Gareth Little

17 August, 2013

http://summit2summit.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/stone-cross-to-lug-relay-july-2013/

Kevin O'Riordan

29 July, 2013

2013 results: http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/LugRelay2013.xls

Ger Lawlor

29 July, 2013

Niamh Hartnett
The Stone cross to Lug relay is a unique event on the IMRA calendar highlighting all that is good about mountain running. Open mountain, mixed terrain, challenging climbs and fun fun fun descents. There is also the little task of navigating the route which adds an extra dimension to the race and great sense of achievement when you keep the course.
I started out on leg 1 bright and early Saturday morning. I opted for an early start and had good company for much of the race with Pol O’ Murchu nearby. Conditions underfoot were ideal. The initial climb and scramble through the forest to Seehan is one of my favourite parts of the race. It is messy but so much more enjoyable than fire road. It was a straightforward run across to Corrig with a chance to pick up a little pace on the downhill before again climbing to the cairn on Corrig itself . I then turned to Seefingan which proved a much easier task than it had been last year when I fumbled about in the midst and boggy ground. I didn’t need to even check my map here this year but bounced along. The final climb slowed me down but I got to the summit and made my way across to Kippure. It was easy to keep moving. As I turned towards Kippure and meandered my way across lengths of dry/semi dry peat hags I could see Kippure disappear before me as a mist descended over the summit. As I moved closer to Kippure I took the compass out to double check my route as now it was difficult to see the summit. Happy I was headed in the right direction I continued on and having passed over the mast the mist soon disappeared. I opted to run the road rather than head cross country back to the Sally Gap. The road option is longer and looking across the heather..it was tempting to take a short cut but I knew the road and went for it. Several kilometres later and a lovely warm welcome awaited as I reached the finish. Leg 1 complete : )
If you like running in the hills then you will love this race. I too would encourage others to give it a go next year. Sincere thanks to Philip and his team of volunteers for making the race happen this year. Thanks to Sean and Ger for a great day out…especially the banana bread Ger.

Sean Harte
The day of the race had an early start for breakfast before driving Mike and my first leg runner Niamh to the start of leg one. A return home for some more breakfast and then the scenic drive to Sally Gap. The mountains were clear except for a small cloud over Kippure, hiding the mast. A big difference to last year, when I'd also done leg two, and couldn't see more than 50m for much of the route.
Niamh came in about 2 hours after her start, and I set off. The first 3 peaks are pretty similar with boggy cols and heather covered slopes, but the vegetation became grassier on the way to Mullaghcleevaun (East) and then turned to bare peat on the way to main peak of Mullaghcleevaun.
From here, I could see the whole way to Tonelagee, and made a straight line for it. I spent the first part of this going up, down, into and around peat hags and gullies. Eventually I found a huge gully - that was a good 12 feet deep in places - that had a rough path going along its bottom and decided to follow it. When I came to the end of it, and could see the terrain around me again, I realised I'd gone too far to the left and was heading towards the Glenmacnass river valley. I saw a runner (which turned out to be Ger Butler) crossing away my right, and I corrected my course to get back up on the main ridge to follow him on the dry, crumbly, bouncy peat. After getting back on track, I was flying down to the col between Barnacullian and Stoney Top, feet barely touching the ground, feeling like a gazelle etc., when suddenly the ground gave way and I was up to my thighs in moss covered bog, with momentum carrying my arms and face in too! (People pay money for this sort of things at health spas: maybe a marketing option the event organisers could explore...). Anyway, I wriggled gracefully out of the bog and headed up Stoney Top, and the final climb to Tonelagee.
The final descent to the Wicklow Gap is great fun, with a grassy path the whole way. As I got closer to the end, I slowed down a bit and was careful not to fall over, as I knew the people below would be watching... When I got to the road, I could see Philip, Niamh, Ger Butler, Zoran and a few others. But where was my third leg runner, Ger Lawlor...

Ger Lawlor
A lovely July morning and a nice leisurely start to the day. For once, there was no hurry having agreed with Sean and Niamh to arrive at the change over at Wicklow Gap at 11.30 expecting Sean to come in around the 12 mark. But a text from Sean saying Niamh had taken an early start had me questioning my timing.
Had a feeling it was going to be a close call so changed in the jeep as Dave drove between Fentons and the Wicklow Gap (apologies Dave for arms, legs and clothes shooting in all directions). My phone was at this stage in my race pack when it started ringing ominously. Oh,oh, had to be Niamh calling to tell me Sean had come in and was now wondering where his teammate was…or worse, whether he would he have to keep the flag flying by running Leg 3 as well as a fine run on Leg 2.
As we turned into the car park my fear was realised as Sean had indeed come in, suitably covered head to toe in Wicklow’s finest. Considering how he looked, Sean was the epitome of calm and told me to take my time. I Could hear Philip Brennan ball hopping in the background about letting the side down or words to that effect, save that debate for later.
Here was me thinking I’d make the changeover in plenty time, have a sandwich and a chin wag but instead I leapt out of the car and started turning the legs over up the service road.
At the first bend I scrambled up the bank to eliminate as much of the road as possible. Hopping back onto the road I could see Daniela up ahead, good stuff, a bit of company. Daniela was in good form and already getting into the swing of things. We commented about being relieved with the cooler conditions compared to the ‘oven run’ up and down Lug the previous Saturday. Trying to make up for my dreadful start, I pressed on.
I had rolled my ankle on Brockagh midweek and low and behold there were a few uncomfortable stabs between Turlough Hill and Lough Ferrib. Ah now, it’s a bit early in proceedings for this lark. Put it to back of the mind and enjoy the run. The ground between Ferrib and Conavalla was a joy, springy even.
The descent off Conavalla was taken in trepidation rather than abandon as my ankle kept reminding me that it may be better just to keep moving rather than a mad burst to the brook below. Heading back towards Table Track Junction conditions starting taking a turn for the worse and Lug was shrouded in the distance. The path from Camenabologue to Lug was pretty uneventful on the whole until I encountered a group of young hikers on the way up to Lug. One asked did I fancy a race to the summit. A race within a race, this is getting a bit much.
Arrived at the Cairn on Lug, took a cautious bearing for the home straight and off we went again. Had a couple of questioning moments until the ship steadied, the fog cleared and the path opened up again with Camarra waiting to be descended below me.
The ankle was holding up fine so gathered a bit more pace for the final flourish. Fenton’s and an awaiting bunch of teammates, volunteers and other IMRA folk was a welcome sight, a pint of the black stuff would also be a welcome sight. What a great day in the hills and as the saying goes Philip ‘better late than never’…

Maike Jürgens

28 July, 2013

It was a few months ago when I saw the Stone Cross to Lug relay in the calendar and wondered whether it would be too much of a challenge for me to take part. I kept it in the back of my head until Rachel (thanks for organising!) put up a forum message looking for people who wanted to join a team. I heard leg 1 was the easiest and I had been up all those hills before so I went for it (hoping for good weather). 1 week before this race I did the first race where map and compass were part of the required kit but great weather (well, it was roasting) meant neither was needed. So this was my first race during which I would need to use a compass and a map – all on my own. The day did not start well at all – I felt sick in the morning and couldn’t finish my breakfast – maybe I was too nervous. James was kind enough to pick me up in Sandyford and after we carpooled for the Sally Gap we made it to the start for registration. The race started soon enough after on a beautiful morning. We headed off into the forest and were soon up on the first hill. Tick. Over to Corrig, which was next on the list. I checked my map and compass just to make sure I could trust whatever I did and set off. From Corrig we went over to Seefingan, I could see a row of colourful dots making their way up to the top – a nice view. On top of Seefingan, I was caught in the clouds and actually had to rely on the compass to tell me where to go – a very funny weird feeling doing that for the first time. I was just hoping I was right. The cloud lifted and I felt relieved when I could see Kippure show up in front of me. The run over was really enjoyable; the bog was very dry and runnable. The adventure really started once I reached the top of Kippure. I had been told the road from Kippure all the way to the Sally Gap was the fastest way home but a few m running on the road felt so awkward, the heather didn’t look to bad to run on to me and I felt adventurous enough to give it a go. So I climbed the barrier and headed off down the hill. Quickly, I realised I was heading too far east and tried to correct. Unfortunately, I went way too far west because I could see some forestry that I definitely did not want to see. So I took out my map, carefully worked out where I had to go and went off again. By that time I kind of regretted my choice of going off the road but I was right in the middle of nowhere so I had no choice but to keep going. I crossed a few smaller and bigger “rivers”, climbed a few fences and took my first mountain running fall. Finally, I saw James waving at me (it turned out he was trying to tell me to get to the road but I was heading that way already anyway). I made to the road and saw Stuart going up the hill and shouted a “Good Luck” at him. I was happy to have made it to the changeover not too far from my predicted time but after looking at other finishers times on the forum it became clear how much time I lost by going off the road and zigzagging for a while – oh well, I learned that lesson ☺. And I am definitely hooked, running with a map and compass on open mountain, working out your way as you go turned out to be even more enjoyable than following marked trails. And to everyone who is slightly unsure as to whether or not to try it: give it a go. I didn’t have time to recce the route and (certainly helped by pretty decent weather conditions) still managed to finish.
Thanks to everyone who made this day possible.

Daniela Boehm

28 July, 2013

Lugnaquilla featured quite strongly on this year’s IMRA calendar: the Circuit of Avonbeg, Fraughen Rock Glen, Lugnaquilla, and finally the Stonecross to Lug Relay. Yet all of these races were as different as could be - both in terms of routes and weather conditions - ranging from non-existent visibility (where has that mountain disappeared off to?) to the scorching conditions reminiscent of a Marathon des Sables (not that I have any idea of what that might be like but last week seemed hot enough to me). The Lug Relay arguably got the best conditions. The ground was so dry that bogfields could be crossed that would normally have presented knee-deep (at least!) obstacles and I searched long and hard to find a proper boghole to submerge my feet in (my runners would have been disappointed without their usual beauty bath). Lucky enough for us leg 3 runners the sun took its midday siesta behind a cover of cloud and a light breeze added to perfect running conditions! Descending off Lug, I could still smell the sweat of some poor 50-odd runners suffering under the merciless midday sun of last week (oh, wait that might just be me…) whilst thoroughly enjoying the hopping, bouncing and stumbling downhill this time. In the meantime Greg, Zoran and Finbar had raced to an absolutely uncontested win in (some ridiculously) super-fast time. I’m pretty convinced my own teammates Stephen and Ger could have given them a run for their money, had they swapped me for someone fast ;) Keep that in mind for next year, guys! And the 4 soloists Gareth, Alan, Mike and Pol had us believing they’d gone for a jog in Marley Park, they seemed so unfazed by the mere 53km they had just covered – well done!
As usual, huge thanks goes to Philip and his helper crew (Rachel, Brendan, Peter) – it’s an early start and a big time commitment for the benefit of us lucky few (who would cry in disappointment if the Lug relay disappeared from the calendar).
Rachel you’ve been superb at promoting the event, putting teams together and ferrying people back and forth to help us solve logistical challenges that we seem less able to cope with than the navigational ones! And even if we weren’t quite as fortunate to have a lovely BBQ at the end of the day, enjoying the (returned) sunshine outside Fenton’s pub (who have learned to stock up on Blackcurrant and crisps when an IMRA crowd is approaching) after a perfect day in the hills was more than we could have asked for! :) So let’s hope more people will join in the fun of this great event next year.

Having provided us with so many hours of enjoyment this season, I think Lug certainly deserves to be crowned mountain of the year 2013! So which will be the candidate for 2014…?