Unknown

28 November, 2009

- Sugarloaf Rush
Report by Patrick Mason
On the doorstep of the Wicklow mountains there stands a sharp cone of naked glistening quartzite which dramatically bursts out of the landscape to tower above Bray and Enniskerry with a presence akin to that of Mount Fuji over Tokyo. The Great Sugarloaf has all the striking features and appearance of a true mountain. For those preparing to run up and down this massif, it is a quite intimidating sight. Except it isn?t a mountain. At a height of only 506 metres, it is simply a small, albeit impressive, hill.... and its much closer than it appears.
The race is surprisingly short - only 3.7 km and 213 metres ascent - with much of it run over a gentle gradient and on easy-going terrain. However, this pretend mountain does try its best to challenge those who attempt to belittle it in that the final 30 metres of ascent is scree and broken crags and as steep as any of the Irish mountain races. The sort of terrain that makes mountain running so much fun.
So this was what lay ahead of the 127 hill runners who lined up for the second race of the Arup Leinster League. Inevitably, with such a large number of runners, the start was somewhat congested, but since the first half-mile was over road, this allowed plenty of opportunity for overtaking in a civilised manner such that, by the time the pack had turned onto the grassy path leading to the hill, the field had spread out into the usual formation.... with Paul Nolan at the front.
I had barely reached the scree slopes on the way up before Paul hurtled past me on his way down, followed shortly afterwards by Eoin Keith and Killian Mullet. Paul was not only on his way to victory but also breaking the race record in a very impressive time of 17 minutes and 47 seconds. Eoin and Killian took second and third respectively. Aonghus O?Cleirigh, not far behind, came is as first male vet. For the women, Nicky Cinnamond took first place followed by Roisin McDonnell as first woman vet, and then Karina Teahan. Men?s super vet victor was Maurice O?Hara and women?s super vet winner was Jane Watt. Ted McCormack was first junior. Sean Lambe was first in the M60 category and Mike Gomm first M70. A commendable performance was also put in by some of the youngest IMRA runners Brendan O?Reilly (12) and Robyn O?Reilly (10) who both completed the juniors course.
Meanwhile, as the winners were crossing the finish line, there were still a good few of us scrambling up and falling down the rocky summit. Fortunately, there were no serious injuries although I learnt in the Glencormac Inn afterwards that Isabelle Lemee suffered cuts and bruises on her left knee and Claire Lord complained of having sore elbows (from climbing the steep bit at the top apparently). Lets hope they both make a full recovery for next week.