I had a
birthday party to attend in East Kilbride on the Saturday last and, as you do, I travelled up via
Fife. There was a very handy field who lined up for the Cupar 5 miler road race. It’s a very
reasonable course, but certainly not pan flat. They do, however, get a road
closure on so at least you’re not dodging the public or motorists. It used to
generate stunningly fast times; that was before they re-measured the course and
added a good few metres. I was aiming for a sub33 which I thought was a pretty modest target. However, I stuck in behind a
very steady Central runner on the way out and then when he ran off, I dived in behind a Perth
runner on the way back as we ran into a light headwind. It was torture but he led me to a 32.50 and we passed Bryce Aitken of Fife
about 30m from the line. The Fife runner finished 3rd v60, so as a gauge,
I’m not too far off the pace for folk around my age, not that there are that many still competing.
The big trip of the Spring was to the mountains of Mourne in
County Down for the first race of the British Fell Running Championships. Not done any of these before. We
normally have a week in Scotland in March, so this year we decided to extend
the trip to Northern Ireland and arrived in Belfast late on Wednesday to be
greeted by heavy downpours. Staying at a self-service hotel, we nipped out to Nicos
between the rain showers for some pizza and pasta and then after getting turned
away at the door by the burly but polite bouncers at the Benedicts Hotel for
wearing sports gear (Salomon trainers) we retired to Laffertys opposite for a
pint of the black stuff in a welcoming Edwardian style bar. It reminded me of the
bar in 'Cheers' a little. Saturday saw us having a wander in the town and a short
run around the Gasworks and up Donegall Road before grabbing a bus and going
south to the seaside town of Newcastle. We lugged our bags along the front and
past the Harbour Bar and Lifeboat Station to our cottage. It was compact, whitewashed
and well appointed looking out to the sea. Me and missus mac had a late evening
jog along the front and onto the beach before getting back and sorting out the fajitas.
It was an early night. We decided that a short recce of the course was wise and
speedy joe, the missus and me took off up ‘yon big hill’ with Ant deciding to
do a run round the town instead. We ascended through the wood and then up part of the Granite trail, a
steady straight stairway which rose and rose toward Slieve Donard. Skirting an old
quarry, I came across some frog spawn on the grass, abandoned, and re-located
it to a nearby pond where there was some already. We climbed up through the
short heather and reedy grass around halfway, but being a little short on route
information, we went northward and, having had enough, we eventually reached the main path which follows
the glen between Donard and the nearby Slieve Commedagh. We made our way down through the drizzle to
meet Ant at Nicos Café. It was Quinns
for a half and then the Harbour for another where we bumped into Caroline
Marwick and family.
Saturday looked good early doors and we bailed out of the cottage at 9.30am and walked the half mile to the race registration. There were around 250 entered and after a kit check we took the bags to the tent at the park and warmed up. I thought 2 hours would be a good time to aim for. Around 200 set off at 11am and the field which included a good handful of Helm Hills, Keswicks, Amblesides, Pudsey and Bramleys, Carnethys as well as those from the local clubs, began to thin out as we climbed and climbed toward the first of the 3 peaks. At 859m, Donard is the highest peak in Northern Ireland. Commedagh is the 2nd highest.
The weather looked threatening at the start and in this area, cold and heavy squalls can kick up at the drop of a hat. I was spooked a little by the weather forecast at registration which had suggested wind chill would make it feel like zero at the summit. However, as we ascended I began to simmer and the hat came off. The gloves were still on, but I was over-dressed. Typical. At the top of Donnard we dibbed at the checkpoint and were faced with a very bouldery and testing descent, where I lost around 5 places. We were soon down and making our way through a bog to the Chimney Rock. The girl in front of me lost her leg to the knee a couple of times in the soft peaty and slippy conditions and she dropped behind. I had already had some salt at the 3 mile mark and attempted another foiled wrap boost at mile 6, but the method and wrapper were poor and I managed to tip the contents onto the ground as I picked my way along the rocky path trying to catch up with a band on 3 local runners just in front.
We were soon pulling our way up the grassy slopes of Commedagh, another brutal gradient and an excuse for a spider-shuffle, exhausted limbs flailing to try to get some purchase on the parched grass. Baby steps. head down, just getting through it. My ascending was ok and I picked up a place or two. However, the descent along the ridge of Commedagh which should have been a pleasure was, instead a slippy grind, as my Scott shoes failed to give me the grip I needed on the wet grass and I went down a second time into the peat. I was cursing not wearing my Salomons. By then, Rik (Mourne Runners) had caught me and coming off the hill we jogged the last mile to the finish passing two older runners, both suffering from cramp. It made a nice change from me suffering from dehydration, although I had had to stop twice around the course to cup water from streams into my thankful gob. Speedy finished 15 minutes before me. My time of 2hrs.32mins put me and Rik in 144th place and an hour slower than the winner. It was a tough workout with more than 4000ft of ascent. Stewart Whitlie was first v60 and Adrian Davis 3rd. I was around 10 minutes down on him, so work to do.
The very irregular and rocky surface made it a tough workout in places and I was pleased to get on the bus
to Belfast at 3pm. I was puggled. We travelled on to Ballyrobin beside the airport in the
evening and after checking in, we enjoyed a couple of pints and a decent meal before…yes, you guessed
it, another early night. All in all a very enjoyable and memorable few days, it
was, to be sure.
