This race has provided some epic mountain running races over the years and excitement is high for this year’s race, which features some of the best in-form athletes of the moment.  

Grossglockner Berglauf takes place in Heiligenblut, under the shadow of Austria’s highest mountain (at 3,798m), Grossglockner. It’s the 22^nd edition of the race, so it’s an event with a rich history, and it’s seen the very best mountain runners in the world taking part over the years.

Previous winners include Jonathan Wyatt, Anna Pichrtova, Andrea Mayr, Antonella Confortola, Filimon Abraham, Petro Mamu and Sarah Tunstall.

GB’s Sarah Tunstall charging to victory. Photo: Grossglockner Berglauf

This year’s race, our second stage of the 2021 World Cup, is classed as a classic mountain race at 13km in distance and 1265m of ascent. It follows on from our first World Cup race, Tatra Race Run, on 27^th June. Catch up on the news from that race here.

The Grossglockner Berglauf route starts in Heiligenblut and follows the river initially, before climbing up to the famous Briccius Chapel, past the quaint Trogalm hut, then the ‘Pasterze’, the longest glacier in the Eastern Alps, before the final lung-busting climb of 900m to the summit. The summit finish at the famous Kaiser-Franz-Josefs-Hohe, with (hopefully) stunning views all around – a great reward for all who run the race.

Let’s take a look at some of the favourites for this year’s race.

In the women’s race Charlotte Morgan of the UK, who is fresh from winning our first World Cup at Tatra, will be looking to increase her lead in the women’s competition.

She finished 7^th at Grossglockner in 2019. Also fresh from success at Tatra are 2^nd place Alice Gaggi  (ITA), who also finished 3^rd at the recent Italian National Championship – up and down, 4^th placed Lorenza Beccaria (ITA), (4^th at the National Championship) and Lucie Marsanova (CZE), who was 5^th at Tatra and also finished 5^th in the 2019 World Cup. All are clearly in-form athletes.

Former World Champion from 2017, 2^nd placed athlete in the 2019 World Cup and winner of the recent (ChieseRun) Italian National Championship race, Lucy Murigi (KEN), will always be an athlete to watch. She’ll also be joined by strong compatriot Purity Kajuja Gitonga, who finished 2^nd in the 2019 Grossglockner Berglauf. 

Other women expected to be in contention include: Louise Mercer (UK); Timea Merenyi (HUN); Camilla Magliano (ITA); Charlotte Cotton (UK); Susanne Mair (AUT); Annika Seedorf (NED); Cecilia Basso  (ITA); Joyce Muthoni Njeru (KEN); and Susanna Saapunki (FIN).  

Photo: Damiano Bernadetti & WMRA

The men’s race wide open

The men’s race looks equally exciting, with 2019 winner (and our 2^nd placed athlete in the 2019 World Cup) Filimon Abraham (GER), returning.

Henri Aymonod of Italy, fresh from his 3^rd place  at Tatra, will be one to watch, and with a lot of success at vertical kilometres he’s always strong at uphill-only races. Cesare Maestri, also of Italy, was 2^nd in the World Championships in 2019 and 2^nd in the recent National Mountain Running Championship (up and down), and could be in contention.

Sylvain Cachard (FRA) had a very successful 2020 with wins at Smarna Gora, Trofeo Nasego and the French National Championships. The local Manual Innerhofer (AUT) was 3^rd in the 2019 Grossglockner Berglauf and recently won the Austrian National Championships.

Zak Hanna (IRE) is definitely an athlete to watch this year, having just won the Marathon du Mont Blanc VK and finished 5^th at ChieseRun, the Italian National Championships. Geoffrey Gikuni Ndungu (KEN), who finished 2^nd at Grossglockner in 2019 must also be a favourite. 

Other men expected to be in contention include: Ondrey Fejfar (CZE); Alex Jodidio (SUI); Alex Baldaccini (ITA); Eric Muthomi Riungu (KEN); Timotej Becan (SLO); Isaac Kipkemboi (KEN); Lengen Lolkurraru (KEN); Giovanni Tacchini (ITA); Luca Merli  (ITA); Lorenzo Cagnati  (ITA); and Massimo Fracoz  (ITA).

How to follow the race: 

www.instagram.com/wmramountainrun

www.facebook.com/worldmountainrunningassociation

www.twitter.com/wmramountainrun

#WMRAWorldCup

Race website: http://www.grossglocknerberglauf.at/

About the World Cup

Races take place between June 2021 and October 2021 in 8 countries. There are 12 event locations and 16 races in 3 categories: short uphill; classic mountain race; long mountain race.

Runners can take part in as many races as they want, and they get points for their finishing positions. Their best 7 results in the World Cup races count towards their final ranking. 

The points scoring format is cumulative. Finishing positions in a WMRA World Cup race range from 100 points for first to 1 point for 30th. There are separate competitions for men and women and athletes must compete in at least two races in order to be considered in the final rankings.

About the WMRA

Formed in 1984, we are the global governing body for mountain running and we have the goal of promoting mountain running for all ages and abilities. As well as the World Cup we organise Masters, U18 and regional championships and this year we will work in partnership with the IAAF, ITRA and IAU to deliver the first World Mountain and Trail Running Championships in Thailand. 

The post Into the mountains, with Morgan a favourite appeared first on Fast Running.

The winter can be a difficult time to get the miles in, but Fast10’s Zak Hanna, often the only man on the mountain, give his take. 

It’s 6am on a Sunday morning in the middle of December, the alarm starts ringing and it is swiftly turned back off again as I listen to the wind howling and the rain battering off my bedroom window as it blows off the top of Slieve Croob.

Given that winter is setting in and for the UK and Ireland, these storms are a frequent visitor to the islands so it’s no surprise to wake up to another one having a good time outside.

For a large majority of the population they will lie on in the warmth and comfort of their bed and maybe not awaken until lunchtime. To me this is a waste of a morning, but then again those who stay in their bed on a morning like that make see running as a bad way to spend their morning. Horses for courses I guess!

Into the Mournes

Arriving at Meelmore Lodge in the Mournes to meet for the Sunday long run, the wind and rain is still going strong. Give that we are looking directly onto the Hares Gap with Slievenaglogh, Slieve Bearnagh and the Meels hidden in the low most, the weather was showing no sign of shifting anytime soon.

In two hours or so we would be back here to get our breakfast and sit in the heat of the cafe trying to warm up, the perfect carrot for getting the run done regardless of the weather.

My Suunto 9 watch gives off a rather exaggerated buzzing sound with ‘Storm Alert’ showing on the screen, it had been a while since I last saw this notification so this was a sure sign that the bad weather was here and ready to throw everything at us.

We roll down the Trassey Road, onto the Mourne Way trail (ankle deep flooding the whole away along here) and into Tollymore forest. Down on the lower slopes of the forest the wind is somewhat eased by the trees, but a bold decision to head up the climbs to the top of the forest meant we would be greeted with gale force winds blowing us sideways across the trail.

My old friend, Relentless Rain

The rain never eased the whole time and we would end up doing two laps of this loop, two hours, 16 miles and 2,000ft of climbing later we arrive back at Meelmore car park and feeling a whole lot better that what we felt before starting the run, ready for a warm shower and a warm breakfast in the cafe after for our efforts.

We should know by now to expect this weather for most of the winter, and whilst this was the worst day for running for the season it felt great to finish the run knowing we had a solid long run in terrible conditions.

I’ve never called off a run due to bad weather. When I was a cyclist in a former life I trained with a group that would have given never-ending abuse if you didn’t show up because it was too wet, too windy or too cold; and I suppose that mentality has stayed with me and it has served me well when the skies are grey and miserable looking.

With the clothing available to us for the bad weather nowadays there should be no excuse for getting out and embracing the conditions.

Thankfully I have the backing of Salomon who have provided me with the best gear for battling the elements, so no matter what it is doing outside I always know that I’ll be kept warm and dry when it is need the most. Petzl have also been great in supporting me with headtorches for running in the dark before and after work.

If it’s good enough for Rocky

During the winter I seem to always watch the training montage from Rocky IV when he is out in Russia training to fight the big man Ivan Drago. Working out in the coldest conditions in Russia with minimal equipment, no distractions like social media or TV; just the drive and determination to train hard to succeed.

This is something I try to replicate as much as I can, as I find that there are so many athletes in running and other sports who over-complicate things in terms of training and recovery.

A great phrase I seen on Twitter recently was ‘Less time tweeting, more time training’ in relation to professional footballers and I couldn’t agree more; focus more on the small things like eating healthy, stretching and sleeping instead of posting what you had for breakfast or how cold it is outside.

It has its place in sport for athletes to post for sponsors etc, but not a step-by-step account of what you do every day of the week!

Going old school

The old school runners of the 70s/80s/90s didn’t have the same technology as we have now, such as shoes, phones, lab equipment etc and still they managed to win and break records, some of which still stand today.

Take Kenny Stuart, who is arguably one of the greatest fell runners of all time, still holds the records for Snowdon, Ben Nevis and Skiddaw, with very few coming close to his times, making his running even more impressive.

Normally cross country races would be on every weekend across the UK and Ireland but with the pandemic the calendar has been wiped; on Boxing Day Northern Ireland enters a 6 week strict lockdown similar to March; which to me is another opportunity to continue making myself a better runner in anticipation for what hopefully is a summer of racing in the mountains across Europe and further afield.

Embracing the winter grind is something that we all should look forward to as it is a chance to work on the weaknesses and strengths we have in order to make us better at what we do whilst racing is at a minimum.

Grab your headtorch, put on a good warm jacket, lace up your shoes and get out for that run you’ve been contemplating putting off because it’s raining.

Everyday you are able to run is a good day and don’t let a bit of wet weather stop you from doing so, you will feel great after and you will be better for it.

Zak.

The post Embracing the winter grind appeared first on Fast Running.

The last blog post I wrote talked about how I spent my time whilst on furlough, turning three and half months of not working into an opportunity to live like a professional runner and trying to become a better runner in that period of time.

Fast forward to now, the current furlough scheme  has ended with many workers returning to work full time, with some part time and others unfortunately having no job to return to.

Since I wrote the Furlough Pro article I have managed to successfully salvage a racing season out of all the races that have been cancelled this summer due to Covid-19.

Making the most of a COVID Summer

I have ran in five races, one being in County Wicklow, and the rest in Italy. The Wicklow race was at Lugnaquilla and was used to test out the Irish Mountain Running Association’s new safety protocols for a safe return to racing, and it felt so good to finally be back on the start line after so many months of logging the miles.

I managed to win that one by over eight minutes, signalling that the shape was good and that I was ready to go a bit further.

Travelling to Italy to race was exciting tinged with  a hint of nervousness. It had been the worst hit country for the virus in Europe, so obviously it was only normal to be anxious, and others had expressed their concerns at me heading over there (We dealt with it pretty well though, learning quickly as the first country hit in Europe too – Italy based, defensive Ed.)

Off on a summer holiday

Packing a suitcase, checking in for your flight and getting your boarding pass is the standard procedure everyone goes through before flying, but never before have I had to fill in paperwork to justify my reason for travelling and to let the Italian authorities know where I’m travelling to, where I’m staying and for how long.

The contact tracing system had not been put online at that point so it was all filled in on pen and paper, I don’t think I’ve done that much writing since I was in school!

Another new novelty of flying in the Covid era was the essential wearing of face masks-from the minute you entered the airport and left the airport at your destination, you have to wear one at all times, even on the flight.

Arriving in Dublin airport at 4:30am in the morning in normal circumstances is normally a busy affair; airport buses are dropping off passengers from all corners of Ireland, and there is always a hive of activity going on. Not this time. I parked my car after the 90 minute drive down on an empty motorway, and within 10 minutes I was through security and sitting down to a coffee and a second breakfast.

A surreal travel experience

The airport was empty; 3 members of staff at security, one at the boarding pass scanners and two staff in the cafe. It was quite eery, and the lack of flights on the departures board was surprising.

Arriving in Italy I was surprised at how ‘normal’ everything was; except for everyone wearing a mask inside and outside, hand sanitizer was placed in every shop, temperature checks took place in certain areas-this was a sign of what was to come in Ireland, but this was my first experience of what you could call ‘the new normal’.

The new procedures for racing where quite simple; everyone wears a mask on the start line until 500m in which they can be removed, putting it back on at the finish line, no elite athlete presentations, aid stations would be limited and everyone stood one metre apart on the start line.

This would be the new normal for all of my races in Italy, but everyone was in cooperation with the organisers which made it run like clockwork and apart from slightly smaller crowds (when I say smaller, the atmosphere was still fantastic)

Starting strong, finishing stronger

The season started at Lugnaquilla and finished in Morbegno for the Trofeo Vanoni mountain relays where myself,  2019 Mountain Running World Cup winner Andy Douglas and Leeds United’s number one fan Ben Mounsey finished 5th in what is one of the best races on the calendar.

One win, 2 podiums and 3 top ten finishes is how I finished up results wise, with two weeks of racing coming as back to back races with a vertical kilometre on the Saturday and a 21km mountain race on the Sunday for Fletta Trail and Trofeo Nasego.

Given that back in March racing looked gone for the year, I remained positive throughout and continued training so that if any racing was to go agead, I would be ready to go. Thankfully this paid off and I was able to use the base I had built during the the first lockdown to carry me through from late July to the end of October and still deliver consistent performances on the mountains.

Back to the grind

Right now I am now back to work full time, five days a week from Monday to Friday which as the title suggests, is the end of the Furlough Pro.

It was a good run that lasted longer than first anticipated, but I feel I made the most of it and came out the other side a better runner than I was before. Returning to work part time was a bit of a shock as I had to re-adjust to running at 6am in the morning but after a few days it felt normal again.

I’m now back to training after a week off with no running done at all, probably the most boring week I’ve had in years but one that was needed to allow the batteries to recharge both physically and mentally.

From Lugnaquilla in County Wicklow to Morbegno in the Valtellina region of Italy, the 2020 mountain running season is over and now the focus turns to getting the work in over the next few months with my dog Corragh alongside me to prepare for what will hopefully be a better and more complete 2021 season for everyone.

Let’s go.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post The end of the Furlough Pro? appeared first on Fast Running.

Irish mountain running international Sarah McCormack ended her season with a new course record for her leg in women’s race at the Trofeo Vanoni in Morbegno, Italy on Sunday (October 25).

In the women’s relay for teams of two, McCormack teamed up with Wexford athlete Dena Hogan and clocked a superb time of 21 mins 07 secs in difficult conditions. The previous record was 21 mins 14 secs, held by former European Mountain running champ Emmie Collinge.

“I was delighted to manage to get the course record at one of my favourite races,” said the Irish international. “The event has a great history behind it and the people live and breath mountain running here so it was a really satisfying record to break.”

Following on Hogan finished in 25:51 and the Irish pair finished a respectable sixth.

Zak Hanna on one of his other highly successful outings in Italy this year. Photo: PizTri Vertikal

In the men’s relay for teams of three, Zak Hanna helped a Great Britain and Ireland team to fifth place, running the second leg in in 30 mins 42 secs – a faster time than in 2019 when Hanna ran a time of 31:04 and the team finished sixth – Zak’s time 31:04. Also of the team this year were Andrew Douglas and Ben Mounsey.

An Irish team of Ian Conroy, Alex Hunter and Tom Hogan finished 36^th of the 148 teams entered.

Hughes pushing world boundaries on the road again

Tommy Hughes of Strive AC sent a new men’s over 60 marathon record when he defied the windy weather to run a time of 2:30.01 in Lisburn on Sunday (October 25). The previous record was 2:36.30.

Last October, Hughes set a world over 55 record of 2:27.52 just three months before his 60^th birthday in January. In September, he set a world over 60 half record of 70:09 in Larne, Co Antrim.

Track running down under

Australia-based Kevin Batt who ran with Dundrum South Dublin AC when he lived in Ireland, clocked a personal best time of 29 mins 27.87 to finish fifth in the Bankstown 10,000m championships held in wet conditions at The Crest, Sydney on Saturday (October 24).

In 2015, Batt finished 16^th in the 5000m when representing Ireland at the 2016 European Championships

Cross country across the pond

Catch-up: at the Colorado Mesa Maverick Invitational at Lincoln Park Grand Junction on October 10, Stephanie Cotter of West Muskerry AC finished third in the women’s 5000m, helping her Adams State team to victory.

Cotter was NCCA division athlete of the year last season and took team bronze in the U23 race at the European cross country last December.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post Record breaking McCormack excels in the mountains appeared first on Fast Running.

A record total of over 700 had entered the championships, reflecting perhaps the lack of racing on the roads.

Race of the weekend was the men’s 1500m, where a last -second lunge across the line gave Paul Robinson of St Coca’s AC his first national title in eight years at the expense of his training partner Sean Tobin from Clonmel AC.

Thanks to the wonders of photo-finish technology, the pair were timed at 3:43.90 and 3:43.92 respectively. Third was Andrew Coscoran of Star of the Sea AC in 3:48.70, while fourth was the up-an-coming Johnny Whan of Clonliffe Harriers in 3:49.76.

On a good day for Limerick club Emerald AC, Amy O’Donoghue ran a smart race to win the women’s 1500m. Holding her fire until the finishing straight, she stormed past Iseult O’Donnell of Raheny Shamrock AC, after both had already passed longtime leader Michelle Finn of Leevale AC. A tiring Finn missed out on a medal when relegated to fourth place by UCD’s Ellie Hartnett.

It was still a fine effort from the Cork athlete who, a day earlier, had won the 5000m in style; plus she’s hot favourite to retain her steeplechase title next Sunday.

Showing a maturity belying his 19 years was Darragh McElhinney of Bandon AC who tucked in behind John Travers of Donore Harriers for much of the men’s 5000m; as indeed did Efrem Gidey of Clonliffe Harriers, another under 23 athlete.

On a day of gusting winds following Storm Ellen, that proved a smart tactic. The three finished in that order, with McElhinney timed at 13 mins 56 secs, Travers at 13:57.11 and Gidey fading on the final two laps but still finishing in a respectable time of 14:17.89.

Success overseas

Abroad, Mark English of Finn Valley AC ran a time of 1:48.42 for 800m on Monday (August 17) at the Trofio Ottavio Missoni in Liguano Sabbiadoro Italy, with Athletics Ireland approval.

Absent from Santry was Ciara Mageean of City of Lisburn AC who was racing over 1500m at the Diamond League round in Stockholm on Sunday (August 23). After two recent Irish records, she finished a disappointing 12th in 4:10.99. Race winner was Scotland’s Laura Muir in a world leading time of 3:57.86.

In the 800m at the Blackheath and Bromley Invitational on Friday last (August 21), Katie Kirk of University of Ulster ran a time of 2:02.98 – just 0.3 off her personal best and her fastest time in six years after a long battle with anorexia.

Over the same distance, Louise Shanahan of Leevale AC and Cambridge University, who is the Irish indoor 1500m champion, ran a personal best of 2:03.17, while in the men’s 800m, Zak Curran of Dundrum South Dublin AC ran 1:50.87.

Nadia Power of Dublin City Harriers, like Mark English, is scheduled to race over 800m at the second round of the All Ireland Championships in Santry next weekend, with heats on Saturday and the finals on Sunday. On Tuesday August 11, Power ran a time of 2:03.13 at the Paavo Nurmi Games in Turku, Finland.

Scheduled for Sunday in Santry are the men’s and women’s steeplechase races, with former champion Tomas Cotter of Dunleer AC entered for the men’s event. Defending champion Jayme Rossiter of Clonliffe Harriers, based in England, won’t defend his title. Rossiter ran a time of 8:22.45 for 3000m at the Blackheath and Bromley meet.

Road running coming back

Ballynoe in Co Cork was the venue for the East Cork Road Championships on Thursday (August 20), where Sonia O’Sullivan made a surprise appearance in the women’s 3000m finishing eighth and helping her club Ballymore Cobh AC to team silver behind Midleton AC.
On an evening of gusting winds and cold showers of hail, the race winner was Fiona Santry of East Cork AC in 11 mins 22 secs. Second was Jennifer Goggin-Walsh of Carraig na bhFear AC in 11:56 with Linda O’Sullivan of Watergrasshill AC third in 12:04.

Making it an East Cork double in the men’s 5-mile race in 26 mins 11 secs was Kevin O’Leary of East Cork AC. Two Midleton AC junior athletes, Paul Hartnett and Frank O’Brien, finished second and third in 26:39 and 27:13 respectively. East Cork proved best of the teams on 30 points with Watergrasshill AC second on 45 points and Midleton third on 74 points.

No hill racing at home

Thanks to a change in Government Covid 19 policy, both the 54km Stone Cross to Lug Solo and the Galtee Half Marathon scheduled for Sunday 22 August were postponed, while hill runs at Paddock Hill on Wednesday 19 August and Brockagh on Sunday 23 August were cancelled. Updates at www.imra.ie

Fast 10’s Zak Hanna took part in three races in Italy and the furlough pro ran excellently. A highlight was 8th at the Challenge Stellina 14km, which doubled as the Italian National Champs. That was on the back of a 5th in the Fletta Trail 21km and 3rd in the Piz Tri Vertikal the day before.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here.

The post The Irish round-up is back appeared first on Fast Running.

I remember sitting down to watch Boris Johnston make his announcement. The UK would be joining the rest of Europe, and the world, in going into lockdown to help battle the outbreak of coronavirus, subsequently closing down everything such as schools and many businesses.

Normally I never watch the news as it’s full of politics and negativity, two things I don’t have much time for, but going by the worsening situation in the world watching the announcement was a bit surreal.

The day after the announcement was made I arrived into work not really sure what to expect, but I soon learned that I was going to be off work for at least three weeks as this was the predicted timescale of the lockdown.

Away from work

With the government furlough scheme being announced, many businesses took advantage and placed their employees on it to help safeguard jobs, and I was one of them.

Leaving work that evening I didn’t know what to expect for the foreseeable future. Nobody knew how the world would look in a week’s time never mind three weeks, with the death tolls rising daily as the virus tightened its grip on us.

Sporting events where being cancelled everywhere you looked which meant that many runners’ plans for the upcoming summer had been wiped out. Track, road and mountain races dropped like flies with travel restrictions making it impossible to travel abroad to compete or train.

You only had to look at social media to get the reaction of many athletes who now all of a sudden had no racing to train for or to look forward to for a considerable amount of time.

How will athletes react?

The hot topic of conversation that I had with others was how interesting it was going to be to see who either trains hard and comes out the other end in top shape, or who throws the head up and decides to take a break from running because they have nothing worth training for.

For me personally the only glimmer of hope that I had for racing was Sierre Zinal which had been moved to September instead of its usual August date to allow for Swiss Goverment restrictions to be relaxed.

With the race going to be my longest ever race to date, over 19 miles, I decided to seize the opportunity of having no work to go to whilst still getting my wages paid and essentially use the time I had to live like a professional runner. You could say ‘living the dream’ but at the same time given the circumstances it wasn’t quite like that.

A new routine

The usual routine of running at 6am in the morning, leaving home at 7:45am, doing a day’s work, running after and not getting home until 7-7:30pm every evening was wiped out. I soon got myself into a different routine; one that was centred around running and how I could make the most of the situation I found myself in.

Running with others was not an option as contact was more or less forbidden, but living on the side of a mountain presented no problems to me when it came to not meeting anyone on a run. I think it was 6-7 weeks before I started to bump into others out walking or cycling on the roads around home.

‘Furlough Pro’ was a phrase that I had used a few times when asked what I was doing over the lockdown; essentially a person who was training like a full time athlete whilst on the furlough scheme.

As I said above how people decided to use their time off work was entirely up to them; for me getting the best block of training I could possibly ask for was my aim and I intended to do what was possible to make it work for me.

Maybe you can tell which of these two is coping best with the increased mileage.

Not the only one increasing mileage

My dog Corragh was also noticing an increase in her mileage, not that she was complaining-she was great company as usual and she was loving the fact that I was at home everyday to spend some time with her. Man’s best friend and all that!

The weeks and miles flew by without a hitch. I felt fitter than ever, I was exploring more of my backyard around Slieve Croob and creating new routes in the mountains that allow me to cover some good distances from the back door. Mentally it kept me sane due to the lack of other things to be doing with the country closed down.

All the things I didn’t do before I was now doing-a bit more stretching, napping during the day, eating a lot more healthier; stuff that got sidetracked because the rat race was dictating what we done and how much time in a day we had to do it.

Back to some “normality”

When the gradual easing of the lockdown rules was announced and we could meet others outside of our household, running with others was a great buzz to be able to run alongside someone and enjoy the craic that company can bring.

I was in regular contact with my training group through lockdown but it’s so much better to be running along the trails in person than constantly over the phone. The first run out where all of us where together for the Sunday long run was a great one. It had been too long!

With Sierre Zinal organisers announcing the cancellation of the race for 2020 it meant that I didn’t have it to look forward to anymore.

Building for the future

I didn’t panic though, I looked back at the last 12-14 weeks of training that I had and realised that all that will stand me in good stead going forward into next year and beyond. Building the base is a common phrase amongst runners and that is exactly what I was doing.

When we are presented with situations such as the coronavirus they can have a shocking effect on what is our ‘normal’ life. It’s up to you how you deal with it. We can either let it get us down both physically and mentally, or we can use it to make us a stronger and fitter person. In the long term it will be of a massive benefit to our physical and mental well-being.

For me 2020 will be known as the year that I was a Furlough Pro, a story that might seem a bit mad in 20 years time but one that many of us will be able to tell!

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here. 

The post The furlough pro appeared first on Fast Running.

It was Confucius who said ‘Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated”, and in reality the same applies to running, at all levels from grassroots right up to elite level.

These days runners have so much access to gadgets, equipment and clothing that is designed to do all sorts for your running.

A simple sport that orginally required a pair of shoes, shorts and a t-shirt in order to take part.

Sometimes in the midst of all the training, looking at your watch to keep check of your pace or heart rate, counting the miles and making sure you get enough kudos on Strava-the reason why we started running is soon forgot about; but when is going for a run just as it says on the tin?

The standard week

During the week I run my usual plan of double days from Monday to Saturday, with sessions on a Tuesday evening and Saturday morning tied in with the traditional Sunday long run.

In amongst all this I’m in work from 8:30 to 5:30 from Monday to Thursday. And then comes Friday…

It’s Friday, the end of the working week. Once the clock hits 4pm I’m away like a shot, into the car and homeward bound. Picture Homer Simpson or Fred Flintstone leaving their work; you’ll get the picture.

I get home, already in my running gear after changing at work and I out on a rather dirty looking pair of Salomon S/Lab Speed 2 fell shoes.

Man’s best friend

Probably the most important thing I bring on this run isn’t my watch to record my run; but my dog Corragh, my 15 month old Collie/Whippet cross who religiously joins me on my morning runs before work, and also on the long run.

We both set off in the direction of Slieve Croob, sitting high behind my house with the summit in full view. Always a welcome site. Corragh is as per usual excited and bouncing about in front of me before she settles down and tucks in beside me heading uphill, and after a mile we hit the car park, and Corragh already knows that this is going to be fun.

From my house to the summit via the service road is 2.5 miles, with just over 1200ft of ascent thrown in too. We reach the summit in just under 20 minutes, thanks to a strong tailwind coming from Lough Neagh.

With the skies clearn, we are treated to a 360 degree view of Northern Ireland. In one direction you see the Mournes, then North Down (or the Gold Coast as the locals over there like to call it), then onto the capital city Belfast; with the famous Harland and Wolff cranes easy to spot. You then look towards the north and west, with the Sperrins, Glenshane Pass and Lough Neagh all in clear view. You then come back round to South Down where Slieve Gullion peaks out before coming back to meet the Mournes, where they sweep down to the sea.

You’ve got to stop and enjoy the summit

I don’t think I’ve ever summited and not stopped to look around the view. Standing on top and looking over God’s Own Country (and no, it’s not Yorkshire) is something that needs to be done-to quote Ferris from Ferris Buellar’s Day Off “Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it”.

The descent back down to home is fast, often includes being kneedeep in bogs, quite rocky and usually into a headwind-but it is always good fun. I take one last look at the Mournes and let Corragh take the lead as we head down onto the service road before we take a left and follow a narrow path that I have managed to create through the number of times I have ran this path.

We run across a short plateau before the real descent starts, down a rockt drop off and then onto a steep and wet section of grass. Corragh is having a blast, bouncing about like a Jack in the Box with the excitement of being free run about and chase me for sport all that is going through her head.

Does everyone love bog-running?

We hit the bogs and with the recent rainfall it is worse than usual, and we both are soon seeing the effects of it as Corragh is now black and brown instead of her usual black and white. Does she care? Not one bit. I end up with muck up over my knees, but that’s part and parcel of fell running and one I enjoy.

We continue the descent and we are both loving life as we pick up speed for the final drop before the car park; I pick up too much speed on the saturated ground and end up on my back sliding into a mini lake which has risen up from the rainfall. Partially winded I’m soon greeted by Corragh wondering what I’m at as she lies on all fours waiting for the signal to run on.

As we approach home I notice Corragh looking up at me as we run; and it looks as if she’s smiling because of the fun she had whilst on the mountain. Watching her run in front of me with no worries, not checking a watch or worrying about how many miles she has covered is a reminder of what we as humans need to do more often.

Dogs can teach us a lot

Dogs are great teachers and I personally have noticed this since I got Corragh as a pup back in January 2019. They are a simple and intelligent animal with so much to offer us as running partners.

Standing on top of Slieve Croob at 534m high, disconnected from the negativity of the world below with my dog on a Friday evening after another week in the rat race is a fantastic feeling and now that the evenings are getting longer it will be done more often.

Remember why you run; ditch the Strava obesssion, don’t put on your hear rate monitor, ditch the wireless headphones, go and play in the muck on the trails or mountains, go running in the rain-the simplest things often give us the greatest pleasures.

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As a mountain runner I am happiest when I am out on the mountains ascending a steep, twisty uphill or having fun on a technical descent jumping over rocks, rivers and bogs. That feeling is second to none and compared to running on the road or track it knocks them both out of the park in terms of enjoyment.

The Armagh 5km has been tipped as one of the fastest 5km road races about, with athletes from all over Europe descending on the Northern Irish town to race around the circuit know as the Mall.
The circuit itself is flat and runs around the outside of a cricket ground, measuring approximately one kilometre in length for a lap.

To enter the race you need to have registered a sub-16 5km to get on the start sheet. I was lucky enough to get in back in 2018 for the first time; running a 15:30 which at the time was my personal best.

Isn’t Armagh too flat?

Every year I get asked the same question; ‘what brings a mountain runner to Armagh? It’s too flat!’

I know for sure that I am not the first mountain runner to have raced around the Mall in the past. The past few years I have always bumped into friends who I normally see on the top of a mountain 2000m altitude.

Some of the world’s best mountain runners both past and present have run some blistering 5km times; multiple World Mountain Running Champion Jonathan Wyatt boasts a track PB of 13:35.

I love to race and even though I hate racing on the road, Armagh is a race I make an exception to mainly because some of my training group are entered and also because I want to better my time from last year.

Out of place in the trail shoes, but comfortable

On the start line of this year’s race it was incredible to see how many runners where kitted out in the latest Nike 4%/Next Percent shoes; whereas I’m wearing a pair of my favourite Salomon Sense 6 trail shoes. Weighing 220g they are one of the lightest pair of shoes I own; plus they have that added bit of grip that could come in handy should the weather turn damp.

It unfazes me that I’m one of the small few not wearing them. We are all here to race and we all share the same goal which is to run as quick a time as possible.

I would write about the race itself but I honestly can’t remember too much apart from a pile up on the line once the gun went off! I did have a few glimmers of thought in my head wishing that I was racing in the Alps or the Dolomites, with mountains for miles and breathtaking views!

Crossing the line with a new PB of 14:55 was exactly what I came for and to break the 15 minute barrier was a positive sign of progress since last year’s race. I done one specific 5k session on the track a week before but apart from that my training has been about threshold runs, hill work and building a stronger base ahead of a long season of racing on the cards; but my strength from running in the hills does help a lot when it comes to anything involving speed; I’m not built with fast twitch muscles so anything fast is always going to hurt.

Not the only mountain runner with serious leg speed

As I mentioned earlier many of the world’s top mountain runners have fast 5km PBs and I have heard many times from my coach Richard Rodgers that running fast on the flat can translate into faster running when racing in the mountains; hence why I do train on the track during the winter and jump into Armagh in search of speed for my legs.

Living on the side of a mountain means most of my easy runs are done in the hills but the track has worked wonders for me in my opinion.

Armagh is over for another year and with this year’s winner setting a time of 13:42 and almost 140 runners running sub 15 minutes, the strength and depth of the race keeps getting better and it is great to see such a high quality event taking place in Northern Ireland. I can only dream at this point of running anywhere near that time!

With the Northern Ireland Senior XC Championships in Coleraine [Zak and his club were very successful, winning the team prize at the XC Champs helped by his 7th position overall] and a week long warm weather training camp in Gran Canaria to look forward to in March, work will continue towards the first mountain race of the year in May. No more road racing for another 365 dats and I am glad of it!

Now take me to the mountains!

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Profile

Name: Zak Hanna
Age (Jan 2020): 24
Hometown: Dromara, Northern Ireland
Club: Newcastle & District AC
Main discipline: Mountain running
Other disciplines: Cross Country
Full-time athlete/work/studying: Work

Goals or targets for 2020

-To continue developing and learning as a runner

-Wear the Irish singlet again

-Improve on my results from last year

-Continue travelling to and racing in more amazing countries

-Carry on enjoying this amazing sport and the opportunities it can bring

Past Running highlights

-6th overall 2019 WMRA Mountain Running World Cup
-4th International Snowdon Race
-1st Mamores Vertical Kilometre
-1st Slieve Donard race 2017
-Irish Novice XC Champion 2018
-Ulster Intermediate XC Champion 2019
-Getting my first Irish cap in 2016
-Breaking Robbie Bryson’s course record on the Slieve Binnian uphill race

Interesting or fun facts

-Before I was a runner I was used to be a keen showjumper and cyclist

-I have a dog called Corragh, a collie/whippet cross named after Slieve Corragh, a mountain in the Mournes

-I have a massive sweet tooth for Haribo and Kinder bars, anyone who has been away with me to a race abroad will know this!

-I was interviewed back in 2011 for Lord Sugar’s Young Apprentice

-When I’m not running I love to follow football, my teams are Rangers, Glenavon and of course Northern Ireland.

I run because…

As Rocky Balboa said ‘Because I can’t sing or dance’!

Now for the serious part…It is a great way to disconnect from all the negativity that is hampering today’s modern world, especially when in the mountains where you are at one with nature. The freedom of running is a feeling like no other; and the people I have met along the way are also what makes this sport special.

Favourite training session

Long uphill tempos in the Mournes

Least favourite training session

Anything on the track-I always feel like a hamster on a wheel when I end up on it.

Favourite pre-race food

Nothing beats a good steak with some pasta!

Favourite post-race food

Pizza is always a good shout, especially when racing in Italy!

Favourite runner or runners

John Lenihan (1991 World Mountain Running Champion) is number one on my list. Kenny Stuart is also up there, I’m massive fan of the old school runners.

Brands or organisations that support me

Salomon and Suunto

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The post Fast10: Zak Hanna appeared first on Fast Running.

In Chicago, Fionnuala McCormack finished 5^th woman in 2 hrs 26 mins 47 secs, knocking almost four minutes off her previous best of 2:30.38 run in Boston earlier this year. That time is comfortably inside the Tokyo 2020 qualifying standard of 2:29:30 and means that McCormack, now aged 35, is on target to compete at her fourth Olympic Games next summer.

It also puts her third on the all-time list of Irish-born athletes led by Catherina McKiernan whose Irish record of 2:22.23 dates back 21 years to Amsterdam in 1998. Second on the list is Mayo-born Sinead Diver who ran a time of 2:24.11 in London last April; Diver runs for Australia. Only four Irish women have ever gone under 2 hrs 30 mins for the marathon.

Photo: Robbie Britton

Irish success in the mountains

At the final World Cup race on the Smarna Gora in Slovenia, Sarah McCormack finished second behind defending champion Lucy Murigi from Kenya with less than a minute in it.

McCormack, who is based at Ambleside in the Lake District, had already done enough to lift the World Cup trophy after a super consistent season, where she ran six of the seven World Cup races. She finished second at the opening round in Annecy and at the Drei Zinnen in Italy as well as in Slovenia and took a big win at Snowdon, a race she had won twice before. She also picked up good points for a fourth at the savagely steep Grossglockner in Austria and for 13^th in the 31km Sierre-Zinal in Switzerland.

In the men’s race, Zak Hanna of Newcastle AC finished ninth which put him 5^th overall in the World Cup rankings. He made the top ten in the four races he ran, with his best result coming at Snowdon where he finished fourth.

Both athletes will represent Ireland at the World Mountain Running Championships taking place in Villa La Angostura, Patagonia, Argentina at the end of next month.

Photo: Kirsten Kortebein

Trail running overseas

Nicole Duncan, building up towards the World Mountain Running Long Distance Championships in Patagonia the November, was the comfortable winner at the Pentland Skyline race in Edinburgh, Scotland.  Running for the race organisers Carnethy RC, the former road marathoner clocked 3:10:51 to win the 26.6km race with 1890m of climbing. Tom Owens, running for Shettleston Harriers, was the men’s winner in 2:25:29.

US-based ultra trail runner Paddy O’Leary, who started a trio of Wicklow Round records earlier this year, was the winner of the THF Endurance Challenge Chile 50km. Also building up towards the World Longs in Argentina this November, the 2:20 marathoner is travelling and adventuring in South America before the champs and looks in fine form.

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Lindie Naughton is a journalist and writer based in Dublin who joined the athletics club at her college many many years ago and has never quite escaped. You’ll normally find her jogging around some orienteering course somewhere – or down at the Irishtown track coaching kiddies!

The post A good weekend to be called McCormack – Irish weekend round-up appeared first on Fast Running.