I love the hills; the forests; the trails; the rivers and lakes… and clearly a bit of misery too.
To this end…and for a bit of a break… I headed off to the Glen of Aherlow in Tipperary on the Friday. A joyful visit to the beautiful Emo Court and onto Aherlow, where I was greeted by the snow-capped glory of Galtymore as I looked out of the window of my hotel. The weak sunshine rays were glistening and sparkling on the fresh mountain peaks. The dry bright weather was to remain for the weekend and somehow I was not dreading the thought of the 50k and1,350m of climb ahead of me the following morning. I feasted on chicken wings and salmon and lemon drizzle cake galore; prepared my goodie-packed running vest; and had an early night.
The race is due to start at 9:00. It is an IMRA (Irish Mountain Running Association) organised race. €40. I got to pick up the super IMRA t-shirt (!) that was unexpectedly included, at the pre-registration. The race had it’s 100 places sold out. Registration was super easy and relaxed, at the Aherlow GAA club… where the post race food would soon be making a brief appearance, before being ravenously scoffed later that day.
The Early Start crew had gone by 08:00. This was for those who expected to come in at over 160% of the winning time. I bravely stepped out at the 09:00 main start. I knew one of the other participants and one of the volunteers. I was soon to get to know several other people 😊.
The race started in Lisvernane village. There was a ‘drop bag’ location at ‘Christ the King’ statue (12k and 32K); and one at Bansha Woods (22k). Jellies / gels; water etc. were available here, and at the 37k aid station. I had never used ‘drop bags’ before but decided to have one at the 32k mark and to ignore the other stops other than to grab some jellies etc 😊. This worked well and allowed me to travel a little lighter.
After a short race briefing and a warning that the last 18k were the toughest, we were off. The cut-off time to be at the 32k mark was 4.5 hours. I felt that this would be achievable. Just under 8:30 /k pace. Much of the race was in forests. There were also plenty of fire road within. When not surrounded by trees, there were glorious views of the Galtees. The 12k mark was reached. I had started at the back, with my friend. I was soon to let my friend fire on ahead. I had passed a couple of people as I got into my rhythm after the initial climb. 7 min / k pace. This was over a half minute ahead of ‘A’ target pace, but heart rate had settled down after the initial spike and I was feeling comfortable.
A grab of jellies and I now headed to the Bansha Wood 22k mark. I adopted a strategy of fuelling throughout the race. A fun forest section, with little ups and downs and twists and turns and jumping of roots and fallen trees brought a smile to be face. This section was to be my fastest and I passed several more people here. Hitting 22k and my average pace was down to 6:54/k and I made a mental note to ease off a bit as I set off on the next 10k with just the briefest of stops to add 200ml of water to my soft flask.
I hadn’t checked the race elevation profile beforehand but had assumed that most of the climb was in the last 18k, due to the warnings that we had about the last 18k being the toughest. I was wrong in this. The hills slowed my pace…and I decided that I would be happy for my average pace to drift out to 7:30/k. 32k arrival was welcome. I had my drop bag full of goodies – too much, in fact. My legs were holding up ok. The weather was staying fine. I squashed my gels etc into my running vest and proceeded to walk the next 1k of hill whilst eating crisps etc. This 11:30 kilometre (including pit stop) was to be my second slowest one, but I felt set me up well. My average pace was now down to about 7:20/k.
After the hill came the mud. This was a seriously tricky and slippery 10k. Thank goodness the 48 hours prior had been dry, as I’d hate to think what this section might have been like! As it was, this section was barely runnable. I decided to plough straight through the brown puddles of unknown depths, with my average pace being dragged lower by the kilometre.
The 45k mark now reached and I had by now got to chat with many people as we yo-yo’d past each other time and again in the race. Everyone was so nice ! My pace was slower than many, but I stopped less…and managed some of the terrain better than some.
Still feeling good. After a very short respite, we had to face the steepest hill of the course though. It lasted for about a kilometre and nearly broke me. Although I thought I was feeling strong enough, I managed to fall 4 times over 800m, whilst walking! My legs seemed to just want to trip on whatever vines were floor-bound…sending me head-bound. On my last fall, J tells me that it is downhill all the way in from here 😊
The final 3.5k and my pace picks up to sub 6:30 / k, but not fast enough to stop 3 of my new friends passing me. The final k and I look behind to see a 4th person gaining on me with each stride. I decide that I can’t have this and manage a sub 5 minute last kilometre to hold my final position. I finish in 49th position of the 80 starters, in a time of 6 hrs and 24 minutes. Six minutes ahead of my ‘A’ target. 149% of the winning time. Very happy with a glorious day of running in beautiful surroundings with amazingly friendly participants and volunteers. A superbly marked course – often through tricky forest. A great t-shirt and food etc provided. All in all a great day out!
