Lees Road Ennis

As amenity parks go, it is hard to beat Lees Road.  It has everything you want for a family.  Trails to run on, full size AstroTurf pitch, soccer pitches, rugby pitches, GAA pitches, 400m running track and a skateboarding park.

It is home to our local Parkrun which can be a quite testing 5km run on the trails in the forest.  I have done a few parkruns around Munster and this is the toughest as you have a few hills to negotiate before the finish.

It can get very busy on the trails during certain times as parents drop off their kids for some kind of training and they take off to run or walk the many routes in the forest.  As you can see from the photos it is very picturesque in Lees Road and it is a great place to go to clear your head.

A new initiative in association with Active Ennis is set up on the trails. They have set up Fartlek Training which anyone can do at any time.  Fartlek is a Swedish term meaning 'speed play'.  It is a form of interval training that allows the athlete to run at varying levels of intensity over a given distance.  It is effective in improving both speed and endurance.  There are 3 loops marked out in the park and each loop can be run at an intensity to suit your ability.  The red loop is 1200m, the blue loop is 1600m and the black loop is 3400m.  There are signs up around the trails to guide you.

A great place to run.  It can be testing on the lungs and legs if you want it to be.  Every Saturday morning, Parkrun takes place at 9:30am and it gets a good crowd.  So if you are ever around Ennis, pop in and give it a go!!!

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Loop Head Trail

On a misty Sunday morning, I decided to head back to the most westerly point of Co. Clare - Loop Head.  This really is a mystical place with Irish legends about Cuchulainn connected to it.  It is about 20 mins west of the seaside town of Kilkee.  The starting point of my run was in the picturesque village of Kilbaha.  There is a lovely pub/restaurant called Keatings where you can park your car.  This pub has a great sign on it telling you that it is the last pub until you reach New York.

From Kilbaha to Loop Head Lighthouse is about 4.5km long and it is a on a quiet country road.  It is quite a hilly climb for about 2km but levels out then.  As you approach the lighthouse, there are spectacular views as you can see water on both sides.  Unfortunately,  today was not a day for that as it was foggy and misty on my way back but this was very refreshing.

Once you reach the lighthouse there is a lovely trail around the head that is about 1.5km long.  You can extend it further if you want to.  It has spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean and on a clear day you can see across to Co. Kerry and up to the Aran Islands.  There is a spectacular sea stack that has many colonies of seagulls on it.  The spray of the waves hitting the rocks can be felt on a wild, fresh day.

While you here, you can visit the Loop Head Lighthouse which is open from March to November.  It is becoming a very popular tourist attraction along with the spectacular views that surround it.  Loop Head Tourism are doing an excellent job to promote it.  For more information, you can look up http://loopheadclare.com/activities/attractions/

 Running back to Kilbaha village is very much downhill for the last few kilometres so that will help you finish your run at your leisure.  Keating's Pub will be waiting to give you some nice food or a good pint of Guinneas to quench your thirst.

This run works out to be between 10.5 km and 11km.  It is quite a testing run but I would recommend to do this run at your leisure.  You will need time to take in the spectacular views around Loop Head.  I cannot recommend this Loop Head run highly enough as it has everything you want on a run.  I guarantee that you will feel amazing after it as you will be in awe of the beauty.  So get your running shoes and head for the Loop!!!!!

Ballybeg Woods, Ennis

Ballybeg Woods has to be one of my favourite places to go for a walk or run.  It is situated on the outskirts  of Ennis Town.  I love to head off with my dog and my headphones whether it is just to walk or push myself with a run on the testing hills. 

There are many trails in around the woods.  The route I normally take is about 1 and a half kms.  It has one really testing hill which would be excellent for hill repetitions for anyone training.  It is a popular place among walkers and runners.  Great place to bring a dog.

There are a couple of steep hills in the trails but they have railings at the side to support anyone who needs them.  There is a sizeable car park which is close to the entrance to the woods.  The is a second entrance also to the woods.

 This is a truly peaceful place based in an urban setting.  It offers a lot for the everyday social walker who likes to bring their dog or the serious runner who wants to test themselves with the many trails that are on offer in Ballybeg Woods.  The lush green trees help your problems melt away and you can get lost in nature for the duration of time you spend there.  Excellent place for kids also.  Here are a few more pictures to show off the setting in Ballybeg Woods.

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Connemara 100

As I started to think about hanging up my football boots, I looked at what was out there to keep myself fit.  Running was always going to be my number 1 activity.  As I investigated, I saw that there was  a wide selection of races around the locality, adventure races and then I stumbled across ULTRA RACES.

I was amazed that people were actually doing this.  That they would run crazy distances and live to tell the tale.  I watched some documentaries about the Western States 100, Hardrock 100 or the mind blowing Badwater 135. 

As I watched the documentaries, I wondered if there were any ultra races in Ireland.  With the aid of Google, up popped 'Connemara 100'.  I immediately thought to myself how tough that would be with the Irish weather and rugged terrain of Connemara.

As I tried to learn more about the race, I saw that it started in 2009.  In 2010, It had 9 finishers.  The number of participants grew each year.  This weekend, August 11th and 12th, there were 28 finishers.  It was won by Thomas Kilmas on a time of 15hrs 48mins and 31secs.  There is a cut off time of 30 hours.  Each participant has their own crew that follows them around the course.

I could not imagine the amount of preparation that would be needed for this race.  Training for it would require a different training plan to a marathon.  As I looked at different ultra training plans, the main difference is really at the weekend where you would have to do back to back long runs.  Crazy thing to say but people would use marathons as warm up races for the Connemara 100. 

I can imagine for the day itself that there is a lot of equipment and gear needed.  Nutrition is very important in ultras as if it is not 100% right, it could end your race prematurely.  They would be a lot of knowledge needed about nutrition, hydration and caring for your feet to get through the 100 miles.

Anyway after my short time knowing about the Connemara 100, I have it on my bucket list of races.  Some day soon hopefully I will toe the line.  I would also love at some stage to crew someone on it to see it from that perspective also. 

It seems like a fantastic event and from the comments on social media about it, there seem to be a lot of positive experiences.  It is about respecting the distance and preparing right for it.  I can see this race growing in popularity every year and more events like this happening in Ireland. 

So for now all I can say is SOME DAY!!!!!!

Hope you enjoyed this post

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Book Review: 50 Races To Run Before You Die

I put a post up on my Instagram page recently promoting Tobias Mews' book: 50 Races To Run Before You Die.  I said I would put up a more detailed account of the book on my blog for anyone that is interested.

This book is a great book to have on a coffee table or waiting room for people to flick through.  But it is also much more than that.  If anyone is drawing up a bucket list and an ultra marathon is one thing on it, well this is the book for you. 

It has 3 sections in the book.  Section 1: Good For Beginners. Section 2: Sucker For Punishment. Section 3: Hard As Nails.  You can figure it out for yourself which is the easiest and the hardest section.  17 races each in Section 1 and 2. 16 races in Section 3. 

There is a good mix of locations with the races.  UK, Europe, South Africa, South America, etc.  So there are plenty places for you to go and made a holiday of it after the event.
There is a different mix of races also.  It ranges from Tough Mudder, UK Wife Carrying Race, Zombie Evacuation race, etc. 

Then, it moves on to your normal marathon such as the Paris Marathon, Queenstown International Marathon and the New York City Marathon.  It has other such marathons as Man V Horse Marathon, Comrades Marathon and the Original Mountain Marathon to wet your appetite.
It reviews the more severe and testing races such as the one I have on my bucket list, Ultra - Trail du Mont-Blanc, also the Bob Graham Round, the Sani Stagger Endurance Race and the Madeira Island Ultra Trail.

I will just give an example of what they tell you about when a race is reviewed.  So the author, Tobias Mews, has completed all these races.  That is a unbelievable feat and I can't believe he is still alive to tell the tale. 

I am going to pick the Jungle Ultra review. It is based in the Manu National Park, Peru.  The distance is 230 KM and it is a multi stage race of 5 days.  The completion rate for the race is 73%.  The fastest known time to finish it is 18hrs 11mins, while Tobias finished it in 28hrs 22mins.  It is on the month of June.  The website is www.beyondtheultimate.co.uk/jungleultra.asp

For every race it gives you the general information that I went through above.  After that, Tobias give a very honest and personal detail of the race and the torment he went through to finish.  I will let you buy the book to get his account of the Jungle Ultra.  At the end of each account of a race, Tobias gives you his top tips on how to survive the race which could be very useful.

I have pick 3 races, 1 from each section that I hope to do in the future.  Hopefully, I will have my account of them on this blog.  From Section 1, Hellrunner would be my choice.  Looks like a tough challenge.  From Section 2, I hope to do the New York Marathon at some stage, but I would like to take on the Man V Horse Challenge some time.  From Section 3, I have already told you that the Ultra- Trail Mont Blanc is on my list but since I am a Cristiano Ronaldo fan, I would love to do the ultra trail around his home island, Madeira. 

Anyway, they are my choices but there are plenty to pick from.  I highly recommend this book if you are drawing up that bucket list or just for a bit of easy, enjoyable reading.  The foreword is written by James Cracknell so it is well endorsed.

Thanks for reading.

Cratloe Woods

I went for a little run in Cratloe Woods today.  It is a trail runner, road runner and mountain biker's dream.  It has trails for everyone.  A playground at the entrance for the kids also.  It is very accessible as it is only ten minutes outside Limerick City and twenty minutes outside Ennis.  It is just off the motorway so no need to be travelling miles off road to reach it. 

I have ran here a good lot and I always find it to be a challenging course.  There are plenty uphills to test you also.  I know the IMRA (Irish Mountain Running Association) use the woods for a couple of Munster League races throughout the year.  Check out their website for more information. https://www.imra.ie/

So if you are ever around Limerick City or Ennis, it is well worth bringing your runners, trail shoes or mountain bike and head for Cratloe Woods.  Very accessible and the scenery is beautiful.  You can get more information on https://www.coillte.ie/site/cratloe-wood/

Here are some lovely shots I got while I was there. Enjoy!!!