Ep 13 Adventure, trail and road champion Laura O'Driscoll
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Eoin Flynn talks to Laura O'Driscoll, winner of the 2018 Adventure Race Series and the 2020 Kerry Way Ultra Lite, about coming back from a car accident, travelling and racing in Australia and Canada, and how yoga changed her running. Simon Kelly shares results and the story of his solo Kerry Way Ultra attempt in a storm, and René Borg explains why cross country makes you a better trail and mountain runner.
Eoin opens with Sarah McCormack's win at the Trofeo Nasego in Italy, Zak Hanna's second place in the vertical race the day before, and former Irish mountain runner Stephen Scullion's 2:09:49 at the London Marathon. Simon reports on smaller, responsible IMRA fields, with results from the Maurice Mullins half and ultra and the Knockmealdown half. He then describes his solo attempt at the 200 km Kerry Way Ultra route. He was going well after 70 km when a storm blew in, tearing the roof off the shelter he was using and knocking him off his feet three times on an exposed ridge, so he stopped at 103 km for safety. He stresses carrying a GPS tracker and how much solo runners depend on the people watching from home.
René recalls Jerry Brady telling him that cross country would improve his mountain placings. He explains how the constant racing in cross country stops you "falling asleep" mid-race, why soft, muddy courses expose weaknesses that road and track runners can hide, and how repeated short climbs build hill power, as John Lenihan found training in Glanageenty. He covers the team spirit of club cross country, and pointed newcomers towards Business Houses races and open events such as Stamullen and Adamstown. His tactical tip: in big fields, go out with the runners you want to race.