Irish Mountain
Running Association

Downshill Trail Race

Forum Messages

AuthorDateMessage
Brian O MurchuAug 3 2016, 11:29pmThe final round of the Trail League is next week, and we will be marking the occasion with a BBQ, kindly sponsored by Basecamp
James H CahillAug 4 2016, 12:58amHi all, as Brian mentioned the last round of the trail league is coming up on Downshill. This is a new route with great views and it finishes with 2.3km downhill run.

Thank you to all the volunteers so far and we still need a laptop operator to work with Paul and a couple more non running volunteers.

Registration will be at the Grove Bar and registration will close promptly at 7.15 to allow transfer of equipment to the start line which is 1.3 km from the pub.

There is a seperate 5km Junior Course. Juniors will start with the main field and run a circular route.

There is a Barbecue after the race which has been very generously sponsored by Basecamp and there are prizes on the night for the race winners, the overall league winners and of course plenty of picky outs!
Mikey FryAug 4 2016, 11:53amCan't wait so:)
Brian O MurchuAug 4 2016, 1:42pmSome pics of our recce uploaded. I think it's a really fantastic course:)
James H CahillAug 5 2016, 11:57pmIt's all to run for at the Downshill end of trail league races. There are super prizes from Basecamp for the overall winning man and lady in the trail league series this year.

All three races must be run to complete the league.

Currently top of the tables are:

Men
1 Barry Minnock 3 pts
2 Greg Byrne 6 pts
3 Graham K. Bushe 10 pts
4 Brian O'Murchu 11 pts
5 Gerard Maloney 12 pts

Ladies
1 Becky Quinn 4 pts
1 Donna Mahon 4 pts
3 Patricia McLoughlin 8 pts
4 Sarah Stapleton 15 pts
5 Laura Flynn 16 pts

So who will turn up to run on the day. Who will come out top on that 2.6km descent.

Who will resort to the elbows out finish on the one narrow section of downhill trail?

Form Guide

The Men's league looks to be between Barry and Greg. Both have shown strong form in listed races this year with a number of Grade 1's under their respective girths. Graham has been the model of consistency with two fifth place finishes. However, consistency will not win him this prize and he needs to return to last years trail league winning ways to secure this win. Brian has shown remarkable improvement through the league (8th and 3rd) and the handicapper is sure to pay close attention to his run in this last race. Particularly as he apparently ditched some weight with the loss of a number magnet in Devil's Glen. If he ditches another magnet who knows what might happen. Gerard may have his best days behind him but it is the old dog for the hard road and the tough track in Altidore may suit.


The Ladies league looks sure to he a hard tussle between Becky and Donna. They have both been in front of the Stewards for bumping on the home straight in recent months, and we hope for a clean battle here. Patricia's recent improvements in form have surely caught the stewards eye, and she has performed consistently with two 4th places. But like Graham in the men's race consistency is not what's required here. Sarah is an unknown quanitity and a new runner in this league. Rumour has it she has been well supported in the betting markets and we wait to see if the gamble pays off. Laura's trainer has decided that she needs a couple of weeks off and has withdrawn her from the entry list and she wont compete on the day.
James H CahillAug 6 2016, 6:40pmStill looking for a laptop operator and a couple more non-running volunteers for our first outing in Downshill.
James H CahillAug 6 2016, 6:40pmStill looking for a laptop operator and a couple more non-running volunteers for our first outing in Downshill.
John ShielsAug 7 2016, 5:19pmI was planning on taking photos so can marshal as well if you are stuck.
James H CahillAug 7 2016, 7:03pmHi John, should be good for concourse marshals......photos of the day would be great and I'll call upon your marshalling if we run short. Thank you
James H CahillAug 8 2016, 12:08pmWe are good for marshals for the Downshill race now. Thank you everyone for volunteering. There are lots more volunteering opportunities with the trial race, mountain rescue benefit and nav challenges coming up. All volunteers should have received an email from me with details of your roles. Please contact me if the email has not reached you
Brian O MurchuAug 9 2016, 10:28amPre-reg closes 18:00 today...but IMRA yearbooks can still be purchased online and collected at Downshill registration
Laura MullinsAug 9 2016, 2:50pmJames - I just added myself to volunteer tomorrow night. Hamstring still too injured to run. Not sure if you need me or not, but I'm willing to help out wherever you need me.
James H CahillAug 9 2016, 4:42pmHi Laura, thank you, I have emailed you just now. See you tomorrow
Paul GunningAug 9 2016, 6:22pmHi, just missed the 6pm deadline by a few mins. Any chance of a late registration? Thanks.
James H CahillAug 9 2016, 8:49pmHi Paul, unfortunately online registration closes strictly at 6:00pm. However, if you have any friends with vouchers, you can "buy" a voucher from them to register for the race on the day.
Paul GunningAug 10 2016, 12:34pmThanks James, may have sourced one.
Gavan DuffyAug 10 2016, 11:27pmFantastic race tonight. A big thank you to all concerned. And a very tasty meal at the end!!
Pól Ó MurchúAug 11 2016, 1:19amWell done James for an excellent race tonight. Great new route and a nice finish for the trail league. Massive thanks also to Jack and Basecamp for sponsoring the BBQ and the prizes for tonight. Much appreciated.
Peter O'FarrellAug 11 2016, 7:25amThanks to James H Cahill, all his merry volunteers, Jack in Basecamp and the generous goodwill of the landowners for a super evening last night. Downshill is a great course.
It is a perfect trail league race (and would be a good winter league course too) The Grove Bar was groovy too.
All good, basically.
Andrew HanneyAug 11 2016, 8:22amThanks James and the volunteers for a great race, including all the preparation work done in the background. Downshill is an excellent addition to the calendar and I hope we will visit again! Thanks to Basecamp for the bbq and prize sponsorship.
James CurranAug 11 2016, 8:33amBrilliant race and barbeque, great to run somewhere new. Thanks to James, volunteers and sponsors.
Louis MulleeAug 11 2016, 8:37amBig Thanks as always to all the volunteers and runners last night. Brilliant new route, amazing views (for those who afforded the time for a quick look!). Thanks to Basecamp for the Burgers and prizes :)
Mick HanneyAug 11 2016, 8:41amThanks James for your hard work in presenting this race for us. Its great to see new routes like this and logistically it was brilliant with the parking, pub, warm-up jog to start, nice views (if you could catch your breath). It all came together for a most enjoyable evening. Thanks to the pub and your support team.

And super times on the strava downhill too.
Andrew HanneyAug 11 2016, 8:42amBy the way if anyone wants to revisit Downshill for training runs, there is a loop that stays on public land, you just need to drive up the road across from the pub. It's not as good as James route but takes in the climb etc.
Miriam MaherAug 11 2016, 8:45amGreat evening on the hills, thanks James for a super set up!

Andrew, do you have any link for that public route? Would love to head up there again.
Andrew HanneyAug 11 2016, 8:53amSure: https://www.strava.com/activities/658855082
Miriam MaherAug 11 2016, 9:00amGreat thanks Andrew
James H CahillAug 11 2016, 10:18amOur first IMRA outing to Downshill went well and most seem to have enjoyed the new trail race location. Congratulations to the winners on the night - Donna Mahon and Barry Minnock, who were also the winners of the overall league. In addition to Coillte land, we crossed through a lot of private land and first and foremost thank you to the land owners Robert Fisher, Hugh Power, and Jimmy Carroll for generously giving us access to their land for the day. The homeowners on the Old Downshill Road kindly assisted by not running us over at the start / finish. Our volunteers did a sterling job and I watched in awe (from a suitable distance lest I was asked any questions) as Paul and Ronan with guidance from Miriam mastered the laptop in jig time. Our oncourse marshals Deborah, Gerard, Karl, Mike and Alan were on site and handled not only runners (coming in all directions) but livestock as well. Laura, Bruce, Peter, Tadgh and David whipped all the runners into their respective queues and handled registration excellently. Despite me inadvertently placing the finish line in the darkest possible place on the old Downshill Road, Martina and the two Laura’s still managed to get all the runners accounted for. I was delighted to see a large entry of juniors on the day, and thank you John Shiels who took fantastic pictures of the race and especially of the juniors enjoying the hills with lots of smiling and laughing. John Condon handled the Junior race from start to finish, did the parking, helped with registration - thank you John (I highly recommend him as Assistant RD - he does all the work!). My kids Ed and Mia were roped in as volunteers (I use the term volunteer loosely - press ganged might be more appropriate) - thank you guys. The Bushe clan en masse (Graham, Kevin and Adam) did the parking. Although the parking duties and sprint to the start line may have affected Graham’s run, as he broke his run of consistent 5th positions in the last trail races with a different result this time, and not in a good way! Ciara Ni Mhurchu dressed the wounds of the injured, and mended the spirits of those who suffered on first aid. Thank you Ciara.

Thank you Liam Vines who made sure that no-one went a stray with route marking and demarking

Jack Layden and Basecamp and Columbia, sponsored the Barbecue and end of league prizes. Not only did those who won the league benefit from Jack’s generosity, but the three race directors for the league races (me included) received excellent running jackets. Thank you Jack, Basecamp and Columbia. Thank you Dinny and the staff of the Grove pub who provided the excellent grub and also the generous sponsorship of prizes for the raffle.

As I mentioned at the prize giving, there are lots of people behind the scenes in IMRA who, largely unthanked and unacknowledged, do lots of work to make these races happen. I particularly want to thank Karen Devanney, Laura Flynn and Brian O’Murchu, who handled results / database, Coillte licences and everything respectively. Brian has put a huge amount of work into organizing not only this race but the entire trail series - thank you Brian. Thank you all the committee.

There are so many people who come together to make our runs in the hills possible, thank you everyone.
Grace EganAug 11 2016, 12:52pmThanks so much to everyone involved for last nights race, the children loved it, especially the regular breaks we took for cheerleading!
Only one complaint, my keys went missing and despite searching high & low in the Grove Bar they haven't turned up yet.
Got the spare key and headed back down this morning praying that the keys were locked in boot of car but unfortunately they weren't, so the last hope now is that maybe someone might have picked them up by accident, if you could double check pockets/bags from last night I would be so grateful.
Its a big bunch of keys Ford key fob, couple of house keys, tesco clubcards and a large silver key.
Thanks to the Brendan & Trish Murphy (ferrying us all home safely), Pol O'Murchu(ferrying us up the road, charging phones, liasing with local garda - it was that kind of night), James Cahill(for his words of wisdom), and John Shiels for the super photos as always.
Grace EganAug 11 2016, 12:54pmAnd how could I forget Miriam Maher for her eternal patience and comforting words
Grace EganAug 11 2016, 12:54pmAnd how could I forget Miriam Maher for her eternal patience and comforting words
Brendan LawlorAug 11 2016, 2:16pmBrilliant race last night - take a bow James H Cahill and all your helpers, plus thank you to Basecamp for the BBQ.

Just as well we had a BBQ sponsor as the IMRA committee and coffers have been cleaned out by the continual raiding of the sandwiches fund earlier this year..!!
Vivian O'GormanAug 11 2016, 6:28pmHi Grace - I have your keys - just need the car! You can ring me on 087 4150398...

Great race last night young James! Well done and thanks to all the volunteers - Basecamp and the land owners...
Grace EganAug 11 2016, 10:45pmAnd just like that Vivian saves the day, thank you so much. I look forward to the slagging next week!
Anne HodgeAug 12 2016, 9:09amFantastic race! Amazing views, lovely downhill running (won't mention the uphill bits) and delicious Basecamp sponsored BBQ. Hope it becomes a regular feature on the IMRA calendar. Thanks James,Brian and all your volunteers!!!
Karen DevenneyAug 13 2016, 1:27pmApologies for the delay, result are now up. Email with any issues. Well done James and co for putting on what sounds like was a fantastic race!