Euro Trials 2022

05 May, 2022 - Barry McEvoy

Prelude: Andrew Hanney mentioned to me at Scalp (where I was watching Aoife win her first race, Go Aoife) that he noticed I didn’t write a race report for the Little Sugar loaf, had it anything to do with my DNF (possibly, probably, definitely). I had writers block Andy! Just to announce to the IMRA community, I got lost coming down the back of the little sugar loaf – I hopped a fence at one point into a rough farmers field, seeing a speck of orange, thinking it was a marker, it turned out to be scrap plastic and mirage red in colour. I exited the field and ran as the crow flies to Ballywaltrim before finally admitting defeat!!

10 days later I was running for an Irish singlet on familiar terrain. The trial race from Crone woods to the Maulin ride and the loops that follow are brutal. It’s a lung opening fast uphill stride for 1.3km, then you hit the 420m of steep climbing (120m Elevation) with a casual fallen tree as an obstacle after 100m or so, at the top there’s no time to catch breath, turn to the left and start falling downhill on a rapid mountain bike track with multiple stone slabs which need to be dealt with at top speed and a gorse bush which cuts the arms before you fly out onto the main track and turn left, round a fast corner on very uneven terrain, sharp let again then go quicker, U-turn to the right, go quicker, round a sharp easy left, close to the edge then come out and start running like it’s the last 400m of a 5km – now do it again 4 more times. Brutal brilliant race.

I finished the WWH and within a few minutes I’m thinking of the Euro trials. That’s the way it is for me – onto the next thing, onto the next level.

I won’t go into detail on how I reccied the course or the approach I take when recceing for big races, but I don’t just jog it once. I knew exactly where time would be made and lost. It was nice and sunny the morning before the race and I was sitting outside with a cap over my eyes, taking every turn in my mind – like a formula one driver visualising corners and speeds.

I got very nervous the week before the race and was looking forward to it being over by the end. The evening before the race I did a 5k shakeout jog and on the very last corner before my house I got a twinge in my left hamstring and stopped dead in my tracks. I couldn’t do any strides and was worried. I didn’t think about it up there but I’m currently nursing a hamstring that’s is extremely tender and I am walking rather oddly. Some rest from running maybe and a few days on my Da’s old racer should see me through. Very strange for the hamstring to twinge like that on such an easy jog and I think my body had tensed up with nerves.

The morning of the race was a little strange because I didn’t see many of the familiar faces I usually see. There were lots of runners from up north, James Kevan who I recognised but had never met. I had a chat with Matthew McConnell and that brought some ease to proceedings. No Enda or Eddie who had opted for the long-distance trial, no Karol or John Kinsella. There was an element of the unknown and id spent enough time thinking about other runners, so I just remembered the qualifying time and focused on that. I had times in my head – 13 mins end of lap one, 21, 29, 37 and 45. This would give me a minute’s leeway, but I secretly believed I could push close to Tim O Donoghue's time of 44.58 from 2019.

I warmed up with a jog up to the lap, then did an easy loop and strides downhill to get the blood going. About 4.5km and was ready to go at 9.50 and found out the race wasn’t until 10.30. Crap, I hope I don’t get cold. I changed into my race gear slowly – once I’m in that, don’t be talking to me, I’m in the zone. I did another 2km before the start, mixing in some exercises, more strides etc. 5 mins before the race I’m milling about with everyone else and I take time to get still inside, calm my breathing (Double inhales with slow exhale).

I like to bounce on the legs like a boxer a bit – id throw a few jabs if I had no social inhibitions. At this point I’m feeling some swagger coming on, self-belief swagger because what’s the other option to not believe, nah. Ya have to go in swinging at least. I count down with Leo, 5,4,3,2,1.

No one goes out very hard. I feel very comfortable at the pace, I wait for 100m maybe – is anyone going to go, doesn’t seem to be. The pace feels too comfortable for me, so I make a push – just a small injection. I worried about this first k in training runs, I kept running 4.16 for the kilometre with about 70ish metres of elevation. I want to be nearer 4.00 now. My watch recorded the race at only 10.1km when I looked after the race and said my first k was 4.21. I’m sure it got lost here because this first km closer to 4.00. I wanted to be at the climb sub 5 mins 10 seconds and I got there in 5.05.

The climb knocks you and I think it would no matter how many times you run it. Its hard and that fallen tree is a killer because it takes you to the right, then step on a stone onto the branch, then the other branch and down but its wet today and the branch looks like oil so it’s more like stop step in between the two branches, then step over onto the track and up. Over the 5 laps it must cost a few seconds, it’s a rhythm breaker but I use it as a waypoint and break the climb up in my head - get to the tree, get to the road, get to the top and it’s a good strategy.

As we near the top of the Climb for the first time, James works past me, smoothly, I filter in behind him and stick close. He’s only just ahead at the top and the both of us lean forward and go, I am on his back, very close, like a drafting cyclist and once we emerge onto the fire road, I kick a little and move ahead figuring if he has me on the climb I’m going to need to have him going down. The second lap repeats the first exactly.

Things change on the third lap. As we reach the usual point where James goes by he’s not there, he’s a little behind, 5 metres maybe but he can’t get up to go by, so I increase my effort and kick harder uphill to the top and go, this is my opportunity, the first time I’ve been able to run the mountain bike section at the front. I create a gap on this downhill and it stays until the finish. The last two uphills are painful, I’m still running but I feel like I’m going slow. I repeat the mantra ‘work, work, work’ to myself and say come on out loud when I consider stopping to hike. It’s like I’m bargaining with myself and I tell myself ‘if you stop I’m finished with you’. My last downhill is my fastest and I know I am going to come first. I’m getting tired as I hit the flattish run in but I up my speed, there’s no one around me but I want to do my best time. 45.10. 12 seconds off Tim O’Donoghue from 2019. I could have found the seconds but coulda, shoulda, woulda mate.

It was a nice moment to make the Irish team, to win the trial to have your name up there with Ian Conroy, Zak Hanna and the other mountain runners who won before you. I came to the race to win, I come to every race to win and if id lost I’d congratulate the winner and try figure out how to beat him!!

I was in Crone once a week the 5 weeks before the race 90 mins each way from Portlaoise. I ran 5 x loop, ran the whole course once, ran from the start plus 3 loops fast, ran some repeats on the first 1km. Id ran 47.50 for the course 3 weeks out which I knew would have been good for 5th or 6th last time. I also knew not too many people ever go under the qualifying time, maybe 3 max per race. I ran the fastest downhill segment and was happy with my consistency on the uphill’s. I was sure I could run the time and that was my focus, if I needed to race hard for a position in the final 2 laps I was ready to go to that level too. You don’t have to be the fastest up or the fastest down just the fastest all round!

I noticed the last time the race was on lots of the downhill times were at least 15 seconds per lap slower than I thought they should have been, even in our race looking over times. WHY? Because you need to hit the downhill like a freight train immediately on the transition from the up, no breather, no leg shaking, no regaining your composure. Its hard but if you do it you’ll find your breath will settle on the way down, just a 100m or so of burning pain. You must judge your stride length when going over the stones downhill, no stuttering, go through the fir tree that sticks out take a few scratches, let the blood flow, pretend you’re a warrior. Hit the fire road and don’t look at warren swords, don’t look at anyone, that’s time wasting, turn hard and run hard here for the short section of flat. Bounce over the uneven stones, don’t pick your footing, trust yourself. Then lean forward and go, take the U-turn right hander sharp and spring out of it and take the left hander at the bottom as close to the ditch as you can, then run a straight line to the inside of the flat stretch. Stay left, why would you go right? Let the crowd carry you here, the start of the uphill will feel like a break, don’t worry about that, you gotta go if you wanna compete.

Bring on the Euros. Green Army, El Paso 2022. I won’t be going to make up the numbers I can guarantee that.