Ep 9 Ireland's No. 1 short-course mountain runner Zak Hanna
· Trail Running Ireland Podcast
Eoin Flynn gets the news from the long-distance trial race for the World Mountain Running Championships at the Ballyhoura Peak Marathon, talks to René Borg about the long run, and interviews Zak Hanna, fresh from a podium and a top five on back-to-back days in northern Italy.
IMRA Secretary Richard Nunan reports from Limerick, where more than 40 runners raced the trial on a scorching day. Barry Minnock made a strong comeback to finish second in the men's race. Richard also explains how IMRA is managing its calendar under changing COVID-19 restrictions, and points listeners to imra.ie, run entirely by volunteers.
René defines the long run as roughly 20 to 30 percent of your weekly mileage, and separates medium long runs of 60 to 90 minutes from long runs beyond that. He explains how running past 90 minutes trains fat burning, recruits fresh muscle fibres and builds mental toughness, and why long hill days of four hours or more, with plenty of walking, suit trail races. Early in a training block the long run should be easy and recovered from within 48 hours. Closer to a long race it becomes more race-specific and may need four to five days of recovery. He suggests trying long runs fasted, carrying a bar as a backup.