Eoin Flynn – from trackside to hillside
Flynn drives for the finish in Slovenia
(An abbreviated version of this article appears in the IMRA Yearbook 2010.)
From 1500m trackside in Irish Miler Club races to a 1600m high mountain top finish in Slovenia, Eoin Flynn recounts his debut run for the Irish Mountain Running team in the recent World Championships….
The Eritreans are warming up behind us, hands and legs moving in unison as they slowly trot around the start area. Six runners running together, not a stride or arm movement amongst them out of sync with a fellow team mate. The Ugandans are looking lean and mean and the lone Columbia is confident that despite his jet lag, he hopes to come in the top three. Tension and excitement is building amongst teams from thirty-eight countries from around the world.
The mood amongst the Irish squad as we get ready for our mountain battle is relaxed but yet determined. We are here to try and conquer a mountain and make a mark on the competition. As our 12k 1600m ascent looms, mist and cloud begin to cover the mountain peaks above us.
The scene is set for the 26th Mountain Running World Championships to begin in the picturesque town of Kamnik, Slovenia. However, before heart rates jump up to 180 beats per minute, allow me to take a step back for a moment…how did this 1500m runner end up running up a mountain for Ireland…?
…Well to put it simply, I wanted to run for Ireland. I wanted to compete internationally. I had heard through some of my club colleagues that the mountain running scene was going from strength to strength. Races were booming on summer race nights in Wicklow and the likes of Barry Minnock, Mark Ryan and Sean Hehir had all gone on to have outstanding cross country seasons on the back of their mountain running exploits.
So while most athletes put the feet up for a well-earned rest after their track exploits, I thought to myself, I’ll rest when I can’t run. I’m fit, I’m healthy, let’s do it. Granted I’ve heard athletes and coaches talking about the high risk of injury when running up and down mountains but from what I could see, athletes were coming back stronger from their mountain races and if lucky enough and talented enough, were gaining invaluable international experience. Forget the beach and my summer rest, bring on the mountains.
So, after some training runs in the beautiful Wicklow mountains, and a tough trial race, sixteen of us were selected to run for Ireland between the senior and junior teams. A special moment for us all and a dream come true for this athlete. Which brings us back nicely to race start time. Bang goes the gun and off we go. The Africans storm out towards the ascent. Our leading Irish man Brian McMahon is not too far behind the lead group and is closely followed by his Dublin Marathon Mission teammate Barry Minnock.
Barry Minnock at Howth
Brian is the country’s top mountain runner and has been for the last few years. In preparation for the race, Brian spent three weeks altitude training in France. Determination and dedication and then some. Popeye would be proud of Brian’s calves muscles and they are the perfect artillery to enable Brian compete with the very best mountain runners the world has to offer. Brian’s 38th finish was our top finish, great to be in the top 40 but as Brian will tell you, he’s hungry for more and will be back going for top-thirty next year.
Ascend, climb, struggle, hang on, fight, it’s the toughest 12k you’ll come across as we all move through the course. The Eritreans and Ugandans claim the top 3 podium positions and it’s nice to see Team USA pack well and get in amongst the Africans and win silver in the team competition. The atmosphere is electric on the mountain top as the athletes delve into their final reserves and reach the summit and finish line. Cow bells are banging, flags are flying and words of encouragement are bellowed out in dozens of different languages.
Eoin on the early ascent
With nearly 12k of hard climbing done, the last stretch of the race course is relatively flat but one final 100m sharp ascent is thrown in to really finish us off before we get to the finish line. We each reach the summit, we’ve all had our mini battles along the way, against the stocky little runner from Mexico, the determined Croat who wouldn’t give in, the unshaven Canadians who looked like they had been to Everest and back, etc., etc.
Looking at the view from the finish line, it was like looking over Middle Earth from the Lord of the Rings. Beautiful mountainous scenery all around us with tribes gathered from all over the world. Some of us delighted with our results, some of us slightly disappointed but all of us from the Juniors to the Senior Women’s and Men’s teams, proud to have run for Ireland.
We’ll all hopefully be back next year in Albania, along with a few more new faces no doubt. Team Manager and mountain running guru Gerry Brady will as always have the next Irish squad well prepared and raring to go and after a chance encounter in Frankfurt airport on our way to Slovenia with our Olympic Council of Ireland President, Pat Hickey, who knows, we might well be running up mountains chasing Olympic medals one day.
Eoin
Eoin Flynn “As well as running track races and up and down mountains, Eoin is also co-owner of the recently opened Sub4 Running Store which he runs with fellow international Mark Ryan. Eoin went on to win the Teacher’s 4 Mile cross-country and finish 5th in the prestigious Gerry Farnan Memorial Cross-Country race.”
How the Irish fared…
Senior men
1. Samson Gashazghi (ERI) 56:25
2. Teklay Weldemariam (ERI) 56:28
3. Geoffrey Kursoro (UGA) 56:57
38. Brian MacMahon 62:59
75. Barry Minnock 65:58
77. John Heneghan 66:25
106. Peter O Farrell 70:15
111. Eoin Flynn 71:18
126. James Kevan 76:06
The men's team
1. Eritrea
2. USA 71
3. Italy 77
15. Ireland (38,75,77,106) 296
Senior women
1. Andrea Mayr (AUT) 49:30
2. Valentina Belotti (ITA) 50:08
3. Martina Straehl (SWI) 50:42
39. Karen Alexander 57:46
46. Sharon Bird 58:47
62. Sarah Mulligan 64:00
65. Kate O Neill 66:43
1. Italy (2,6,9) 17
2. Switzerland (3,8,10) 21
3. Russia (4,7,25) 36
11. Ireland (39,46,62) 147
Junior men
1. Yossief Andremichael (ERI) 42:30
2. Ridvan Bozkurt (TUR) 46:00
3. Jente Joly (BEL) 46:29
47. Emmet Jennings 53:10
54. James Speight 55:04
57. James Egan 55:29
1. Turkey (2,4,14) 20
2. Germany (8,9,16) 33
3. Italy (11,12,18) 41
16. Ireland (47,54,57) 158
Junior women
1. Yasemin Can (TUR) 24:04
2. Burcu Dag (TUR) 24:42
3. Adelaide Pantheon (FRA) 24:48
29. Niamh Denny 28:22
32. Catherina Mullen 28:55
44. Sinead Cronin 31:14
1. Turkey (1,2) 3
2. Romania (5,8) 13
3. Great Britain & Northern Ireland (7,12) 19
14. Ireland (29,32) 61
