Ep 29 Richard Nunan on IMRA and the return of mountain racing, plus René Borg on keeping running from becoming a stressor
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Mountain racing is coming back in Ireland, and Richard Nunan of IMRA joins Eoin to go through the new race calendar and explain how the volunteer-run association works behind the scenes. First, René Borg looks at how to make sure running, our best way to de-stress, doesn't become a source of stress itself.
René explains that for elite athletes most of their stress comes from training, while for amateurs most of it comes from everything else: work, family, poor sleep and diet. That is why problems can appear even when the training plan looks modest. Training only works when the body is ready to take it, so watch your mood, fatigue, muscle soreness, resting heart rate and heart rate variability. His advice is to keep overall stress moderate and scale training back when stress is high, use flexible training blocks, set goals that help rather than add pressure, and make real time to switch off, away from the phone and social media.
Richard talks through IMRA's reduced calendar for the year, with regional championships instead of an Irish championship, races run in waves to keep numbers within the restrictions, and races open to anyone who joins IMRA. He suggests some good races for beginners, explains why the Wicklow Way Relay will return next year, and describes the summer evening league races and the friendly atmosphere afterwards. He covers how the volunteer committee and race directors keep the association running, IMRA's relationship with Athletics Ireland, picking Irish teams for international championships, and his own highlights, including running the PTL at UTMB.