Welcome to episode 18 of Trail Running Ireland. The show is hosted by Eoin Flynn, UTMB Finish Line Race Announcer and 10 times Irish International Mountain Runner. 

Firstly a big thank you to our show sponsor, COROS, who have made a massive impact on the global GPS watch market over the last number of years:

• The PACE 2 won best sports watch in Wareable Tech Awards 2020 and is the lightest GPS watch ever made

• The COROS APEX won the 2019 Runner’s World Gear of the Year award

• The COROS VERTIX was awarded the 2019 Best Altimeter Watch by Outdoor Gear Lab.

• Coros recently announced a partnership with the world’s greatest marathon runner, Eliud Kipchoge. 

Make sure to check out their new UK and Ireland website: https://uk.coros.com/ for more info as well as details of their new partnership with JoggingBuddy and mental health charity Sport in Mind which is aimed at encouraging more people to get active, make friends and to socialize through running.

First up in this week’s episode, our man on the ground Simon Kelly from the Waterville Trail Running Festival gives us the latest news regarding the racing calendar in 2021 both at home and abroad.

(18m00s) Our expert trail running coach Rene Borg looks at the sometimes overlooked importance of ensuring our overall mental and physical health is in a very good place before we can optimize our training and racing. It’s one of René´s best segments yet and not to be missed.

Rene can be contacted at www.runningcoach.ie

(37m30s) For our feature interview, we talk with a runner who has exploded onto the trail and ultra running world in the last 2 years, Aoife Mundow. 

Aoife has racked up an incredible honours list in Trail and Ultra Races in Ireland with wins in prestigious races such as The Kerry Way Ultra, EcoTrail Wicklow, Connemara 100 and The Wicklow Way. She broke a 24hr National Record early this year and came 5th overall in the Kerry Way Ultra as well of course as dominating the women’s race.

Aoife chats to us about:

• How she feels after losing the chance to compete in many races in 2020 and her thoughts on how the year has gone

• Her plans for 2021 and beyond and how her training has changed to help prepare for future goals

• Her philosophy and approach to training and racing

• Her thoughts on the Ultra and Trail Running scene in Ireland

It´s a great story so make sure to share it with friends and family members who might be starting off on their own running journey.

Get your running gear on, let´s go!