Zak races to the top, with no bikes in sight

A familiar face has been missing from our cycling activities this year;  young Zak Hanna has swapped two wheels for two feet, having discovered the sport of Mountain running (and that he is quite good at it).  Whilst we have all missed having him around, many of us have been following his meteoric progress through the local, national and now international ranks of this incredibly tough sport.  In September, having been competing for less than a year, he was picked for the Irish team to go to the World Mountain Running Championships in Bulgaria. We asked Zak to write a report of his adventures:

This time last year I was racing cyclocross whilst breaking a few rear derailleurs along the way. Fast forward to now and I haven’t sat on a bike since December, instead following a new path in the shape of Mountain Running. The World Mountain Running Championships took place in Bulgaria at the start of September, being based in the town of Saparava Benya which was around an hour and a half drive from the airport in Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital.

I was racing as part of the Irish team after winning the trial race back in August in Wicklow, which came as a shock but none the less I was delighted at earning my first Irish vest after running for Northern Ireland on a few occasions earlier in the season.

After meeting up with the team in Dublin Airport we made our way to Bulgaria, leaving Dublin early in the morning and reaching our hotel in the evening time.

The day before the race the team and myself took the opportunity run a few sections of the course to get a feel for what punishment awaited us in 24 hours time.  The course measured 12.8km with an average gradient of 18% and a total climb of 1400m, starting at 2100ft above sea level and finishing at 7000ft. Slightly higher than Donard!

Race day arrived and the junior men, junior women and senior women had their races before the senior mens race. All the Irish runners ran well with some running their first World Championship race alongside me.
Warming up round Sapareva Banya with my team that consisted of Brian MacMahon, Ian Conroy, Brian Furey and North Belfast’s Andrew Annett, the nerves soon set in as we lined up against the cream of the crop in World Mountain Running.

Starting off was a mad rush pushing for a good position leading into the first climb. I ran beside a Uganda who was making it look effortless in moving up the field towards the front.  I followed him for a few hundred yards before dropping off to settle back into my rhythm.

The kilometres ticked by, the paths got steeper and the air got thinner. By this stage I had hit the halfway point which was only a few kilometres from our hotel, and at this point the course lead onto a reasonably flat stretch of fire road that seemed to have no ending. I had made up a few places on this, but the legs weren’t at their best and the breathing was becoming more laboured so I knocked a couple of percent off my effort to regain some energy.

Approaching the last 3km and I could see that the finish was nearing as we where running under a ski lift the lead to the top of the mountain which housed the finish area at 7000ft.
I was suffering a good bit here and as we approached probably what was the most technical section of the course where it was a case of climbing onto the final 1500m of the race. This was a very steep climb through a rock garden where choosing the right line was essential for a smooth transition over the rocks. It wasn’t too dissimilar to climbing to the summit of Donard from the saddle, but in reality the entire course was just like that for 8 and bit miles!

Knowing I had 3 or 4 runners just ahead of me I found another gear and managed to kick in the last kilometre and head on upto the finish to cross the line in 76th position, and 5th Irish runner over the line.
The race was won by American Joseph Gray after a controversial battle with a Uganda who subsequently got disqualified for being paced by a junior team member approaching the finish.

I was happy to have finished my first World Championship race but at the same time I knew I could have done better had my legs agreed to work with me! None the less it was an experience and I hope to be back wearing an Irish vest in the future.

The rest of the team ran exceptionally well with Brian MacMahon first Irish across the line with Ian, Brian, myself and Andrew coming through in that order with the team placing 12th in the team standings.

Many thanks to Gerry and Leo for looking after the team and organising getting us to Bulgaria, and to those at Newcastle AC for the training, advice and support to help me get to where I am. Also to those who provide well wishes leading up to the race, it’s all much appreciated!

Roll on the cross country season!

Zak

Well done Zak from all at Dromara CC, we wish you continued success in your new sport.