Ep 21 Steven Morrin on Mind, Body and Mountains, plus why sleep matters with René Borg
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Eoin Flynn talks to Steven Morrin, who set up Mind, Body and Mountains to share how trail and mountain running can help mental health. Steven speaks openly about his own recovery from OCD and what the mountains and his club have given him. First, René Borg explains why sleep is the foundation for health and training, and how light affects it.
René calls sleep "the base below the base" for health and performance. During sleep the brain clears out old patterns and builds new connections, which matters for learning a motor skill like running. Light is the master clock: morning daylight resets the body's clocks, while blue light from LEDs and screens late at night disrupts melatonin. His tips: get outside early in the day, use warm or red light in the evening, put red-light filters on screens, and avoid hard sessions, heavy meals and caffeine late in the day. He recommends Linda Geddes's book Chasing the Sun.
Steven explains that Mind, Body and Mountains started on Facebook and Instagram just before Christmas 2020, inspired by Trail magazine's Mountains for the Mind campaign in the UK. He describes years of struggling before being diagnosed with OCD in 2018, and how a combination of a good doctor, counselling, treatment and exercise helped him recover. He fell in love with mountain running on his first outing with the Irish Mountain Trail Runners Club, and says the welcome and the conversations on the trails rebuilt his confidence.