Trail race weekend
MonbaziTrail: 20km & 12km

A brief lookback on my running life
(so far)

My life in running began when I started secondary school in Ireland at the age of 12. I had the very good fortune to have a former Olympic steeple –chase runner as a P.E. teacher – the legendary Liam O'Brien. Like a lot of kids at that age my first experience of running was cross-country, but running laps around muddy fields, on cold, wet Saturday mornings didn't seem to motivate me – I wonder why! But soon I discovered Orienteering, and realized that it was great fun, and both a  physically and mentally challenging sport. So now I found myself getting up early on Sunday mornings to run around mountains, bogs and forests instead – I had found my motivation for training.  

I had the good fortune to enjoy a lot of success in my Orienteering life, and I also got the opportunity to travel widely around Europe and meet fantastic people because of it (my wife is one good example). I also had the very proud honor of representing Ireland at two Junior World Championships, and four Elite World Cup events around Europe. 

Since moving to France in 2009 I have left orienteering behind (for now) but I soon discovered the joys of French trail running. Living in one of the most beautiful parts of France, and surrounded by an ever growing community of like minded runners, it was inevitable that I would be drawn to trail running. Race goers are greeted by cheerful volunteers, and you are generally presented with a free bottle of wine with your race entry (which are very reasonably priced). Races are typically held in beautiful, scenic countryside locations with the majority of the course on dedicated trail.

Having had a chance encounter during one of the traditional post-race lunches for all competitors (trail runners in France take their food as seriously as their running), it was here that I got introduced to some members of the Sarlat Athletics club and have been a member ever since. With the help of my excellent coach Eric Magnac, my training moved to another level and results began to come my way. He even somehow managed to steer me to become runner-up in the 2015 Dordogne cross-country championships - it almost made me happy to have gotten up early on a Saturday morning to run laps around a field :)

But my training and my goals have always been aimed towards trail running which involves a lot of ascending and descending, and twists and turns over varying terrain. My preferred race distances for now are between 20-40km.

My more recent trail running results including 1st place finishes in :  MonbaziTrail 2018, Trail de Lalinde 2018, Saint Cassinoise 2018 & 2019, Trail du Rives 2018 and 2nd places in La Sarladaise 2019, La Caussadaise 2019, Trail du Rives 2019

With my varied background in running, and my experience and passion for trail running in the Dordogne I can help to make your trail running holiday with us all the more of an enjoyable and insightful experience.