Trials For European Championships and Snowdon
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Barry McEvoy | May 5 2022, 12:36pm | Hi, I have put up my race report for those that are interested. Thanks to all the organisers and volunteers for putting on a great race. Can't beat drinks and sambos out of a Car boot! Baz |
| Warren Swords | May 5 2022, 2:48pm | That's a brilliant race report Barry. |
| Elizabeth Wheeler | May 5 2022, 4:04pm | Loved every word of that Barry...gripping...and absolute proof that you get out what you put in...congratulations! |
| Deirdre Galvin | May 5 2022, 7:50pm | Love this, so refreshingly honest about the preparation and the ambition. Huge well done on all counts. |
| Michael Blighe | May 5 2022, 8:49pm | Really enjoyed reading this - great insight into what it takes to compete at that level. It was such a pleasure watching all the athletes on the day - huge congratulations to all who competed. They were all so impressive. |
| Graham Ahearne | May 5 2022, 11:27pm | Inspiring read - Such attention to detail in the prep and execution. Thanks for taking the time to share and well done on a great race win. |
| Brian Kitson | May 7 2022, 10:43am | Read it twice Barry. Superb. |
| Jennifer ELVIN | May 7 2022, 4:05pm | Great report Barry! Loved re-living that race.... it was all a bit of a blur for me. And fantastic to hear you on Trail Running Ireland podcast. I'm going to get myself on Errigal this weekend now. :-) |
| Andrew Hanney | May 9 2022, 7:44pm | Brilliant report and two reports for the price of one too. Well done that man. |
| Paul Twomey | May 12 2022, 8:05pm | Inspiring as always Barry, keep up the great work. |
| Miriam Maher | Jun 29 2022, 5:54pm | This weekend on the Island of La Palma a squad of 20 Irish Athletes will represent at the European Athletes Off-Road Running Championships! The teams are as follows: July 1st - Uphill Mountain Race [5.29 km/788m] Zak Hanna Sophie Daly Lisa Hegarty July 2nd - Trail Race [47km/2,562m] Eddie O Connor Enda Cloake Dillon Mc Evoy Isobel Oakes July 3rd - Senior and Junior - Up and downhill races Juniors [5.4km/309m] Hannah Kehoe Amy Greene Claragh Keane Tom Crudgington Seán McGinley Ryan Smith Seniors [17.6km/585m] Sarah McCormack Jennifer Elvin Roisin Howley Edel Monaghan Barry McEvoy James Kevan Timothy Johnston Robbie Williams and I will be accompanying the squad as Team Managers. Conditions on La Palma are expected to be a balmy late teens/early twenties - hoping it stays that way! We will keep you posted on the usual social media platforms over the weekend of racing. Post race reports will be posted here after we get back. |
| Paddy O'Leary | Jun 29 2022, 7:06pm | Good luck out to the team out there. Excited for you all to race on that beautiful island, lads! |
| Luke McMullan | Jun 30 2022, 10:08am | Best of luck everyone! Race smart but leave it all out there! |
| Alice Clancy | Jun 30 2022, 12:37pm | Best of luck all!! Looking forward to reading the race reports! |
| Brian Mullins | Jun 30 2022, 8:00pm | Best of luck to all concerned, medals are a certainty, of that I have no doubt, given the calibre of athletes in the team and also due to the management behind the athletes. Be sure to check out the “other” VK from the beach in Tazacorte and also the festival of hurt called the Transvulcania course if ye have anything left after the weekend, ye won’t regret it. La Palma is the nicest of the Canary Islands by many moons. |
| Warren Swords | Jun 30 2022, 8:48pm | Best of luck, that's a great team of athletes. Enjoy La Palma, absolutely stunning island as Brian has mentioned. Roques de Los muchachos is worth a visit post race, the descent from there to Tazacorte is sublime. |
| David Power | Jul 1 2022, 8:48am | Event website has lots of info including schedule, list of runners and live results. Friday 9am - uphill senior Saturday 8am - 47km senior Saturday 8.40 - 17km sprint https://reventonelpaso.livetrail.net/ La Palma is a special place - you are all so lucky to be able to run there. After the sad events of the volcanic eruptions last autumn, it's great to see life returning to la Isla Bonita. |
| David Power | Jul 1 2022, 8:49am | Youtube live feed - with some familiar voices (Rene & Eoin). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRKTKAqRwzQ |
| David Power | Jul 1 2022, 9:21am | Correction - English language commentary/stream is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IXO1_l8WonA Previous link is for you hispanohablantes |
| Eamonn Hodge | Jul 1 2022, 9:56am | Our own Rene commentating! |
| Brian Furey | Jul 1 2022, 10:59am | Some run from Zak Hanna - 4th in the uphill senior mens |
| Miriam Maher | Jul 15 2022, 6:07pm | Inaugural European Off Road Running Championships – El Paso, La Palma, Canary Islands - Race Trip Report A squad of 20 athletes, accompanied by Team Managers, Robbie Williams, Miriam Maher and with our High-Performance Officer, Leo Mahon, travelled to the spectacularly beautiful Island of La Palma over the weekend of June 30th to July 4th. This new event, which combined three different race distances and disciplines over three days, brought the best mountain runners Europe has to offer together, all racing the trails above and around El Paso. As Eoin Flynn had reminded us in a pre-trip zoom call with the squad, it was only 6 months ago that the volcanic eruption on La Palma destroyed 3,000 homes and buildings, forcing 7,000 people out of their homes. Despite that recent scale of devastation, the people and communities of La Palma put the most amazing event together, welcoming Ireland and 24 other National Teams from Europe to their Island. And Eoin himself, a resident on the Island, was the most welcome voice at the finish line for all the races, and the start line for most of them too. He made sure that all the Irish team got individual shout outs and encouragement all the way. Between nail-biting delays on passport applications, two issued only days before we travelled, a passport eaten by a family dog, necessitating a day before travel dash to the passport office for a replacement and then an expired passport being brought instead of the active one (all I’ll say about the later is that I’m so so glad I had decided to bring my passport card for ID purposes…), long queues at 4.30 am in Dublin airport, long flight delays on the way over, getting everyone gathered in La Palma by Thursday evening, June 30th was an achievement in of itself. But to the races themselves. Day 1 - Zak Hanna, Sophie Daly and Lisa Hegarty raced in the Uphill Only Races [8.85 km with 997m climb] Starting in the town of El Paso, finishing at a peak far above the town with stunning views all around. Temperatures not too hot…but that’s easy to say when you’re not the one racing. Zak had a truly fantastic 5th place finish. The highest placed Irish Athlete at the European Championships in 30 years. We know a podium place at the euros is within Zak’s grasp. Sophie and Liza, in their first international outings, ran very strongly and did themselves and us proud, finishing 26th and 36th respectively in a top-class field. With Sophie now based in the Alps and Lisa back in the Kingdom, we know both can build on their experiences for future outings in the Irish singlet. Day 2 – Enda Cloake, Dillon McEvoy, Eddie O’Connor and Isobel Oakes raced in the Trail races [46.9km with 2557m climb]. Starting in El Paso and covering an extremely diverse route which brought them through forests, along ridge lines, through volcanic landscapes and very close to the areas affected directly by the recent volcano. The finish was back in town itself. It was an early start, leaving the team hotel not long after 6 am. The temperatures were good to start with, but it was a hot day out on the course for the athletes. Enda led the Irish men’s team home (29th), followed by Dillion (31st), Eddie (34th) and Isobel (20th) in the women’s race. All worked very hard for their races with the consensus that the first half was the most challenging on several levels. It was great to see them all come through the mid-course refreshment station, given the high temperatures and the extremely challenging terrain. Which was only eclipsed by the high of seeing them all across the finish lines in finishing times that would leave the rest of us mere mortals just shaking our heads. Day 3 – The rest of our squad raced in the U20 junior men and women and Senior men and women races, one after another, it was a very busy morning of activity on the racing front. It was also the hottest day of the races and the focus for all the squad racing was to manage the heat while waiting as well as when they were racing. U20 Races – 5.29km with 788 m climb – two loops, starting from El Paso and climbing around the trails above the town. Due to an unfortunate foot injury picked up the day after we arrived, Sean McGinley (U20 junior mens team) couldn’t take part in the race after all. His teammates, Tom Crudgington and Ryan Smith had great races. Tom came 11th in a very strong field. This was an excellent result for the 17-year-old in a top-class field of young talent. Ryan came in strongly in 23rd, also in his first outing in an Irish vest. Both gained a huge amount of experience at this level of racing which will stand to them both in future international racing opportunities. Our U20 Junior women, all first-time participants in racing at this level of international competition raced hard and left absolutely nothing out there. The team, led over the finish by Hannah Kehoe (24th), followed by Amy Greene (25th) and Claragh Keane (27th) all gained a valuable insight into racing at this level. Their camaraderie as a team was clear to see and like their U20 junior men teammates, this experience will stand to them in their future racing aims. Senior Races – 17.6 km with 858m climb – a challenging up and downhill route, with a small loop at the far end of the course. Timothy Johnston led his teammates across the finish line in 36th place, with James Kevan and Barry McEvoy following in 43rd and 44th places respectively. The race route was hot, challenging and the feedback was that the bite was there in the second half of the route, sapping energy levels and needing all of them to dig deep to manage the distance and their racing efforts. Sarah McCormack ran a strong race, holding 3rd place right up until a late stage in the race, before falling back to finish 13th overall. For herself, it was a disappointing result. But as she reflected later, for all the good races and results at her level of competition, there are plenty of others that don’t go as planned. Sarah was followed by her teammates, Jennifer Elvin (38th), Roisin Howley (40th) and Edel Monaghan (41st) – all racing hard, all racing for the first time at this level and all learning a huge amount from the experience. The support amongst the squad for each other, throughout the trip, on the race days and through our frequent updates on the group WhatsApp was constant and essential to ensure that Team Ireland came together as a squad, not just a group of individual athletes. This was a squad with huge potential. The medals slipped through our fingers on this occasion but the talent and scope for development is clear. Looking forward to what comes next for all our super euro squad. Postscript – The travel home to Ireland was an experience to forget – more flight delays meant we finally touched down in Dublin Airport at 2.30 am on Tuesday, July 5th after leaving the team hotel at 7.30 am on Monday July 4th. The extended layover in Madrid led to ambitious trips by most of us to downtown Madrid where we immediately wilted in the 40-degree heat and sought out air-conditioned restaurants or the shade of city parks. The current upsurge in Covid cases across Europe was seen in the number of reported Covid cases in the hotel where all the teams stayed. This led to a number of Covid cases amongst our squad after we returned home. But at least we got to travel, to participate and for our squad to race amongst the elite of Europe’s trail runners, much to be grateful for and much to gain for all from the experience. I’ll leave you with some of the comments sent by our squad on their experiences… “It was an honour to have the opportunity to represent Ireland in what would be not only my first Irish international vest but also my first race on the European stage……the race was up there with the toughest races of my life however this just made it even more memorable. It was incredible to race against the best mountain and trail runners in Europe…I’ve learned a lot of lessons and gained a lot of experience that will fuel my training to build towards the next opportunity…an incredible trip that I will remember forever” – Ryan Smith – U20 Junior Men “To stride it out at the European Off Road Championships wearing my country colours for the first time was a truly unforgettable proud moment for not just myself but for my family and my friends back home in County Clare. During the race itself I always use a technique anytime I run called the '5 Senses Game.' When the going gets tough I use this game to rally through the rough patch and by God I definitely used that game several times throughout the run :) What I could see: The spectacular Cumbre Vieja Volcano in the distance! What I could hear: The spectators encouraging us on with roars of 'Allez allez allez!' when descending the last steep 5km technical downhill section!! What I could smell: the intense smell of pine while whizzing through the forest section! What I could taste: the sweet refreshing pink electrolyte solution that our team manager/'bartender' Robbie handed out at the halfway point fuel station What I could feel/touch: the drip drip of liquid sweat sizzling on my pale Irish freckled skin.” Róisín Howley – Senior Women “The team aid station at 26km was a life saver. I was really struggling at that point, and it was a massive boost to see the team and get some encouragement after a very long and lonely stretch. The second half of the race was on easier terrain and keeping on top of my nutrition and hydration throughout the race really paid off as I was able to get going again and pass a couple of runners and I finished out the race running well enough. The experience of racing a European Championships in La Palma was unreal and not something I ever expected to be doing! With it being my first experience racing at this level, I had a lot to learn…It was great to see some fantastic performances from the rest of the team and to have the opportunity to race in the Irish vest” – Isobel Oakes – Trail Race “When I received word that I’d made the team, I was absolutely over the moon. My first ever green jersey!..Sunday morning, it was warmest day since we arrived…..But I kept hydrated and fuelled as best I could in the days previous and tried to stay relaxed. I poured water over my head as we awaited the gun, with the sun beaming down……Being quite far back in the field, made it mentally tougher also. But I reminded myself that this was the highest standard of competition I’d ever raced, and it was an honour to be representing my country, and just amazing to be running on this mesmerising volcanic island……It was magical to reach that home straight, I am quite tearful reflecting on it now. It was an experience I won’t forget” – Edel Monaghan – Senior Women “Memories from race day. Getting the athletes bus to the other side of the island, I did not hear a single word spoken for 30 minutes as everyone got themselves quietly ready to perform…As we were brought into the call room, AC/DC Thunderstruck began blaring through the speakers…The race itself played out pretty much as expected, fast and furious from start to finish, with the top 3 men running unbelievably fast times. Took a few guys on the final descent which was nice but overall just grateful for the amazing experience” – Timothy Johnston – Senior Men “Very happy with 29th and 1st Irish home. Leading into the race I had lots of room for improvement from Ballyhoura, mostly pacing, heat adaptation and nutrition. I felt that I was fairly spot on managing effort and nutrition until about 40km when the legs started to suffer bad…Running with the best in Europe really opened my eyes to what can be done with the right training” – Enda Cloake – Trail Race “When I stood at the start line of my first ever race, Bweeng trail, I never in a million years imagined that just over one year later, I’d be standing at the start line of the European Championships…Once the gun went off though, I brought my focus into my body and quickly settled into a nice pace with a Spanish runner. The course was tough, but I had prepared well…My plan to go off a little conservative paid off and I passed out several runners as we neared the finish line…..Overall I have very positive feelings about my race and am optimistic that with time, experience and training, my performance will only improve” – Sophie Daly – Uphill Race “I'm delighted with the run but still kicking myself on missing out on a medal, which would have been class. After the Montemuro World Cup race I was quietly confident of a result but needed the legs to work in line with my mind as well, which thankfully worked. Travelling out early worked well as I was super relaxed until race morning when nerves set in, and I ran with intent not letting the favourites get away and tried to control my own race to the best of my ability, and crossing the line for Ireland's best male result in the mountains in the last 30 years is something I'm hugely proud of, and hopefully I can go one better and get a gold medal next time….Proud to be a member of the Irish mountain running team, a super bunch of lads and ladies” – Zak Hanna – Uphill Race “The Euros were an eye opener for me…the standard is a different level and requires sacrifice in all areas if an athlete wants to compete…..I wouldn't go again unless I was prepared to do that and give a proper account of myself….Overall, I enjoyed the experience and have a lot to think about going forward” – Barry McEvoy – Senior Men “The Europeans was a great experience for me. This was my first experience of a major athletics championship. I enjoyed the travel and seeing the new places. I was amazed when we arrived in La Palma. The scenery was class…The race day was very different from any other race I’ve ran. It was cool to see all the countries lined up in their gear ready to run. Luckily, we were the last race, so we got to see the seniors finish. There were some amazing performances all round. We were happy enough with our performances. We learned a lot and definitely are inspired to work harder to improve…Overall it was great experience that I’ll never forget” – Claragh Keane – U20 Junior Women “The first 10kms of the race was a solid climb of +1000m…things were going to plan as I got to the top of the climb but as I started to descend I quickly got passed by 5 other runners (I think from Denmark, Germany and Greece) who completely ignored the switch backs and bolted straight down the face of the mountain – quite impressive! …the next 10km my lower abdomen cramped up, the trail shifted into flowy, runnable jeep track but I couldn’t go faster than sub 4mins/km and couldn’t take on any more fuel……My spirits were buoyed seeing Miriam at 26km and then getting half a Red Bull down from Robbie at our team aid station. After this we were running on soft, black volcanic sand (ash?) which was awesome fun…the final 5kms was an epic downhill sprint finish into El Paso. Amazing race and happy to have made it to the finish line. An experience I will never forget, it was incredible running against some of the best mountain runners in the world” – Dillon McEvoy – Trail Race |
| Eoin Keith | Jul 15 2022, 6:45pm | Fantastic epic report Miriam. What a super set of results all round. Congratulation to all the team (athletes and support) on a job well done. |
| Sarah Brady | Jul 16 2022, 7:10am | Well done everyone! A fantastic bunch of athletes and well done also to Miriam and crew. :) |
| Laura Flynn | Jul 16 2022, 6:58pm | That’s a fabulous report Miriam and gives all us “ordinary” IMRA runners a real insight into the hard work involved in getting to and competing at these events. They’re a great bunch of athletes and people. I had the pleasure and privilege of spending time with a number of them at the Trail de Guerlédan in June and saw just how committed they are to achieving their best. Well done to you all and thanks to you, Robbie and Leo for taking such good care of them. |
