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
Thanks for reading.
Don't scare yourself. While running 100 miles is tough, it's not a superhuman feat - it requires mental tenacity much more than talent or other physical attributes.
ReplyDeleteAnd you don't need that much stuff. When I ran it in 2013, there were people with camper vans full of support, one even had a portable massage table and a dozen jars of different "vital" supplements.
My crew had a VW Polo with about 3 litres of drink and a bag full of sweet and savoury food (boiled potatoes are magic). We finished 10 hours before the camper van.
But I do recommend doing it. Not now, but in a few years time, when running a marathon as a training run becomes just another long run.
I am afraid that I am hooked now. I have only completed one half marathon in my running career but I am already thinking about a hundred miler. As my blog is about journey, it will have a great story documented if I do get to toe the line of the Connemara 100 all going well. Thomas I really appreciate your leaving a comment and I enjoyed your last article 'Mocking Me' Best of luck in Berlin.
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