July and June proved to be both a busy and crazy week for our athletes with many highs and a few lows for runners taking on their races from America to Australia and Europe in between.
2 x 10 (k)
We’ll start down-under where Andrew Quirk, an experienced marathoner who ran 2:47 in his first year working with us, got his ‘debut’ in the 10 km distance. He ran a solid 36:18 and four weeks later followed up, on a tougher course, with a 36:07. Andy is working hard to get under 35 minutes this year while working long hours as a mine-worker in the ‘out-back’. Andy shares his experiences on his blog ‘Tireless State’ which is a fair name given the work diaries that come back from Australia to our coaches!
Andy Quirk in action
Bryce Canyon Ultra
One of our Danish clients, Rasmus Pedersen, has been training hard since last winter first completing the Hammer Trail 50 mile race and then getting ready for his big objective: the Bryce Canyon 100 mile race – most of which takes places over 2200m.
We were nervously biting our nails until we got this text:
“I made it 
31h15m ranking 49 out of 150 starters and approx 80 finishers. Almost 50/50 split time – if it wasn’t for the last 5 miles. The last 80 mile I only passed runners – no one passed me, so that I see as a good sign of energy and race disposition. Will get back later with more info, but just wanted to thank you big time for your coaching – don’t think I would have made it without! “
Big well done to Rasmus – not an easy maiden journey into the 100 mile distance.
More 10 km success
Closer to ‘home’, Mary O’Shea lowered her 10 km time for the second time since beginning work with us last year this time finishing 4th woman in the Run Killarney 10 km race in a time of 44:10.
Finally sub-90!
In the same event, but on the half-marathon distance, Aoife Joyce finally broke the 90 minute barrier for the half-marathon with a fine run of 1:29:41. A slightly more aggressive strategy might even have got her on the podium but in the end 4th place and a Personal Best was a good return.
Two weeks earlier, on the faster and flatter course in Clontarf, she had come breathtakingly close with a time of 1:30:02 (a PB at the time) and knew she had let it slip timing her hard finish slightly less than optimal. At Killarney she gave everything – and breakfast clearly didn’t agree with her as she (for the first time in her running career) unexpectedly threw up at the finish line to the dismay of a nearby kid!
Aoife’s 5k and 10k performances had long suggested that her half-marathon and marathon times were sub-standard for her performance level and we were determined to work them down after having reached her main ambition – breaking the 19 and 40 minute barriers for 5k and 10k respectively. A 1:28 half-marathon would be a better reflection of her true potential and we’ll look to that next and, if time and desire allows, perhaps lowering her 10 mile and marathon times as well.
Aoife finished five busy weeks by throwing in a last 10k ‘for fun’ doing the Bay 10k after a two week rest and finishing 5th lady in ~40:50 – well outside her personal best but a solid run on the course.
Niall Corrigan during the Lakeland 100 mile ultra
Ruary – destroyer of PBs!
Ruary Martin attended our workshops last year having had to curtail his running severely due to injury. Since he attended our workshop last year he has been upping his training days from 4 to 6 and this has paid off in a big way. Despite making the change to minimalist footwear at the same time, Ruary broke 40 minutes for the 10k for the first time with a 37:30 performance and then proceeded to take 10 minutes off his 10 mile time lowering it to 63 minutes at the Frank Duffy 10 mile.
More ‘minimalist’ PBs
At Clontarf a few other former attendees of our workshops who have taken the jump and changed their running form also recorded new PBs: Dave Docherty with 1:37:59 and Oliver Castle with 1:40:01.
I know we sound repetitive sometimes when we call out runners completing races in nothing but a pair of VivoBarefoots – but I often hear the argument that going minimalist will make you slower. While this may be true in the first weeks or months after implementing our training, we have athletes constantly showing that there is simply no reason to believe this is true in practice. As long as the proper training and coaching accompanies the process not only can you get faster but you can train with proper feedback and learn to control your own injury situation.
Irene Clark calls in for the holiday
Our ‘Waterford woman’ Irene Clark has had a very busy 2 months with hard road races almost every second week in an attempt to build more speed and power ahead of another long-term marathon assault. 2014 proved productive with Personal Bests on the 5k, 10k and 10 mile distances.
Her last race, a hilly 5km route, was a bridge too far, however. Running well below standard we made the decision that the racing season was now over and a holiday well earned.
Irene probably juggles more balls than any of our other athletes at present – she began changing her running style in 2013 after attending one of our workshops and returned for a refresher course in June. Reading her training diaries is truly inspirational as her dedication to both her running sessions and doing the technical work is extraordinary. You really get out what you put in. Running personal bests while making changes to your running form and learning to absorb the forces of running without supportive footwear is no mean feat – but Irene is one of several athletes showing that it can be done.
Jason battles in the mountains
Our own coach Jason Kehoe has had a tumultuous assault on this years’ Irish Championship under the Irish Mountain Running Association and this continued in June and July. Entering Carrauntoohil after two weeks illness, he came home a slightly dejected 4th in the Carrauntoohil which was contested by a strong field. Tim O’Donoghue shattered the course record with a time of 73 minutes for the 12.5 km race with 1100m climb.
At Mweelrea, an aggressive descent left Jason looking like he would snatch victory but a navigational error left him almost a mile off track and a sixth place finish was slight reward for his effort.
Jason changed his running style after his injury troubles in 2011 and has been short on race practice since, so we entered him into two of the mid-week ‘Leinster League’ races for some ‘extra practice’ before the penultimate showdown at Lug na Coille. This resulted in a 5th placed finish at Seefingan where a slight navigational error again deprived his result of some of its luster. At the super-technical Great Sugarloaf things took a better turn with Jason launching a savage descent to claim 2nd behind last years’ winner – Des Kennedy.
The podium spot almost proved Pyrrhic. Jason took a bad knock coming down and didn’t run for 9 days. Hardly optimal preparation for the Lug na Coille race. The day before the race he did 35 minutes and some strides and the decision was to ‘give it a lash’.
A very competitive field turned out and Jason reached the top in fourth – behind Barry Minnock, Padraig MacCriostail and Deon McNeilly. He ate up all three on the first technical part on the descent only to see himself pushed back into fourth on the flat stretch midway down – Padraig and Deon had caught up and they, in turn, had been passed out by the furious descent of former Irish international Tom Blackburn. Jason gambled everything on the final technical descent, moved back into 2nd but had to dip his banners to Tom midway down the final straight. Yet 2nd place was a good return given the preparation that was in it – 1st or 2nd place in the final race at Galtymore will now almost certainly secure the Irish Championship for Jason – which would be a great performance in face of two major navigational errors as well as both a knock and illness to sabotage preparations. But Galtymore is a testing race and we can take nothing for granted!
Paul Tierney lying in 2nd at Mangerton
Ultra-hot!
We hoped to finish the month on a BIG high with Paul Tierney a contender to win the Lakeland 100 mile race in the English Lake District. Lying in third place after 75 miles, it looked like it was still a possibility but things didn’t quite go to plan as he reported to us:
‘I stopped at 75 miles but probably would have stopped earlier except that I was in third and was hoping I would get some miraculous revival. I didn’t feel good for lots of sections and this crept in to my head. I think I was quite dehydrated too and struggled to drink enough water which probably messed with my decision making.
Even at the start as I ran out of Coniston I felt like I was in deficit in hydration terms. I normally find I go well on the steep ups and downs but I had no power in my legs when climbing. Having done the race twice before, I wanted to win it and finishing at all costs didn’t interest me. I pulled up to save my legs for something else. So lots of excuses but ultimately I quit which doesn’t sit well.
On a positive note there were times on flat or rolling terrain where I was tipping along nicely and I felt my form was good and no hamstring issues whatsoever which I have struggled with for the last 3 years. So it seems the strength/technique stuff is making the difference.’
Paul was no more beat up than he managed to secure 2nd place at the 10 km Mangerton mountain race only seven days later.
Niall Corrigan would suffer a similar fate. Niall too changed his running form and a more natural approach to training after attending our workshops and has had a good season completing several challenging events including the West Highland Way ultra in a pair of VivoBarefoot shoes! Like Paul, unfortunately, he suffered in the heat and had to retire with heat exhaustion symptoms after 75 miles of running. On a positive front, regular attendee of our Fartleks – James Clancy completed the 100 having done the Lakeland 50 in previous years.