Belmont and Little Sugar Loaf
Forum Messages
| Author | Date | Message |
|---|---|---|
| Vivian O'Gorman | Feb 18 2025, 6:37pm | Hi Folks, I am the League Director for the Leinster League this year. My first ask is for a Race Director for Belmont. It is the first race of the Leinster League on 23rd April next. Angela Flynn is going to step away as the RD and let someone new or someone who wants more experience to act as RD instead. Angela will be Deputy RD.... This is a great race for a new RD. Apart from Angela and myself there are plenty of people to ask for advice and help and the two of us will start you off... It really is a great chance to give it a go and apart from the pay it's well worth it!! So if you have been thinking about it and putting it off now is your chance... |
| Vivian O'Gorman | Feb 21 2025, 8:38pm | Thank you to Alice Clancy for taking over the RD role for Belmont... |
| Alan Kennedy | Feb 21 2025, 9:57pm | Well done Alice, big shoes to fill but no better woman! |
| Angela Flynn | Feb 22 2025, 1:32am | Great news , thanks Alice and so sooo right Alan |
| Alice Clancy | Feb 23 2025, 10:12am | Haha not a chance I could fill those shoes…I’m not even from Kilmac you know! Thanks to the volunteers who have signed up so far…we’ll need some more as I think it’ll be a busy race, but it’s a fun one to volunteer at with lots of nice marshalling spots…so sign up and get your volunteering in early for the summer league! |
| Ciaran Stafford | Apr 9 2025, 8:06pm | Hi folks, 2 questions. • Do I need to register for the recce on Sunday 13th? • In relation to the league, what is the difference between competing in 7 races to be deemed to have completed the league and competing in any 10 races to receive a finishers prize? Apologies if it seems like silly but I’m new to mountain running. |
| Graham K. Bushe | Apr 9 2025, 11:06pm | Hi Ciaran, I think the recce is just a casual "meet up and run". So just turn up if you're interested. There are 12 races listed for the Leinster League in 2025. There is a league table ranking all runners based on their finishing position. (First=1point, second=2points, etc) A runner's best 7 results will be counted to determine the standings at the end of the league. And a minimum of 7 is required to "complete" the league The 10 races and 2 non-running volunteer is separate. Anyone who has done these in a calendar year will qualify for an end of year prize. In the past, it had been associated with the league races, but now it can be any races (10R + 2V = EoYP) |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 10 2025, 7:58am | Welcome to IMRA Ciaran! The recce of Belmont planned is informal, ie not an IMRA event so no registration is required, but you will be responsible for your own safety, gear etc. All are welcome, meeting in the Belmont Demesne carpark at 9.30am this Sunday 13th. We also plan to have a volunteer specifically for new members at race registration on the 23rd to introduce you to the race registration system and answer questions. As a new member, you’re bound to have lots of questions, so don’t worry about that! IMRA is completely volunteer run and there will be lots of members happy to answer questions here on the forum, or at the races. Two really good ways of learning more are to join one of the carpools to the races, or to volunteer at one of the races as a helper. Either way you get to meet other runners and learn how the races are organised and structured, and have a lot of fun in the process. See you on Sunday! |
| Ciaran Stafford | Apr 10 2025, 12:54pm | Hi guys, That’s great thanks for getting back to me. Hopefully see you on Sunday for recce. |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 11 2025, 4:11pm | The Belmont race and the official start of the Leinster League is just over a week away! The race page has been updated - you should find everything you need to know there on the 3 events of the night and how to enter: the Long Course (8.5km), Short/Junior Course (5km) and the 1km challenge fun run. If not, put any questions you have on the forum for the race page. This race has been set up as a welcome to the Leinster League, with the race and prize-giving kindly hosted and catered by the Belmont Demesne with the support of the IMRA Committee, and with tea/coffee, sausage rolls and sandwiches afterwards in the Belmont Café. There'll be a small bar setup managed by O Brother Brewing with IPA, lager and non-alcoholic beer available for purchase. There will be a volunteer desk set up for new members on the night to introduce them to the pre-race registration process and answer questions. We'd like to encourage you to cycle or carpool to this event if you can. If you plan to drive, please consider adding your car to the carpool on the race page. Add it early so that people can plan their way to the race. As this is the first race of the Leinster League and a nice introductory one (rocks at the top notwithstanding): - if you know anyone who has been interested in trying an IMRA race, encourage them to sign up online, brief them on the basics and bring them with you! - Alternatively, anyone planning to participate in the race and who would like to - bake a treat for the prize-giving! There will be a recce of the long and short course routes (excluding MTB track portion) this Sunday 13th April, meeting in the Belmont Demesne Carpark near the entrance to the café at 9.30am. Anyone who is curious about the route or who'd like to meet some IMRA members before signing up is welcome to join the recce. It is not a formal event, you will be responsible for your own safety and gear. Conversational pace! And finally, thank you to all the volunteers who have signed up. We now have enough volunteers for this race. I'll send you an email over the weekend on your roles. |
| Elaine Lee | Apr 11 2025, 6:23pm | Hi Alice, if you could put me down for a job that doesn't need me there very early it would be great. I'll be down by 6.30, hopefully a bit earlier. Thanks! |
| Ciaran Stafford | Apr 13 2025, 3:50pm | Big thanks to Alice and the other IMRA gang. The recce was great fun. Can’t wait for the race |
| Miriam Maher | Apr 14 2025, 12:24pm | Lovely to meet you Ciaran and a few other newcomers to IMRA yesterday. And we even got the last of the good weather! A huge thanks to Alice for organising this recce and her work overall on making sure the first race of the upcoming Leinster league will have such a clear focus on welcoming newcomers to IMRA. Miriam |
| Sheila Carroll | Apr 21 2025, 9:38pm | Hi Alice, I notice that there is an early start at 7 for the race. Can anyone start then or is it only for the elite runners. Thank you Sheila |
| Joe Lalor | Apr 22 2025, 7:23am | Hi Sheila, I take it from your post you are new to the sport of hill running, welcome to IMRA. Re early starts the very opposite is the case, these are only for very slow runners. This is to ensure that race officials are not left out on the course too long. This is a controversial issue and a dim view is taken if anyone for whom this option is not intended takes an early start. Tap the forum button and scroll down to early start post for some views. As a new member you should be aware of some other safety issues. There is a mandatory kit, which varies according the weather and terrain but always includes a jacket Failure to carry a jacket results in disqualification. Other safety roles includes, no dogs, poles or earphones. Enjoy your race. |
| Sheila Carroll | Apr 22 2025, 7:59am | Hi Joe, Thank you for clarification on early start and quick reply. I started trail running last year and have done a few IMRA races. There is always a great atmosphere and everyone's so helpful. I hadn't done one with an early start so didn't know the rule. Looking forward to tomorrow evening. Regards Sheila |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 22 2025, 8:16am | Morning Sheila, the early start is put in place on Wednesday evening races longer than 8km to avoid the possibility of slower runners being out on the hills as it is getting dark. It is open to anyone who regularly runs longer times than 160% of the winning runners times. As Joe has outlined it is not for mid-fast runners or those that want to finish up early!….If you look back over the results for the races you have done already, you’ll see a percentage on your result. For new runners, if you look at the history tab of this race, you’ll see the fastest times and can click into the results for that year. Last year at Belmont 160% was approx 1hour…. but it tends to skew faster as there’s lots of hard trail…In practice when I’ve run the early start in the past, I’ve judged it by the race and my last few results. If I started regularly running closer to 160/165% I’d go in the main start, and vice versa. I found the early start a great way of picking up technique as the faster runners passed, it also was very competitive itself and arguably more fun…also we tended to get back in time for sandwiches! I hope that clarifies things. Ps Thanks to Joe for getting an early start on the responses ha ha! |
| Andy Keeling | Apr 22 2025, 9:25am | Hey folks. As some of you may know last season myself and Alice ran a collection at the Wednesday races for unused running and trail gear. This year we plan to continue to collect gear and ensure it still gets through to the people who need it. I'll be getting the ball rolling at the IMRA Belmont race on Wednesday accepting all hill running/road running/ outdoor gear. All donations will be passed on to runners who need a bit of help kitting up for the hills. You'll be helping another runner out in discovering the joys of our sport. I'll be at the reg area. Please give what you can. Cheers guys. |
| Sheila Carroll | Apr 22 2025, 1:03pm | Hi Alice, Thanks for the above. I'll check my % and see what comes up. Looking forward to the run and learning more about the technical end of running. Much appreciate the fast response from you both. Sheila |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 22 2025, 1:59pm | Hi all, a reminder that entries for Belmont close on Wed at 12 noon… no late entries. (You do not have to enter online for the 1k challenge) We have not capped the race, but would like to encourage carpooling or cycling where possible to give our parking Marshalls an easier time tomorrow evening as it looks to be a busy one! Thanks to those who have put their car in the carpool already, great to see! If there’s anyone else who has space in their car, please add it to the carpool. As the first race of the Leinster League, we’d like to encourage anyone who can to bake a small treat for the prizegiving, or to bring unused kit for donation as part of Andy K’s kit drive (see earlier forum post). There will be tables to collect treats and kit at registration in the walled garden. On arrival tomorrow, the 3eu per car Belmont Demesne entry fee will be collected at the gate. Card payment only. Please follow the carparking Marshalls instructions when parking. Don’t forget to bring your mandatory kit- a decision will be made tomorrow as to what items from it to carry with you on the race. This will be on a notice board at reg. Registration will be set up in the walled garden beside the cafe. It will open at 5.45pm and close at 7.15pm. At reg there will be tables for - new member sign in and number collection - 2025 members with numbers sign in - Laptop/chip scanning (everyone running the long or short course has to do this) - 1km challenge sign in - cake collection - Unused kit collection for donation. There’ll be some friendly volunteers directing the queues, please follow their instructions. They or the volunteers at the new member sign in desk can answer any questions new members might have on the night. During the race, please take care when passing other runners, particularly on the rocky parts and the MTB track. Priority should be given to descending runners, and faster runners attempting to pass on a narrow or technical section should always call ahead to let the person in front of them know where and how they plan to pass. After the race , there will be water available at the finish line, and tea/coffee, sausage rolls and sandwiches in the cafe for everyone from about 8.15/30pm, plus a small bar selling O Brother beer on tap (card payment only) Hopefully the weather is dry! (Have I jinxed it now?!) Thanks all! |
| Louis Mullee | Apr 22 2025, 8:04pm | A reminder that there are public transport options to Belmont in addition to carpooling options. Taking either option will help reduce our carbon footprint! Public Transport Dart services to Bray. Go Ahead Ireland operates a bus service from Bray that passes close to Belmont Demesne. Their L1/L2 services stop at Rathdown Road/R761. See https://www.goaheadireland.ie/services for more details. Take care if walking from this bus stop to Belmont Demense as the road is narrow. |
| Brian Kitson | Apr 22 2025, 9:05pm | yes, there are good public transport options to this race. The quickest way to get there from the city centre is to take either the X1 or X2 express bus to Windgates on the Bray to Greystones road (Stop 4211 "Rathdown Road". Less than a mile to the start from there. |
| Alan Kennedy | Apr 23 2025, 11:25pm | Thanks to Alice, Angela and crew for a great event to kickstart the Leinster League. Another huge attendance in Belmont and fab sausage rolls and beer after. Course was great, especially the new finish and the Marshalls were superb out on the route. And great to see big numbers again for the junior races. |
| Jim Durham | Apr 24 2025, 8:28am | Thanks to Alice, volunteer crew, Belmont staff and even the weather gods, for a super night's running. |
| Richard Allan | Apr 24 2025, 8:42am | Thanks Alice & co for a superb league opener last night, had all the elements of a cracking IMRA meet. Eldest loved it too. Thanks! |
| Alan Kennedy | Apr 24 2025, 8:58am | Some amazing summit photos are uploaded now from John (Action Photography). But unfortunately there is an error code (Ajax error:500) when trying to tag them. |
| John Shiels | Apr 24 2025, 9:16am | My photos are still uploading so that might be causing the Ajax error. If you select "i am in this photo" it will tag it, only the number search is currently not working |
| Amanda (Mandy) Keegan | Apr 24 2025, 12:47pm | Thanks to all for a great race last night, a great turnout and so well organised. It's a tough one but a good one! |
| Graham K. Bushe | Apr 24 2025, 2:06pm | What a fantastic start to Leinster League 2025. Thank you to Alice and her team of super volunteers and the committee. Summer evening racing has well and truly started! |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 24 2025, 9:32pm | 1K CHALLENGE RESULTS Well done to everyone who took part in the 1km challenge and thank you to Leo for coordinating it all! There might be a few more of these over the Leinster League, so keep your eyes peeled! 1,2,3 F 1. Laurel O Connor 2. Emilia Murphy 3. Alanah ni Cheallaigh 1,2,3 M 1. Luka Dowling 2. Milo McGuinness 3. Milo Dowling Finish Line : 1. Luka Dowling 2. Laurel O Connor 3. Milo McGuinness 4. Emilia Murphy 5. Alanah Ni Cheallaigh 6. Milo Dowling 7. Lucas Davies 8. Joanna Murphy 9. Gordana Dowling 10. Oisin Finnane 11. Trish Donoher 12. Lexi Donoher 13. Evie McKiernan 14. James Donoher 15. Anna Klimova 16. Orla Ni Cheallaigh 17. Ros Ni Cheallaigh 18. Jennifer Brennan 19. Michael Shortt 20. Kathleen Shortt |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 24 2025, 9:34pm | BELMONT LOST and FOUND These are in the Lost and Found bag in the back of the IMRA van – you can collect them at the next race: Yellow Long Sleeve Running Top Cycling Gloves Jacket found at Killiney Hill Race |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 24 2025, 9:47pm | Evening All! We had a record turnout last night with 345 people running the long and short courses and 20 people participating in the 1k Challenge. It was so lovely to see so many new faces and people of all ages enjoying the hills. Thanks for carpooling/cycling/bussing to the event...despite the big numbers, approx 165 runners' cars went through the gate. Well done to the winners Emer Perkins and Rory Lush, and to Short Course Winners Lara Woods and James Smith. Everything went so smoothly thanks to the excellent team of volunteers…their thoughtfulness and good humour throughout kept the show on the road! A BIG BIG THANK YOU to Lillian and Louis on the gate Jody, Ben, Cari and Joe managing the parking Tetris Kate and Rachel greeting and directing at reg Caroline, Louis, Patience, Maike & Roisin, Anne and Mark on reg Elaine and Phil at the start line Elaine, Ben, Patience, Mark and Louis at the finish line Maike & Roisin and Cari setting up the food and prizegiving (a special thank you for the cake Roisin definitely baked on her own….) the Marshalls directing everyone around the route and de-marking after – Dee, Michelle, Kathleen, Anne, Eddie, Ian, Ailbhe, Peter, Mike and Niall Multitasker John Shiels- Summit Marshall, Photographer and summit First Aid 1K Challenge master of ceremonies Leo the unflappable Stephen Lavelle on Laptop (fresh from his 100th race), ably assisted by Greg and Conor First aider Elva (who stepped up to the plate at late notice but went home disappointed with only one plaster to administer) Race-marker and recce-er extraordinaire Peter… Deputy RD, sandwich wrangler and mastermind of this event Angela (Kilmac) Flynn And thank you to Vivian, Liam, Louis, Stuart and the rest of the Committee for their support and advice! Best of luck to O Brother Brewing with their new taproom opening soon in the Belmont café…if last night’s beer was anything to go by, it bodes well. Thanks for supporting the event. A very very special thank you to Celia and David and the Brabazon family and Belmont Demesne for so generously hosting the event and catering with such delicious sausage rolls! All while in the middle of lambing season too! It's such a beautiful place and a lovely way to start the summer's racing. We hope to be back.... So the Leinster League is now officially open…. After the limbering up at Belmont, Alan’s Trail League race next week at Scalp is bound to be a cracker, and Graham’s Sugarbowl in two week’s time will get us well into the swing of things….while nothing can never prepare one adequately for the ordeal that is Church Mtn looming somewhere on the distant horizon…we can but try...! |
| Neil Dowling | Apr 25 2025, 9:30am | Many thanks to Alice and crew for a wonderful evening of running. The fun run was a great idea and I finally managed to get my kids to come for a run. Unfortunately my daughter's name has been misspelled and she is down as finishing third in the M category. Her name is Mila Dowling (not Milo) and someone else should take that third spot. |
| Ciaran Stafford | Apr 25 2025, 9:50am | Big thanks to Alice and the IMRA crew. Great event from the Recce to the race itself it was brilliant |
| Daniel Toal | Apr 25 2025, 5:21pm | Thanks Alice and the all the IMRA crew it was a Savage event! I strapped a camera on and recorded the run for a bit of craic. It’s not elite footage, just a runner’s-eye view with some light commentary. If you fancy reliving the race or seeing what it looked like from the trail, here’s the video: https://youtu.be/ynW17jUkzZI?si=QIttsloQo8rqIBjs Fair play to all the ran that was tough! But Savage day for it |
| Alan Kennedy | Apr 25 2025, 6:55pm | Brilliant video, thanks Daniel. |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 27 2025, 11:08am | Thank you Neil for the correction, apologies for the error… updated 1k Challenge results below! 1,2,3 F 1. Laurel O Connor 2. Emilia Murphy 3. Alanah ni Cheallaigh 1,2,3 M 1. Luka Dowling 2. Milo McGuinness 3. Lucas Davies Finish Line : 1. Luka Dowling 2. Laurel O Connor 3. Milo McGuinness 4. Emilia Murphy 5. Alanah Ni Cheallaigh 6. Mila Dowling 7. Lucas Davies 8. Joanna Murphy 9. Gordana Dowling 10. Oisin Finnane 11. Trish Donoher 12. Lexi Donoher 13. Evie McKiernan 14. James Donoher 15. Anna Klimova 16. Orla Ni Cheallaigh 17. Ros Ni Cheallaigh 18. Jennifer Brennan 19. Michael Shortt 20. Kathleen Shortt |
| Alice Clancy | Apr 27 2025, 11:10am | Ah Daniel that video is great! Lovely to get a sense of what it was like to run the route…and love that the battery ran out before the MTB track…means that anyone curious about that will have to come back next year to try it ;-) ! Between the film, John Shiel’s sun soaked summit photographs and Conor Nolan’s high speed MTB photographs, the event is really well documented…happy tagging everyone! |
| Daniel Toal | Apr 27 2025, 2:08pm | Thanks Alice! Yes just missed the last part on the MTB track which was cruel haha it was a great event and them summit pictures are deadly! |
