RACE WEEK PREPARATIONS

 

                                      IAU 100K WORLD CHAMPIONSIPS 2011


I can't believe we are only 5 days away from the world 100k championships!!It's in these days leading up to a big event that nerves,excitement and a whole range of pre race emotions start to kick in.Months of training has been done and it's come to the stage now where less is more as regards training.As I begin my second and final week of the taper it's time to go through the "checklist"........

Today monday was just a very easy 7 mile run(in the lashing rain as usual!!).Tomorrow will be another short run of 8 miles with a few miles at race pace thrown in,just to make sure the legs aren't getting too comfortable :)

Wednesday I am booked in with Leon in http://www.physiozone.com/ for my pre race massage.After Longford I didn't feel too sore except for slighty tight calf muscles and then the quads were starting to play up a little but Leon sorted them out.So basically the massage is just to make sure that everything is ok and to loosen out any tight spots.I couldn't recommend highly enough the benefits of a good rub a few days before a race.

Thursday we depart for the Netherlands...........
I will probably do a light run on thursday and likewise friday.Nothing too strenuous :)
Race start is saturday at 10am local time(9am irish time)........This is where the taper ends and the small matter of racing 100k begins !!!

LONGFORD ULTRA RACE REPORT

                                                

This past month has all been about getting the disaster that was Connemara out of my head!Time to knuckle down and put in some quality workouts and get ready for the World 100 in September.I knew that physically I was in good shape,even in the lead up to the trails,so it was just a case of building on that.Training over the last few weeks has gone very well but I needed a race to really see proof that I was getting things right in training.Sunday saw Longford Marathon celebrate they're 10th anniversary and for the occasion they put on a 39.3 mile ultra marathon.I decided that I would give it a shot.

For the upcoming World 100 I have 2 specific goals....."Goal A",and"Goal B"

To see if these "goals" were in fact realistic and achievable and would use The Longford Ultra Marathon a testing ground.The aim was to run Longford at 80% effort.I wanted to feel like I could continue running at a similiar pace for another couple of hours after crossing the finishing line.Whether I finished the race in 1st place or 10th place was irrelevent.This was a training exercise with the bigger picture in mind.

Long story short......I completed the race comfortably in 6.30min\mile in a time of 4hrs 16mins.I was feeling fresh when crossing the finish line and without getting dragged in to a race I managed to place 1st!Even though I ran most of the race shoulder to shoulder with 2nd placed Vasilly Neumerzhitskiy it did not feel like a race as for me it was just another sunday long run,except this time with a bit of company!Feeling strong over the last couple of miles I opened a 2 minute gap and maintained it to the finish.

All in all it was a great days training and even better to get the win which will do my confidence the world of good leading up to Holland :)

 

Kildare man John O'Regan wins Belfast 24-hour race

I am delighted to say that my Irish international team-mate John O Regan has won the national 24 hour championships.The 24 hour event is John's prefered distance and to put in a performance like this so soon after the World Trails shows his incredible talent as a top ultra runner. 

Kildare man John O'Regan set a new track record of 132 miles as he was crowned Irish champion by winning the Belfast 24-hour race.

O'Regan's distance beat the 127 miles set by last year's inaugural race winner Fermanagh man Thomas Maguire.

With Maguire dropping out after 16 hours, Madrid-based Belfast man Eddie Gallen finished second with 127 miles.

Tipperary native Deirdre Finn was first woman finisher as she produced 112 miles which left her sixth overall.

Limerick man Michael Cunningham, 46, set the early pace at the Mary Peters Track as he covered the opening marathon distance of 26.2 miles in three and half hours.

However, O'Regan, 41, moved into the lead by half distance and he went through the 100-mile barrier in under 17 hours.

O'Regan stayed on the track round-the-clock in the Energia sponsored race as did 48-year-old runner-up Gallen.

Powerful Icelandic competitor Gunnlauger Juliusson finished in third place on 120 miles.

However, performance of the race came arguably from women's winner Finn who added 22 miles to last year's best female time set by Lynne Hanna.

Hanna improved her personal best as she also went through the 100-mile barrier while Hungarian Timea Bontovics was third best female with 91 miles.

In all, 18 athletes went beyond 100 miles in the day-long event.

Belfast mother-of-two Susan McCartney collapsed in the middle of the track after running for 12 hours but after resting for four hours, then resumed the race to complete 86 miles by the finish.

The 12-hour race was won by Welshman Sean McCormack who achieved 68 miles while the Orangegrove quartet of Liz Leitch, Gary Keenan, Colin Fulton and Ralph Coetzee won the relay event with a total of 170 miles.

Race director Ed Smith spoke of the "true heroics" produced at Mary Peters Track.

"It's mind over matter stuff. And, the miles covered were amazing - especially with a very cold night and a very hot day to cope with. Well done to them all," added Smith.

LESSONS LEARNT THE HARD WAY

As I briefly mentioned in my last post,my world championships debut did not go according to plan.In the lead up to The Trail World Championships I was very confident with my preparation for the event and had trained harder than ever.So to say that I was disappointed with my performance would be an understatement,especially the fact that it was down to a novice mistake of failing to keep myself properly hydrated.Months of hard work and sacrifices all thrown out the window just because I took the nutritional side of my game for granted.If this had happened to me during a training session I would be p***ed off,never mind a world championships!!
Well after a few days of mixed emotions of frustration,anger and feeling sorry for myself I took some time off to spend with my wife and kids.I think the couple of weeks break have done me good and now I can start to focus on what is my prefered ultra distance event The World 100k Championships in september.
So as I prepare to enter another block of training I will have learnt a very valuable lesson from my day in connemara.Each race is a learning experience,so even on the bad days there are always positives.

OUTSTANDING TRAIL WORLD CHAMPS

The official Trail World Championships took place in Connemara on Saturday 9th July and the event has been heralded as an outstanding success.

Elite ultramarathon runners from every populated continent took part in the race, incuding over 120 athletes from the athletics federations of Argentina, Australia, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Great Britain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Lithuania, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain and the USA.

The event was also filmed for broadcast on Channel 4, Eurosport, Setanta and a host of other international channels over the coming weeks, surpassing the guaranteed international coverage of any other athletics event in Ireland this year. In addition, official London 2012 Olympic photographer, Mike King, travelled from the UK to photograph the event as well as journalists from France and Italy, which are trail running strongholds.

It was the first occasion an official world championships at trail running came to the country.

Race director Richard Donovan, who also organises extreme runs in the polar regions, planned an ambitious route of 70km, starting at Kylemore Abbey and encompassing mountains, grassland trails, compacted gravel trails, bog, loose rock trails and open countryside. He said Connemara was an obvious choice of location for such an extreme race given the amazing natural beauty of the region.

The Reserve Defence Force, Red Cross, Mountain Rescue and local volunteers were all out in force to guide and support people over the specially marked route. Meanwhile, thousands of people around the world logged on to live updates available on the race website www.runconnemara.com.

Incredibly, the first runner home, Erik Clavery (FRA), took only 6.39.07 hrs to complete the gruelling course. He was closely followed by Jason Loutitt (CAN) and Patrick Bringer (FRA). France dominated the team competition with Italy and Norway taking silver and bronze medals, respectively. Ireland finished 7th in the team competition and the first 3 Irishmen were Daniel Doherty 17th (7:19:18), Paul Tierney 24th (7:29:35) and Eoin Keith 27th (7:34:27).

Meanwhile, the women's race was won by Maud Gobert (FRA) ahead of defending world champion Cecilia Mora (ITA) and Lucy Colquhoun (GBR). France once again dominated the team competition ahead of Italy and Canada.

Richard Donovan said "It was a fantastic day for everybody and the bonus good weather ensured that Connemara will be showcased to millions of people around the world in a way that the region has never been shown before. The aerial footage of elite ultramarathon runners moving at speed over difficult terrain is incredible."

Adding to the day's success, the International Association of Ultra Runners awarded the Order of Merit to the organisers for their execution of the event.

On a more personal note things didn't go quite according to plan for me.Due to stomach cramps and subsequent de-hydration problems I was forced to withdraw from the race.As devastated as I was,a member of the camp told me that "each race is a learning experience so there's always a positive to take".                                                                                              

Hopefully I can learn from this and bounce back with a decent performance in Winschoten,Holland in the world 100k in september.Regardless of my dissappointment the Irish team put in superb performance and deserve great credit on what was a really difficult race.

RESULTS

Men1. Erik Clavery (FRA) - 6:39:07
2. Jason Loutitt (CAN) - 6:40:32
3. Patrick Bringer (FRA) - 6:47:50

TEAM
1. France - 20:24:50
2. Italy - 20:56:36
3. Norway - 21:29:02

Women1. Maud Gobert (FRA) - 7:41:31
2. Cecilia Mora (ITA) - 7:50:02
3. Lucy Colquhoun (FRA) - 7:57:20

TEAM
1. France - 24:00:42
2. Italy - 24:21:35 

3. Canada - 27:01:08

        COM'ON IRELAND

                                             

Live Race Updates

Follow the Runners on Race Day!

The public can follow the race competitiors' progress live on the Internet as they pass though the race course.

Runners will be tracked at the following approximate kilometre markings: 12KM, 28KM, 40KM, 48KM, 60KM, 70KM (Finish).

Progress is expected to be slow from 28KM - 40KM and 48KM - 60KM as these areas include a mountain section.

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