Ratoath woman hopes to be an operation transformation leader

A 26 year-old Ratoath woman is one of 19 hopefuls in the running to become one of five 'Operation Transformation' leaders for the upcoming season.

Elissa Whelan, who lives on her parents’ stud farm in Ratoath, was chosen from thousands of applicants to attend a physical and emotional assessment in Sportslink Sports & Social Club in Santry, Dublin, last week.

The assessment included an aerobic test in the swimming pool and a group session to uncover what brought the 19 finalists to this point in their lives.

Elissa will this week find out if she will feature in the eighth series, which is due to air on RTE One in early January 2015.

Every day this week, Kathryn Thomas will travel to the homes of the five selected leaders to unveil their participation in the series live on John Murray's 9am radio show on RTE Radio One. Each morning, an expert will also be in studio with John to discuss why each leader has been chosen.

Last year's six leaders – Paudie O'Mahony, Deirdre O'Donovan, Marc Gibbs, Jennifer Bonus, Siobhan McKillen and Sarah Campbell - collectively lost 13 stone, 9.5 pounds.

In addition to the changes the six leaders made to their own lifestyles, they also inspired thousands of people across the country to overhaul their own diets and fitness regimes, as the levels of activity on the online resources proved.

The 'Operation Transformation' website (www.rte.ie/ot) had over eight million page views and the dedicated Facebook site also proved to be a valuable resource, giving followers the opportunity of offering advice and support to each other. The number of Facebook friends currently stands at over 133,000 fans.

The fourth Operation Transformation 5K Fun Run was a resounding success with over 5,000 people turning up in the Phoenix Park in Dublin while 3,000 people joined leaders in Blarney Castle in Cork. The events were organised with the support of Athletics Ireland, the Irish Sports Council and Dublin and Cork City Councils.

A series of nationwide walks also took place at 42 locations all around the country in association with the Irish Sports Council and their Local Sports Partnership, including one in Meath.