Member Spotlight: Ryan Irelan
Ryan joined Trail Roots in 2018 when he was looking for a lifestyle change. You can find him at the early morning 5:30 am runs (even on Saturdays!), as he juggles family, work, and running. He recently became one of our beloved pack leaders, helping new people feel comfortable when they join the group. He is always first to help out at races and within our community and recently PR’d at the California International Marathon. He puts in consistent, hard work inside and outside of Trail Roots. We wanted to ask him a few questions about his journey with running.
What inspired you to start running?
Around the time I turned 39 and saw 40 on the horizon, I decided to make some changes in my life. I had worked in technology since finishing graduate school and fell into the typical habits of that career. I put in long hours at my computer and led a relatively unhealthy lifestyle full of work stress, work travel, too many steakhouse dinners, and too much alcohol.
It sounds like the making of a mid-life crisis.
First, I quit my job. Then, about nine months later, I started running.
I didn’t know anything about running or even the running community in Austin. However, I was a member of the Town Lake YMCA, so I joined a couch to Cap 10k running class there. I did my first running miles on Town Lake every Monday and Wednesday.
After completing the Cap 10k, that same year, I ran another 10k, the Run for the Water 10 miler, and then a half marathon.
Why did you join Trail Roots?
I ran the first three years alone and worked alone in my own business all day. It was a lot of time on my own!
The story I’d like to tell is that I realized I needed more social interaction doing the things I enjoy. The real story is that my wife told me I needed more social interaction doing the things I enjoy.
After running the Texas Switchback, I looked more into Trail Roots as a way to run with others. I also had plans to run the Bandera 50k and was scared enough to know I needed both a coach and a community to support me. I found both with Trail Roots!
Has your training changed since joining a group?
I look back at my first few years of running and realize they were baby steps compared to what I can do now with Trail Roots. The consistency of training, the planned workouts and runs, and the accountability have all pushed me to meet more personal goals than I thought possible.
What do you love about trail running?
I love how it energizes my day and feeds a positive outlook and attitude.
I coached cross country at my daughter’s school during my CIM training block. I would show up to practices at 6:30 AM excited and ready to run with the kids. As they rubbed the sleep from their eyes, I am sure they all wondered what my deal was. I did my workouts at 5 AM before practice, so I was completely energized and ready to go.
Hopefully, my excitement and energy transferred to them each morning. I would tell them that everyone else is still sleeping and we’re out here running and having a good time! It wasn’t always a convincing argument, but I never relented.
I hated running when I was their age, and I definitely did not get up before sunrise to do it voluntarily. So, in one regard I could relate. And, in another, I had a lot of respect for them that they even showed up to each and every practice and put in the work.
My only goal with the cross country runners was to make running a positive experience. Whether that meant placing at a meet, running a personal best, or just showing up and putting the work in, I wanted running to be fun (but not always easy). Sometimes coaches in other sports use running as a punishment. I wanted to share with the kids that running can be fun, enjoyable, and rewarding.
What is your favorite trail to run with Trail Roots?
If I may, I’d like to name two trails.
The Sweet 16 route, starting at the 360 Access trailhead, is one I like after or even during rain. The short road portion is excellent for stretching the legs out before hopping back on the trail.
For longer-distance training, I enjoy the Canyonlands trail in Lakeway. The early section isn’t as nice as it was before they widened the powerline access, but it still has fun switchbacks and nice overlooks.
“I look back at my first few years of running and realize they were baby steps compared to what I can do now with Trail Roots. The consistency of training, the planned workouts and runs, and the accountability have all pushed me to meet more personal goals than I thought possible. ”
What do you like about being a pack leader?
I enjoy talking to new members or drop-ins about Trail Roots and my experience running with the group. Being a member of Trail Roots has significantly improved my running, health, and community here in Austin. I hope everyone that joins also has that same experience, and one of my responsibilities as a pack leader is to help make that happen.
You just PR’d at the California International Marathon; what was that experience like?
The last 4-5 miles of the race were a real challenge for me, but overall I had a lot of fun at CIM. I am glad I was there with a larger group from Trail Roots. We could support each other before and after the race (some of us needed a bit more support after the race than others!).
I didn’t hit all of my goals for CIM, but I had the best training block leading up to the marathon of any race prep I’ve done. I remained injury-free, healthy, and focused. Setting a new personal best was one of the goals, and I met that. However, I’m also thrilled with the training.
We had a great group of people around my pace training, and I never had a long run on my own. So I look back on the four months of training with many fond memories. In some ways, the journey to the race was more important to me than the race itself. Even if I didn’t meet all of my goals, I still put in the training and gained a lot of fitness and strength.
CIM was only my second road marathon, and I learned much about what I will need to change for the next one. There are a lot of dials to turn with training for and running a marathon, and I have a few adjustments I’d like to make.
Did you work with a coach or train differently for this race that allowed you to PR?
Yes! Rachael Blair was my coach for CIM, and she put together a plan that helped me get to the start line healthy and fit. I’m so grateful for having her as my coach. This time, I trained a little more conservatively because I kept having nagging injuries late in training blocks. So much goes into getting to and running CIM that I didn’t want to risk injury.
Do you have any races or goals that you’re working towards in 2023?
I don’t yet have any races planned for 2023, so I plan to attend the workouts and runs and stay fit. I have some non-running stuff to focus on for the first part of the year, so I’m going to put energy toward that while deciding what I want to do later this year.
In 2021, I focused entirely on “just running.” Rather than being motivated by a race, I was only inspired by showing up and doing the workouts or runs. Getting up at 5 AM on Tuesdays and Thursdays went from being a chore to just being a thing I did. That approach in 2021 helped me in 2022 when I started building my base mileage for CIM.
What advice would you give people who are new to running and want to join a group?
If you already know you want to run with a group, you’re one step ahead of where I was when I started running!
Look for a group that has a wide range of paces, so you always have someone to run with, and attend as many runs or workouts as you can early on. This will help you establish connections in the group and get to know more fellow runners.