of-the-match.

Cribbin, naturally, is not getting carried away, and is still eyeing up the championship as the primary target ahead of promotion: “I always knew this team had great character, and we maybe a little unlucky last year, in division one, when playing teams like Mayo, Dublin, and Kerry, who had a lot more experience at that level. That then affected their confidence for the championship, like it would any team.

“But they’d had a good year in 2013, and I always felt the talent and character was there, and the commitment was there,” he says.