(more random thoughts than proper race report) Pre race:
You could say this year has been a little busy: the Boards A.C. 1000 mile challenge, the marathon des sables, Ironman Germany, Ironman Switzerland (complete with broken nose), a couple of ultra marathons, a couple of marathons and you would think a girl deserved a rest. Ray O’Connor obviously didn’t share this view and decided to launch the Connemara 100 mile race on 15th August (www.connemara100.com).
I could have said no. I could have finally found that pair of old comfy slippers that are hidden somewhere under a mound of trainers in the boot room and gotten around to all those “to read” books on my nightstand but then again, where would the fun be in that? There was only one place to be last weekend and that was Connemara.
My training for the Connemara 100 was pretty much non-existant. The injury in ironman Switzerland on 12th July put running off the agenda for a while and even when I could do a bit, after a couple of miles the nose started to “jiggle” all on its own which wasn’t much fun. My longest training run was 16 miles but I was relying on the idea that the bike fitness I retained from Germany/Switzerland would help a lot. I was very nervous about this race: There are steps into the unknown and there are jumps off a high cliff into the dark, this race was an example of the latter. On the plus side, at least this event had crews, I would be able to pack a car with everything I might need and have it handed to me during the race. For anyone who has done a MDS type event, you’ll understand what a luxury that is.
Race Day:
We didn’t get to bed too early the night before so I just couldn’t face getting up 3 hours before the 6am start for my usual porridge so I risked breakfast just before the race. I can’t blow my nose properly because it was broken so I was trying to clear out the snot (yes I was picking my nose!) when the bottom half was suddenly a lot further to the left side of my face than normal. Oh well, a bit of screaming and I pushed it back into place. Always good to start a long race in pain. We met the other idiots, sorry competitors, for coffee and croissants in the hotel and Ray gave us some advice “look up the scenery is fantastic”. With that 13 starters for the first Connemara100 were led out to the start line. 6am exactly and we were off. First up, out of Clifden and a hill, what else? Rolling hills and wind were certainly going to be a theme of my day.
I quickly fell into step with Mick Rice. What a runner and a man. We spent the first 30 or so miles together. The conversation flowed easily and I learned a lot about Irish running in those first few miles. Mick has an encyclopaedic memory for race performances and stats and a real enthusiasm when he talks about them. We also covered religion, philosophy, medicine and politics. Well 30 miles is quite a long way if you think about it. The conversation was only interrupted a couple of times when the scenery (the beaches near Letterfrack or the 12 Pins in Connemara National park took over. It’s not often you get the weather conditions we had that day in Connemara, the views were absolutely spectacular. We were churning out 8:50 – 9:00 minute miles which, concerned us slightly so early in the race, but then again, we felt good and it would have been unnatural to run more slowly.
Our crew fed and watered us every 2-3 miles along the route. My crew was my fiancé Niall and my friend Sarah (and we were later joined by Sarah’s friend Reilly). They were absolutely amazing. Sarah had never crewed a race before and while she is a very capable marathon runner and triathelte, I believe the Connemara 100 was her first experience of a real endurance challenge. Not to mention that I may have sold her on this on the basis of it being a nice day trip to the countryside, not a 30 hour suffer-fest. Niall on the other hand is a very experienced athlete but currently badly injured. I’ll admit I was worried for them before the race started. The reality was, they were absolutely fantastic. Let me say that again, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I couldn’t have had a better support team. Every couple of miles they fed me approx 150 calories and something to drink. When I asked for Vaseline and Sudocream it appeared (sarah even ran down the road “away from the boys” to give me the Vaseline (to protect some part of my dignity when I applied it!), when I needed an extra top, it appeared, baby wipes, hey presto… They really made the job look easy and I only had to get on with running. At Lough Inagh we hit the first checkpoint (28 miles). One of the volunteers (Aisling was there) with hot soup and a smile. Pause for some photo’s and we were off again.
Some time before Maam cross I fell off Mick’s pace and was running alone. The company was great, but running alone wasn’t so bad either. If you’re going to run and meditate, then Connemara is the place to do it. The crew nipped ahead to get some food in Peacocks. It’s just as well they did as they had to clear a space through a Farmers market (a real one, with farmers in aran sweaters and boots with holes int hem, not a Dublin 4 artisan affair) for me. I always feel like a pretender in races. What is an overweight, middle aged women doing here but at the same time, I got a real thrill from Niall making the clearning in the market yelling “runner coming through, make some space”. The greasy spoon chip van smelled divine! At this stage of the race (42 miles) we were well and truly onto the Connemara ultra course (www.connemarathon.com) part off the course (but in reverse). People who have run Connemarathon, will know the hell of the west, a beast of a hill that comes towards the end of the race. Now I was running up it the “wrong” direction. Of course what goes up, does eventually come down but the quads were starting to ache a bit at this stage and going down was not that much easier than going up. The wind was also starting to pick up and against me. Oh well, ultra-running is not supposed to be knitting!
It was a boost to cross the timing mat at 50 miles and realise I was half way there. The next big landmark is Leenane at about 55 miles. I get a bit funny every time I go to Leenane. It was a favourite place for my deceased father and that unique view down the valley always makes me melancholic. Adding melancholy to a tired body is a recipe for disaster but the crew were fantastic. Whether intentional or by accident, they distracted me right through the village and before I realised I was out the other side waving at Eamonn who was manning the second checkpoint (55 miles). After Leenane came the physically hardest part of the course for me. There is a climb for a couple of kilometres. It’s not steep but relentless and the wind was strongly against me the entire way up. The view along the lough was fantastic but I would have done something dramatic like give up chocolate (serious business!) for a bit of shelter from the wind. It was a real slog. I’d also started to skimp on food and was trying to make myself eat more but I was still making good progress.
On past the 60 mile mark, over the mat at 100km (cheer from my crew who stopped to watch me finish my first 100km!) and back onto the Lough Inagh section, that we pass twice on the course. Aisling and the crew were there again with supplies. I changed my chaffing shorts at this stage. I also changed into my 2-sizes-too-big marathon des sables trainers as my feet were swelling quite a bit (nasty big toe nail blisters when I examined them after the race). At this point the pacers could pitch in. Each runner was permitted to have a companion runner with them so long as the pacer stayed behind the runner. First up with me was Niall. It was great to have him with me. He was filling me in on how the day had been going from a crewing point of view. It’s amazing what you miss when you’re only thinking about the next mile marker or feeding stop. The crew had decided to take it in 5km shifts. Next up was Sarah’s friend Reilly. Reilly and I had never met before the race. I’m sure she didn’t know what to make of me but she was equally as good as Niall. In 5km, I had her life story (from hippy parents to Yale degree) and it was a real boost to have the chatter. We continued on to Recess and this time a right hand turn to head for Roundstone. It was a long, twisty road. Sarah was running with me now. I was slowing a lot and starting to worry about people catching me. Sarah was fantastic talking about the wedding and all sorts of things to keep my mind off it. Each of the crew had another stint with me before we entered Roundstone. I think I was pleasant enough to the girls but I was a complete witch to Niall. When he offered me a drink, in my head I was saying “no thanks darling, I’m fine”, what actually came out was “no<growl>”
There was a festival going on in the pubs of Roundstone. Festivals and Running can go two ways, the first is a disaster where drunken people fall in front of the runners shouting “run Forrest run”, the second is what happened in Roundstone on 15th August, people came out from the pubs, traditional music in the background and clapped and cheered. Sarah was telling everyone about the 100 mile challenge and the cheers got bigger. Up a hill out of the village and we hit the final checkpoint manned by Ken. The crew stopped to sign the checkpoint book and I continued on. I was getting really tired. Niall was trying to tell me jokes but I kept missing the punchline. I was counting each mile marker very carefully, mentally working my way towards the finish line just as much as I was physically getting there. I even walked up a couple of the hills, it wasn’t my lungs limiting me, not my legs, just enthusiasm had deserted me. Since the end of the race, Niall and I have talked about this section a lot. The versions of what we remember are very different. I’m not sure I was quite at the “loosing it” state but I was definitely having an altered perception of reality.
The crew moved from 3 to 2 mile feeds and at Ardagh both girls joined me for the last couple of twisty miles into Clifden. They were amazing in this section. They chatted away, told jokes, talked men (well what else do you expect a group of women to talk about – even if we were in the middle of running 100 miles) and after the exhaustion I felt leaving Roundstone, I started to enjoy this run again. Niall went ahead to park the car and joined us at the edge of Clifden. We twisted around the streets to the start of the first lap of the town (we had to do 3 big laps and 1 small lap to make the course exactly 100 miles +0.01% as measured by a Jones counter operated by a qualified measurer). This lap was the highlight of my running “career” to date. I had my finace and crew with me, Eamonn had returned from Leenane and he and Seb led us out on a motorbike. I’ve never had an outrider before and I felt a million dollars! Towards the end of the lap, we passed the pub strip in Clifden, people were cheering and clapping and it was an amazing atmosphere, we started the second lap, and the third and then the small lap before turning in for the finishing strait. 16 hours, 16 minutes and 15 seconds on the clock. A long but satisfying day. Wow, what a reception we got on the finish line. Seb was there with a hug and a medal, There were half a dozen people taking pictures, loads more clapping, Ray was there offering congrats and Mick (who must have been shattered!) was on hand to say well done. People were hugging me and shaking hands and everyone was in amazingly good spirits after a very long day. To give you an insight into the quality of this race, I was stinking (as you can imagine after running for 16 hours) and Angela gave me her hotel room key to go have a shower. Where else would you get looked after like that? After showering we went back to the finish line. I wanted to see Valerie home but passed out in the car. Sorry I missed you V., but you rock.
After the race
Sarah took us back to Galway for tea and a long snooze. This woman is amazing, she had thought of everything from extra pillows to protect dodgy joints through, extra towels for dodgy tum’s and all this after a 5am start to spend the day selflessly crewing. There are not many friends in this world you can call on for that. I didn’t sleep that well but at the same time, didn’t feel tired. The organisers (on the ball as always) sent a text with the details of the post-race party and prizegiving. We headed back out to clifden for 12. The last runner was just finishing. How much determination does it take to keep going right through 24 hours and on to 30 knowing you’re battling against a cut-off. Respect Darren. Respect also to Paul who made it to 83 miles before having to retire. I would have crawled under a stone to feel sorry for myself, Paul made it to the pub, complete with drip in one hand, pint in the other – a sight I’ll remember for a while. The prizegiving itself was lovely. Ray is a great orator and captured the atmosphere and context of the event exactly. It’s not often that I don’t want the speeches to end. After the formal bits, we had some food and a couple of drinks and in the time honoured fashion, replayed the events of the previous day over and over. Seb, Aisling, Ray, Angela, and everyone involved in the organisation of this event, thanks a million. I had a blast. I can’t quite claim to have loved every minute (that low spot after Roundstone haunts me!) but I can say, I’ve never taken part in a better organised, friendlier, accurate, interesting or beautiful race. Well done and see you all next year.
I guess the final word of thanks has to go to Niall. He is the real athlete in our family but he gave up his opportunity to take part in this race in order to help me do it. Almost exactly a year ago I was writing an event report as crew on Niall’s English channel swim (https://swimming.about.com/od/gues7/qt/joanne_fearon.htm) Although I was proud of his achievement then, I didn’t enjoy crewing at all. Watching him suffer like that was terrible, yet I put him through exactly the same thing last weekend and he did it without a word of complaint (although he did negotiate a free pass on bathroom cleaning duties until 2012!). He is responsible for me running my first ultramarathon (also in Connemara) a couple of years ago and indeed I doubt I would have tackled many of the challenges, that I have, since then without his encouragement and support. I just worry about what he will dream up for us next!
Pictures : https://www.flickr.com/photos/39856927@N07/sets/72157621938843443/show/
Results : www.connemara100.com
I could have said no. I could have finally found that pair of old comfy slippers that are hidden somewhere under a mound of trainers in the boot room and gotten around to all those “to read” books on my nightstand but then again, where would the fun be in that? There was only one place to be last weekend and that was Connemara.
My training for the Connemara 100 was pretty much non-existant. The injury in ironman Switzerland on 12th July put running off the agenda for a while and even when I could do a bit, after a couple of miles the nose started to “jiggle” all on its own which wasn’t much fun. My longest training run was 16 miles but I was relying on the idea that the bike fitness I retained from Germany/Switzerland would help a lot. I was very nervous about this race: There are steps into the unknown and there are jumps off a high cliff into the dark, this race was an example of the latter. On the plus side, at least this event had crews, I would be able to pack a car with everything I might need and have it handed to me during the race. For anyone who has done a MDS type event, you’ll understand what a luxury that is.
Race Day:
We didn’t get to bed too early the night before so I just couldn’t face getting up 3 hours before the 6am start for my usual porridge so I risked breakfast just before the race. I can’t blow my nose properly because it was broken so I was trying to clear out the snot (yes I was picking my nose!) when the bottom half was suddenly a lot further to the left side of my face than normal. Oh well, a bit of screaming and I pushed it back into place. Always good to start a long race in pain. We met the other idiots, sorry competitors, for coffee and croissants in the hotel and Ray gave us some advice “look up the scenery is fantastic”. With that 13 starters for the first Connemara100 were led out to the start line. 6am exactly and we were off. First up, out of Clifden and a hill, what else? Rolling hills and wind were certainly going to be a theme of my day.
I quickly fell into step with Mick Rice. What a runner and a man. We spent the first 30 or so miles together. The conversation flowed easily and I learned a lot about Irish running in those first few miles. Mick has an encyclopaedic memory for race performances and stats and a real enthusiasm when he talks about them. We also covered religion, philosophy, medicine and politics. Well 30 miles is quite a long way if you think about it. The conversation was only interrupted a couple of times when the scenery (the beaches near Letterfrack or the 12 Pins in Connemara National park took over. It’s not often you get the weather conditions we had that day in Connemara, the views were absolutely spectacular. We were churning out 8:50 – 9:00 minute miles which, concerned us slightly so early in the race, but then again, we felt good and it would have been unnatural to run more slowly.
Our crew fed and watered us every 2-3 miles along the route. My crew was my fiancé Niall and my friend Sarah (and we were later joined by Sarah’s friend Reilly). They were absolutely amazing. Sarah had never crewed a race before and while she is a very capable marathon runner and triathelte, I believe the Connemara 100 was her first experience of a real endurance challenge. Not to mention that I may have sold her on this on the basis of it being a nice day trip to the countryside, not a 30 hour suffer-fest. Niall on the other hand is a very experienced athlete but currently badly injured. I’ll admit I was worried for them before the race started. The reality was, they were absolutely fantastic. Let me say that again, ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC. I couldn’t have had a better support team. Every couple of miles they fed me approx 150 calories and something to drink. When I asked for Vaseline and Sudocream it appeared (sarah even ran down the road “away from the boys” to give me the Vaseline (to protect some part of my dignity when I applied it!), when I needed an extra top, it appeared, baby wipes, hey presto… They really made the job look easy and I only had to get on with running. At Lough Inagh we hit the first checkpoint (28 miles). One of the volunteers (Aisling was there) with hot soup and a smile. Pause for some photo’s and we were off again.
Some time before Maam cross I fell off Mick’s pace and was running alone. The company was great, but running alone wasn’t so bad either. If you’re going to run and meditate, then Connemara is the place to do it. The crew nipped ahead to get some food in Peacocks. It’s just as well they did as they had to clear a space through a Farmers market (a real one, with farmers in aran sweaters and boots with holes int hem, not a Dublin 4 artisan affair) for me. I always feel like a pretender in races. What is an overweight, middle aged women doing here but at the same time, I got a real thrill from Niall making the clearning in the market yelling “runner coming through, make some space”. The greasy spoon chip van smelled divine! At this stage of the race (42 miles) we were well and truly onto the Connemara ultra course (www.connemarathon.com) part off the course (but in reverse). People who have run Connemarathon, will know the hell of the west, a beast of a hill that comes towards the end of the race. Now I was running up it the “wrong” direction. Of course what goes up, does eventually come down but the quads were starting to ache a bit at this stage and going down was not that much easier than going up. The wind was also starting to pick up and against me. Oh well, ultra-running is not supposed to be knitting!
It was a boost to cross the timing mat at 50 miles and realise I was half way there. The next big landmark is Leenane at about 55 miles. I get a bit funny every time I go to Leenane. It was a favourite place for my deceased father and that unique view down the valley always makes me melancholic. Adding melancholy to a tired body is a recipe for disaster but the crew were fantastic. Whether intentional or by accident, they distracted me right through the village and before I realised I was out the other side waving at Eamonn who was manning the second checkpoint (55 miles). After Leenane came the physically hardest part of the course for me. There is a climb for a couple of kilometres. It’s not steep but relentless and the wind was strongly against me the entire way up. The view along the lough was fantastic but I would have done something dramatic like give up chocolate (serious business!) for a bit of shelter from the wind. It was a real slog. I’d also started to skimp on food and was trying to make myself eat more but I was still making good progress.
On past the 60 mile mark, over the mat at 100km (cheer from my crew who stopped to watch me finish my first 100km!) and back onto the Lough Inagh section, that we pass twice on the course. Aisling and the crew were there again with supplies. I changed my chaffing shorts at this stage. I also changed into my 2-sizes-too-big marathon des sables trainers as my feet were swelling quite a bit (nasty big toe nail blisters when I examined them after the race). At this point the pacers could pitch in. Each runner was permitted to have a companion runner with them so long as the pacer stayed behind the runner. First up with me was Niall. It was great to have him with me. He was filling me in on how the day had been going from a crewing point of view. It’s amazing what you miss when you’re only thinking about the next mile marker or feeding stop. The crew had decided to take it in 5km shifts. Next up was Sarah’s friend Reilly. Reilly and I had never met before the race. I’m sure she didn’t know what to make of me but she was equally as good as Niall. In 5km, I had her life story (from hippy parents to Yale degree) and it was a real boost to have the chatter. We continued on to Recess and this time a right hand turn to head for Roundstone. It was a long, twisty road. Sarah was running with me now. I was slowing a lot and starting to worry about people catching me. Sarah was fantastic talking about the wedding and all sorts of things to keep my mind off it. Each of the crew had another stint with me before we entered Roundstone. I think I was pleasant enough to the girls but I was a complete witch to Niall. When he offered me a drink, in my head I was saying “no thanks darling, I’m fine”, what actually came out was “no<growl>”
There was a festival going on in the pubs of Roundstone. Festivals and Running can go two ways, the first is a disaster where drunken people fall in front of the runners shouting “run Forrest run”, the second is what happened in Roundstone on 15th August, people came out from the pubs, traditional music in the background and clapped and cheered. Sarah was telling everyone about the 100 mile challenge and the cheers got bigger. Up a hill out of the village and we hit the final checkpoint manned by Ken. The crew stopped to sign the checkpoint book and I continued on. I was getting really tired. Niall was trying to tell me jokes but I kept missing the punchline. I was counting each mile marker very carefully, mentally working my way towards the finish line just as much as I was physically getting there. I even walked up a couple of the hills, it wasn’t my lungs limiting me, not my legs, just enthusiasm had deserted me. Since the end of the race, Niall and I have talked about this section a lot. The versions of what we remember are very different. I’m not sure I was quite at the “loosing it” state but I was definitely having an altered perception of reality.
The crew moved from 3 to 2 mile feeds and at Ardagh both girls joined me for the last couple of twisty miles into Clifden. They were amazing in this section. They chatted away, told jokes, talked men (well what else do you expect a group of women to talk about – even if we were in the middle of running 100 miles) and after the exhaustion I felt leaving Roundstone, I started to enjoy this run again. Niall went ahead to park the car and joined us at the edge of Clifden. We twisted around the streets to the start of the first lap of the town (we had to do 3 big laps and 1 small lap to make the course exactly 100 miles +0.01% as measured by a Jones counter operated by a qualified measurer). This lap was the highlight of my running “career” to date. I had my finace and crew with me, Eamonn had returned from Leenane and he and Seb led us out on a motorbike. I’ve never had an outrider before and I felt a million dollars! Towards the end of the lap, we passed the pub strip in Clifden, people were cheering and clapping and it was an amazing atmosphere, we started the second lap, and the third and then the small lap before turning in for the finishing strait. 16 hours, 16 minutes and 15 seconds on the clock. A long but satisfying day. Wow, what a reception we got on the finish line. Seb was there with a hug and a medal, There were half a dozen people taking pictures, loads more clapping, Ray was there offering congrats and Mick (who must have been shattered!) was on hand to say well done. People were hugging me and shaking hands and everyone was in amazingly good spirits after a very long day. To give you an insight into the quality of this race, I was stinking (as you can imagine after running for 16 hours) and Angela gave me her hotel room key to go have a shower. Where else would you get looked after like that? After showering we went back to the finish line. I wanted to see Valerie home but passed out in the car. Sorry I missed you V., but you rock.
After the race
Sarah took us back to Galway for tea and a long snooze. This woman is amazing, she had thought of everything from extra pillows to protect dodgy joints through, extra towels for dodgy tum’s and all this after a 5am start to spend the day selflessly crewing. There are not many friends in this world you can call on for that. I didn’t sleep that well but at the same time, didn’t feel tired. The organisers (on the ball as always) sent a text with the details of the post-race party and prizegiving. We headed back out to clifden for 12. The last runner was just finishing. How much determination does it take to keep going right through 24 hours and on to 30 knowing you’re battling against a cut-off. Respect Darren. Respect also to Paul who made it to 83 miles before having to retire. I would have crawled under a stone to feel sorry for myself, Paul made it to the pub, complete with drip in one hand, pint in the other – a sight I’ll remember for a while. The prizegiving itself was lovely. Ray is a great orator and captured the atmosphere and context of the event exactly. It’s not often that I don’t want the speeches to end. After the formal bits, we had some food and a couple of drinks and in the time honoured fashion, replayed the events of the previous day over and over. Seb, Aisling, Ray, Angela, and everyone involved in the organisation of this event, thanks a million. I had a blast. I can’t quite claim to have loved every minute (that low spot after Roundstone haunts me!) but I can say, I’ve never taken part in a better organised, friendlier, accurate, interesting or beautiful race. Well done and see you all next year.
I guess the final word of thanks has to go to Niall. He is the real athlete in our family but he gave up his opportunity to take part in this race in order to help me do it. Almost exactly a year ago I was writing an event report as crew on Niall’s English channel swim (https://swimming.about.com/od/gues7/qt/joanne_fearon.htm) Although I was proud of his achievement then, I didn’t enjoy crewing at all. Watching him suffer like that was terrible, yet I put him through exactly the same thing last weekend and he did it without a word of complaint (although he did negotiate a free pass on bathroom cleaning duties until 2012!). He is responsible for me running my first ultramarathon (also in Connemara) a couple of years ago and indeed I doubt I would have tackled many of the challenges, that I have, since then without his encouragement and support. I just worry about what he will dream up for us next!
Pictures : https://www.flickr.com/photos/39856927@N07/sets/72157621938843443/show/
Results : www.connemara100.com