Running is a tough sport, the training is hard, but the racing is even harder

Running is a tough sport, the training is hard, but the racing is even harder

1 April 2020

INTERNATIONAL mountain runner Zak Hanna isn’t letting the coronavirus pandemic stand in the way of his preparations for the world championships later this year.

The 2020 World Mountain Running Championships, scheduled for Lanzarote in November, are still on and 24 year-old Dromara man Zak hopes to be there.

He still manages to run 80-90 miles a week near his home set in the slopes of Slieve Croob as he aims to reach the pinnacle of his sport.

“My plans for this summer have been damaged by the coronavirus, as has almost every sporting event in the world, with all my races taking place abroad,” he says. “Some races have been postponed to later in the year whilst a small few have been cancelled until 2021.

“Hopefully we do get some sort of a season salvaged from all of this. Most of my races are part of the Mountain Running World Cup and the European Championships have been cancelled, which leaves just the World Championships in November as my only chance to hopefully wear the green singlet of Ireland this year.”

Zak, a car valeter and driver for a car leasing company in Dunmurry, is currently out of work owing to the coronavirus, but he’s taking it in his stride. The only changes to his training regime are the trips to Tollymore and Castlewellan forest parks, which are now out of bounds.

A former pupil at Dromara Primary School and Dromore High School, he’s been involved in sport all his life. His first love was horse riding.

“I got involved through my mum who grew up with horses all her life, so I suppose it was natural that I took up the sport,” he explains. I was a member of Mossvale Riding Club and competed mostly in show jumping competitions.

“I was also was keen on cross country — I hated dressage as it was too boring for me. I rode in team and individual competitions with success in both.”

While still involved with horses Zak soon took up cycling through the influence of his dad who had started riding his bike to work when he he worked abroad. When his dad joined Dromara Cycling Club Zak joined him on his mountain bike. Soon he too was a member of the club and entered local mountain bike races.

“I raced bikes all over Ireland with several podiums at youth and junior levels, before moving over to road racing where I rode in many one-day races and stage races, such as the Newry Three-Day and the Ras Dhun na Ghall,” he said.

“I was selected to ride for the Belgian Project cycling team. I also was fortunate to ride for Ulster on a few occasions.”

But after 11 years as a cyclist, Zak decided that he needed a change of sports and mountain running came calling.

“I was beginning to see that the results I was getting weren’t a reflection of the training I was doing. I was doing the work needed to be able to compete, but after a string of poor results I took a two week break to try and reset both physically and mentally. During that two weeks I started doing some running to keep some fitness.

“It wasn’t long before I made the call to quit cycling after seeing that running was fun, especially running in the hills.  

“I remember reading about the Hill and Dale series in the papers and wanted to give it a a go. I soon joined Newcastle AC and was attending their weekly Tuesday sessions and their Sunday runs.

“They took me under their wing and soon I began to run on a more regular basis, running my first fell race which was part of the British Championship series. The Hill and Dales were a regular visit on Thursday evenings and I finished second overall in the series. At my first attempt I came third in the Slieve Donard Race, finishing in 57 minutes with scars to show for it.” 

After getting his first Northern Ireland vest in the UK Inter-Counties Championships, Zak ran again for Northern Ireland in the Snowdon International mountain race, regarded as one of the true classics in mountain running. He finished 14th.

“I was encouraged after this to enter the trial race to select the Irish team for the 2016 World Mountain Running Championships in Bulgaria, and I actually ended up winning the race by a big margin as it was an uphill race to the top of Djouce mountain in Wicklow.

“My first Ireland cap was a tough one as my lack of running experience saw me finish 74th overall, and this left me wanting more as I got my first taste of real international running. 

“I linked up with my current coach, Richard Rodgers, also a Newcastle member, at the back end of 2016 and started to train alongside Olympian Kerry O’Flaherty. They took me under their wings, started me on a journey to making me a better runner and get me to where I am now.

“Through this I started running more consistently, upping my mileage, doing proper training sessions and doing a long run on a Sunday.”

Running is a tough sport and the training is hard, but the racing is even harder. 

In 2017 Zak won two more Irish caps for the European and World Mountain Running Championships in Slovenia and Italy respectively.

However, his proudest achievement came much closer to home.

“What I would describe as my breakthrough race came when I won the Slieve Donard Race at my second attempt. I will never forget coming off the Ice House in a thunderstorm towards Donard Park hoping I had done enough for the win and finally running up Newcastle Main Street before a cheering crowd that contained my mum and granny. It was an incredible moment.”

Zak has now raced all over Europe and further afield, including Argentina, competing for Ireland and Salomon, who he is fortunate to have as shoe and clothing sponsors. 

He’s finished fourth in the Snowdon race, breaking the Northern Ireland record for the race in the process, as well as finishing 19th two years in a row in the European Championships and sixth overall in the Mountain Running World Cup. 

He’s also captained Ireland three times, and won the Mamores Vertical Kilometre race in Scotland. Again closer to home, he’s won the Castlewellan Mill Hill Mile four years in a row and has the second fastest time ever for the race at five minutes and 11 seconds.

Away from the mountains he was the 2018 Irish Novice Cross Country champion. In 2019 he won the Northern Ireland and Ulster Intermediate Cross Country individual title. At the 2020 event a few weeks ago he claimed senior team gold with Newcastle AC.

“This was a fantastic day for the club and it was great to be sharing it with all who had came to race and support us — a perfect example of why Newcastle is such a great club to be part of,” he said.

Zak’s training has increased a lot in the last few years as he decided to take running seriously with a long term goal of taking it on full time in pursuit of becoming the best in the world. 

Just before the coronavirus outbreak he was running twice a day, six days week, with a long run on Sunday. His first run was at 6am before he left for work. After work there would be a longer run or a training session.

His longer run would be 16-20 miles, normally in Tollymore Forest where he would be joined by friends which helped the miles fly by. On some of the shorter runs he would be accompanied by his pet dog, Corragh.

Zak says he is fortunate in where he lives. “The Dromara hills is a quality training ground and with Slieve Croob on my back door it’s great to head up there where I have different routes to run, so I can mix it up all the time.

“With the current crisis covering the world I am still training, albeit running from home every day and not travelling to Tollymore or Castlewellan.”  

He also believes that exercise is important given the current situation. “As we all have been told exercising is fantastic to keep you active both physically and mentally Even going for a short stroll where it’s safe to do so is a good thing. It keeps you occupied and it gives you something to look forward to each day.

“Mountain running has made a massive impact on my life in the last four years. It allows me to continuing racing around the world, visit new places and make new friends. It’s a fantastic sport that doesn’t get the recognition it deserves.”