SARAH MCCORMACK: MOUNTAIN RUNNING WORLD CUP CHAMPION

In 2019 Sarah McCormack was crowned World Cup champion by the World Mountain Running Association. After a series of seven races throughout the season, including a win in Wales, Sarah secured victory with a second place in Slovenia, the final race in the series.

Sarah is a Cumbrian-based athlete, a brand ambassador for INOV8 – who sponsor the Lakeland Trails series – an Irish international mountain runner (representing her country no less than 25 times!), a qualified ecologist and a professional running coach. She lives with her partner – and fellow INOV8 brand ambassador – Paul Tierney and their two border collies, Quilla and Lupo, in a shepherd’s hut in Windermere.

Despite a busy schedule of coaching, preparing for upcoming races and packing to travel to Scotland for some soil sampling ecology work, Sarah found time to sit down with our reporter Ben Abdelnoor and talk about her past successes, exciting plans for the season, give some handy tips and advice on trail running and explain just how come she has ended up with three passports!

Sarah running with her dog Quilla in the hills above Ambleside, Lake District

How did you get into running and were you always so good?

My parents were keen on the outdoors and enjoyed running. They used to take my sister and me to a one-mile race near where we lived and from that, we built up to doing 5km races. I was probably around 10 at the time. I ran for my high school XC team where I grew up, and really enjoyed the social element and group of friends I had. [Sarah has told me in the past of a favourite prank played by the girls on the XC team when they’d “toilet-roll” the house of the boy's team when they were traveling away! As for road running, I’d describe myself as fairly average during my high school years.

Sarah with the Mountain Running World Cup trophy after winning the series in 2019 | Photo: World Mountain Running Association

And your transition from road and XC to trail and mountain running?

I moved to the UK in 2008 and was studying at the University of Sheffield. This was my first opportunity to get out into the Peak District and go running with friends. As children my family would take holidays in the Lake District and I always wanted to move to Cumbria, which is where my Mum was from.

Three passports. How?

My Mum is British, my Dad is Irish and I was born in Illinois. After finishing University in Michigan I moved to the UK and studied in Sheffield for my Masters, followed by a PhD in Edinburgh. During this time I also spent two years living in Cork, Ireland. After finishing my studies in Scotland I worked for Natural England before deciding to join up with Paul to create Missing Link Coaching. At Missing Link we primarily coach runners of all backgrounds and abilities to achieve whatever their goal might be. We also offer training programmes, running technique coaching and strength and conditioning classes.

Is your World Cup win your best result to date?

Winning the World Cup is definitely a result I am very proud of, particularly my win at Snowdon which was an amazing experience since the field was so strong this year. I had a really close race with my friend Elisa Sortini and she pushed me along to my fastest time yet on that course. I’ve competed at the world mountain running championships since 2011 and have had two top-ten finishes which I’m also proud of.

Sarah and her partner Paul after winning the Snowdon Race

What plans do you have for 2020?

I want to go back to the World Cup series; the organisers have expanded the series to twelve races including new events in the Czech Republic and Austria. I’ve been doing some fell races over winter which I’d like to continue into the coming season and I plan to do some Lakeland Trail races.

The first race in the 2019 Mountain Running World Cup series, in Annecy | Photo: World Mountain Running Association

What advice would you give someone wanting to take on some Lakeland Trail races this season?

Whether you want to move up in distance – for example doing a long, rather than short, Lakeland Trails course – or are new to trail running altogether, perhaps only having done Park Runs, then my advice would be the same: do it gradually. Start with only a couple of off-road runs a week. Secondly, I’d have a plan for when niggles arise; changing terrain and upping your mileage is bound to give you some problems. I’ve started to incorporate some road cycling into my training, rides of between 60 and 90 minutes. Whilst I’m not a natural cyclist I’m seeing improvements week-on-week. It’s a great alternative to running if I’m tired or have a niggle.

How do you bounce back from disappointments, as I’m sure even you must have had them?

I try and put it behind me as quickly as possible and often this I’ll involve simply finding another race to go and do, which is easier when I’m doing shorter races. I’ll enjoy a follow-up race and forget about my previous disappointment.

An important part of learning from your disappointments is to find out what you’re not good at. I’ve spent a good few years training at what I am good at, because I enjoy it, but not addressing issues like steep climbs and steep descents. You’ll get greater satisfaction from training at your weaknesses as there’s more to improve on rather than trying to make incremental gains on what you already feel confident and accomplished at.

Sarah after Sierre Zinal, one of the races in the Mountain Running World Cup | Photo: Marco Gulberti

I’m used to running on roads: How do I measure my effort and pace on trails where the terrain is constantly changing?

Being able to judge your pace is an important element of your training but not so easy to master. Design a training session that mimics the terrain and conditions of the race. If for example it’s a 10km trail race, become accustomed to running 4 or 5km at a pace you feel you could sustain for 10km. It’s a quick learning curve and you won’t always get it right, but it’s best to work on this in training and you’ll go into a race feeling a lot more comfortable about what you can realistically achieve.

What are your Lakeland Trail plans?

I’d like to go back to the Helvellyn and Staveley races. They are my two favourites and I’ve some happy memories of competing at them. The variety of routes and distances always make for an interesting series, and the fact there’s one on almost every month throughout the season means a ready-made framework for you to either base your season on or use as a training structure for longer trail races, or the Lakeland Trails Ultra in July!

Running the Lakeland Trails Staveley race in 2017.

SARAH’S TOP SHOES

Sarah ran most of the Mountain Running World Cup races in her trusted X-TALON ULTRA 260 shoes – a wider fitting trail shoe designed for long distances over soft and muddy terrain. Sarah relied on the 8mm STICKY GRIP lugs to give her traction as she raced the descents, while an 8mm drop, POWERFLOW midsole and roomier upper offered an element of comfort in such a high paced environment.

In early 2020, Sarah hit the fells in the new X-TALON 255. The X-TALON 255 is also a wider fitting trail running shoe boasting the same aggressive 8mm STICKY GRIP lugs – however, with a lower 3mm drop bringing the foot closer to the ground, this shoe is primed for racing. We look forward to seeing where 2020 takes Sarah and her X-TALON 255’s.