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

Thanks for reading.

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!!!

Stunning Places for a Jog

This August Bank Holiday Weekend, I took my running shoes with me on my trip to the seaside town of Kilkee in West Clare.  I went for a quick jaunt up the cliff walk.  It was early in the morning so it was quiet as it can be busy at times.  But what a run! The views are stunning.  You can see a lot of the rugged coastline of West Clare.  When we think of County Clare, we always think of the Cliffs of Moher.  In my opinion, the Kilkee Cliffs are just as beautiful.  It is definitely one of my favourite spots to run.  It is about 2km along the cliffs but it continues in a loop that brings you back into the town and back to the car park. Altogether it is about 4.5km. There is a steep hill towards the end of the Cliff Walk but it is worth the hardship going up as the views are stunning.  You should put this on your list of places to run.

                                                                                         

                                                                              

Start of a Running Journey

Hi everyone.  This is my first post in my journey from crossing over from the world of GAA to the running community.  In the last few years I have dipped my toes into the world of running but found it hard to combine both.  I will be hanging up the football boots shortly and I am looking forward to joining the running community.  In this blog I hope to document my journey along the way.  I will start from scratch and I hope to try a lot of different types of running and training methods.  My aim is to help normal Joe Soaps like myself to get the best out of our running experiences.  I hope to post regularly on this with my thoughts and experiences.  Please feel free to contact me with any queries or suggestions for me also.  Talk to you soon.