‘And sure, when do you ever get to go to Romania?”
We’re starting at the end but it’s a good way to encapsulate the sense of adventure and curiosity that has brought Paula Donnellan Walsh to where she is.
The quote above is part of her answer to the question, “What’s next?” in the wake of helping Ireland win two team silver medals at the World Mountain Running Championships in Czechia at the end of June. The European Championships take place in Romania in a fortnight and then there’s the Dublin City Marathon, an annual fixture in the Mayo woman’s calendar.
Having been involved in sport since her days of cross-country running and football in school in Ballinrobe, Paula has always been open to embracing new ideas. So it was that, after winning a trail race in Lanzarote in 2023, she got the call to represent Ireland at the mountain worlds in Madeira in Portugal.
“One of the girls that was there said to me, ‘You’re obviously going to the world running championships in a couple of weeks?’ and I said, ‘Are you mad!’” she laughs.
“They needed somebody for the team and they kept at me and all of the barriers that were in my way were being eliminated.
“The World Mountain Running Championships come up once a year, and I’ve gone since then, and we’ve won team medals every year since. It’s kind of part of the process now.”
High level
Still competing at a high level in ‘normal’ races at home, Paula finds that the natural terrain of the west of Ireland serves as the ideal testbed for the unpredictable terrain involved in mountain running.
It was something Paula, a teacher in Mayo College in Castlebar, referenced when interviewed on Czech television after the race and it’s not just lip service, either. As she puts it, she trains at 6am as “anything can happen in the evening” and the robustness of the elements at certain times of the year can certainly imbue some iron in the soul.
The World Mountain Running Championships come up once a year, and I’ve gone since then, and we’ve won team medals every year since. It’s kind of part of the process now
“You go out and run on the road and it’s all about watching speed but all that goes out the window when you go up the mountains,” she says.
“I would, a lot of the time, run on feel and I know sometimes that can let you down, but in Czechia, in 39 degrees, if you went into the red early, like, the heat could have done serious damage. Nine athletes had to be escorted off the course.
“You can check the elevation, the height and then there’s the downhill running – I would go fairly fast on that because of the road, but you have to really practice that because you could make such a hoop of your hips and you could fall, of course.
“It’s the extreme changes in terrain and how you’re running, and you need to train the body for that.
“It’s a big help when you’re training in the wind and the rain in the winter when you’re up in the mountains or in the trails. It really is discipline.
“Then, you go over there and you don’t have muck underneath your feet so you bounce around those trails. It doesn’t feel as difficult as here.”
The challenges come in the travel to even get to the race – “You drive to Tuam, get a bus to Dublin, fly for two and a half hours and then, the race might be the same distance of a drive from the airport,” Paula outlines and so, when the going gets tough in the race, the memories of home can be a powerful fuel.
“When you’re so faraway and full of emotions and everything and you’re missing people, like my husband David and children Adam and Emma, you’ll get these spurs,” she says.
“I’m from a farming background and you’ll see a farmhouse and some animals – in Czechia, we were on what is normally a ski-slope and it was covered in green grass, whereas in some of these races you’d never see grass. It helps to make it feel like home.”
For now, she is back on home soil but her feet are never still for long. Prior to Czechia, she had been on a holiday in Lanzarote that featured a couple of races – the counterpoint to winter training at home, the temperatures there served as good practice for the worlds – and there are the usual local and national events to follow.
“I must have a think now about Romania,” she says.
“There’s only the one direct flight and then you’ve family and things to consider, too.”
While there may not be any hurdles in Paula’s races, she overcomes plenty of them to get to the start-line – and then there’s no stopping her.
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