Ep 20 John Lenihan: Ireland's world mountain running champion, plus strength work for runners with René Borg
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Eoin Flynn talks to John Lenihan, the Kerry farmer who won the World Mountain Running Championships in Zermatt in 1991, still the only Irish runner to take that title. The interview is dedicated to John's great rival and friend Jerry Kiernan, who had died the day before. First, René Borg explains what strength work runners actually need, and when to do it.
René says some runners with physical jobs already have the strength they need, but most people lose muscle, tendon strength and bone density with age and need extra work. Running is contralateral, with the opposite glute and shoulder working together, so two-footed lifts like deadlifts and squats are general rather than running-specific strength. Plyometrics and hill bounding are the running-specific option, but they are high impact and can injure an unprepared body. Eoin describes picking up injuries by adding plyometrics too soon. René points to Phil Maffetone's book Get Strong, with its simple lifts spread through the day, and explains how strength work should drop back to maintenance once specific race training starts.
John recalls his battles with Jerry Kiernan, who he says always came out on top, and training with him in San Diego. He no longer runs after a hip replacement but leads hillwalking groups, and every year he stewards a lonely night section of the Kerry Way Ultra. He talks about how hard it was to adjust after retiring from competition.