Ep 56 EcoTrail Wicklow preview, and Enda Cloake on ten IMRA wins in 2022
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
In the week of EcoTrail Wicklow, Eoin Flynn and race operations director René Borg go through all four distances, from the climb up Bray Head to the new flat section around the Vartry reservoirs in the 80k. Then Enda Cloake, winner of ten IMRA races in 2022 and one of the favourites for the 46k, talks about two road marathon wins in two weeks, coaching himself, and how running helped him through a hard year.
Eoin catches up on the news: an Irish junior women's team bronze at the British and Irish Junior Mountain Running Championships, and Paul Tierney's fourth place in the 450 km Tor des Glaciers.
René's tips for EcoTrail apply to every distance. Take the steep climb up Bray Head easy, choose a stable shoe if you're not wearing trail shoes, and be careful on the Little Sugar Loaf. Save energy for the sprint along the promenade. On the 30k, eat something every 25 to 30 minutes and use the Great Sugar Loaf aid station. On the 46k and 80k, poles help if you know how to use them. In the 80k, stay fresh for 12 to 13 km of flat running around the reservoirs and keep an eye on the cut-offs. He also reassures runners who couldn't do much hill training.