Irish Mountain
Running Association

Carrick Mountain

Forum Messages

AuthorDateMessage
Mick HanneyJan 6 2008, 9:06pm
Please add me in as a helper on this race. Cheers.
Mick HanneyFeb 23 2008, 8:36pmHopefully Cormac will take me on as a marshall for next weeks race so I can avoid running - joking! :-)

Looks like the route will be quite a bit different from trail route last summer with 500m of ascents in total, one half of which is in the first 2.5kms. A lovely start to shake off the breakfast. And funnily enough the route is drier than last summers trail race. Tells you something about the Irish weather...

Cheers,

Mick
Rene BorgFeb 24 2008, 8:17pmA group of brave (and later well-fed) runners ventured out to follow local mad-man Mick Hanney, and well-known sadist Cormac O'Ceallaigh for the trial run of their new creation: the Carrick Mountain WL route.

Mick has put together some great images of this cruel route, which, for its start alone, is sure to be known as "Mount Pain" among the survivors.

These lucky few, however, can look forward to no-holds barred descending a-plenty, so fast that is it nearly mouth-watering just to think back on it. That is, of course, if it stays dry...

Anyway, enough advertisement, enjoy!
cormac o ceallaighFeb 25 2008, 7:42amYes- a super route has been planed.Still need volunteers to ensure the success of the race.Please contact Rachel now and let her know .WE need a lap top operator,Fist-Aid, marshall,car parking attendants....
Mick HanneyFeb 26 2008, 10:23pmTheres absolutely no parking down at the forest entrance into Carrick where the race starts/ends. Theres private residences down there and no room. Parking is as per instructions at the GAA club in Glenealy, aprox 800m back along the road.
James McFaddenFeb 29 2008, 10:26amI can volunteer to help out on the day but won't be there until ten. I'm afraid I haven't done the laptop training but let me know if there's anything else I can do. Cheers.
cormac o ceallaighFeb 29 2008, 4:34pmjust been informed by mick hanney who is marking the course that it is wet, slippy and muddy in places, so one might want to review their choice of foot wear.
Rene BorgMar 1 2008, 7:32pmhi all, team results are now available.
John ShielsMar 1 2008, 7:42pmHi all,
Photos will be up tomorrow as we are having a technical issue with the upload bit of the site
John
Mick HanneyMar 1 2008, 8:06pmAs the majority marker of the course last evening apologies to anyone who went astray if there was fault on my part. Particularly to those who may have lost valuable points as a result for themselves or their team. How people managed to find their way out onto the road to arrive from the Rathdrum road direction is beyond me? :-)

Its a particular problem on an unfamilar route I expect.
The marking was completed last night in fading light, taking as much as 3 hrs to do so it wasn't for lack of effort. Stormy conditions overnight could have disturbed some markings. There was evidence I think of markings left behind from other events, on non-route sections, something which wouldn't have been evident to a marker who only followed the published route to mark it. I've been told by some affected parties that there was an element of 'following the guy ahead', which can be chancing it to luck at bit and when they backtracked they saw that the obvious marking going the other way was in place.

People would be advised to have a printed copy of the map with them for future reference to cover a wrong turning eventuality. Cheers, Mick
Alan AylingMar 1 2008, 8:56pmGreat race today, super route, great fun on the descents. Tough climbs too - Mount Pain indeed. "Tyre choice" was difficult - flats were ideal for all the fire road but cleats would've been a bonus on the muckier sections, especially some of the descents and the middle of the long climb from the northeast end.

Well done Mick & Cormac, thanks for all the hard work that went into a great race.
Paul MahonMar 1 2008, 9:46pmAs one of those that went slightly astray today I would still echo alan's comments - the course was generally very well marked and all of us as runners have a resposibility to look for them especially at junctions rather than following the leader or in my case going the way I thought we should rather than taking the time to look for the markers.
Well done lads on the route "found" - Maybe a bit complex but it certainly made great use of the area.
Neil WilsonMar 1 2008, 9:48pmCheers to all, yet again, for a very well organised event today, really enjoyed the morning topped off with a
creamy pint of Guinness, what more could you want !
Rene BorgMar 2 2008, 10:06amAnyone for a race report? Send it to me at rene.borg at imra.ie and I'll put it up.
Caitlin BentMar 2 2008, 12:40pmHow about 2 creamy pints of Guinness, Neil! Loved the course Mike. Go raibh maith agat
Caitlin.
mick hanneyMar 2 2008, 1:15pmNeeds a combined race report really, 1 for the full course and 1 for the alternate! And perhaps Rene as someone who dabbles in orienteering and who uses gps you'll have to explain how you didn't follow the route despite having recced it the previous week. :-))
Jason KehoeMar 2 2008, 3:17pmTough race. I like the name 'Mount Pain' it's very apt! I thought the pain would never end...
They were some steep descents too! I took one wrong turn but was lucky enough to be called back by Paul Duffy... thanks Paul!

Moment of the race for me? I was by myself through the heavy forest section and a deer jumped right across my path. We missed each other by just 5 yards. I think we scared each other pretty good too!
Stuart ScottMar 2 2008, 6:44pmThought I'd post seeing as I was one of those who made a slight (2k) detour on Carrick :-)

The marking at the start of the race was excellent. I'm not surprised it took so long to do. I went wrong on the descent through the forest near the end where I was too busy enjoying myself and looking at the ground instead of watching where I was going. I haven't bothered looking at the GPS recording, but I think I ended up running across a track junction instead of turning. I'm so used to running over rough ground orienteering that I didn't realise I'd gone wrong until I had to climb through knee-deep brambles to reach a forest road. There was a fairly sizable group of us at that stage. We turned right (in hindsight left might have been better!), then left onto a public road, left again along the main road to the GAA club, then back up the road to the start/finish.

Perhaps a few more markers in the woods would have helped (where the paths and turning points aren't so well defined) but it was my own fault for not slowing down and making sure I knew where I was going! The main difficulty was I had no idea how to get back on the route once I realised I was lost that didn't involve retracing my steps uphill. I suppose a map might've been useful.

Still, I really enjoyed the race and it was definitely good value for money. Only quibble is getting a DNF in the results. Makes it sounds like I just gave up halfway through! Maybe a ER (extended route) would be better :-)
Rene BorgMar 2 2008, 8:42pmNothing helps if you're only looking at the guy in front of you I guess! All the preparation in the world can't protect you from your own stupidity it seems.

Other than that, I'm afraid I'm too tired to come up with an y other excuses after today's absolutely monstrous 5-and-a-half hour run. I'll revert to the forum when I've slept a few weeks...
Rene BorgMar 3 2008, 9:22pmSince we received the question, and had a rare case of two teams being tied on the same number of points, I am just posting this clarification on the rules to determine the highest placed team as general information:

IMRA operates in accordance with WMRA's rules for team-scoring, meaning we look at the "first team home", or best placed final finisher in each team. In the case of Carrick Sli Cualann had a higher placed third and final finisher, and thus their team came "first home", making them the winner's of the race, and not Setanta as originally posted.

Apologies for any confusion caused.
Mick HanneyMar 10 2008, 3:43pm
Whats become of the photos taken on Carrick? Its a real pity that they can't be up online within a day or 2 of an event as thats the window of interest people will have had on the event in question. I appreciate theres technical difficulties :-)
Colleen RobinsonMar 11 2008, 8:54pmHere is a link to some pictures taken...not everyone I'm afraid...to tide you over until the real pics are posted

http://picasaweb.google.com/ColleenSean/IMRACarrick08?authkey=_MXVslFmndU
Mick HanneyMar 11 2008, 9:06pmGreat pictures Colleen, which captures it very nicely. Some pain etched in some of those faces. And some people not pictured (they were already lost it seems..) :-)
John ShielsMar 12 2008, 11:07pmthere is still a problem with the photo upload on the site. soon as its fixed I'll post some photos
John
mick hanneyMar 13 2008, 10:53pmThanks a million John. Personally I think the webmaster has a lot to answer for. :-)