The Kingdom

12 February, 2018 - Barry Murray

With the commute distances to races around Munster taking a lot longer compared to my days racing around Wicklow, it was nice to have a local one on the calendar.

Waking up to a blanket of snow in Annascaul surrounded by white mountains, I wasn't sure if the race would actually go ahead. Left the house in a blizzard and drove on snow covered roads but the Dingle Peninsula seems to have several micro climates. After about 2km from Annascaul, heading towards Tralee Bay, the snow disappeared and the roads just became wet. The temperature didn't drop much and it certainly wasn't a day for the fair weather runner.

If you stayed in bed and just thought it was too cold, then seeing the numbers of kids and juniors running on the hills on a baltic wintery morning would make you feel a bit soft. It was great to see the youngsters that turned up and were off running in the hills before the adults race. Really gives a family and community feel to the races and with all the other indoor distractions these days, its so good to see kids outdoors.

The course itself was a part of the peninsula I didn't know. Up the side of a hill outside Blennerville overlooking Tralee Bay. After 2 races in the woods, I was happy to be back out in the open mountains.

Lots of runners shivering before the start so it was nice to get going. I decided to go off fast and see what could be ventured. Up onto the first bit of single track and I was in 2nd just behind Mark Nolan. We had a nice little rocky climb up onto the side of the mountain and Mark started to pull away. I stayed in 2nd with a Sean Quirke right behind me. On the first little downhill descent, I caught back up with Mark. Its what I like about IMRA races in that you can make up ground on guys that are faster runners then you on the road if there are technical downhill sections. You have to watch your feet and pick the right line over the rock and through the mud. As I did this, I passed Mark and moved in the lead. First time leading a MMRA race and it was the early stages, maybe just 1km done. I knew we had a turnaround point at 4km so I planned to just hold on. Probably a bit fast for me to start out with as I normally do better by building in to the race. But no harm in a change.

The track flattened out a bit but was still uneven underfoot and you had to tip toe over rocks and mud. I just tried to keep a steady pace but could hear the 2 lads breathing behind me. At the turnaround, Sean passed me and upped the pace a notch. I tried to stay close but he gradually got away. I still had Mark behind me but he also stepped on the gas. Maybe I went out too fast as I couldn't keep up.

With the last couple of k's to go I knew we had the last technical section to do and a bit of a descent to the finish. I could see the two lads ahead, and saw Mark overtaking Sean. I was sort of stranded in 3rd place at this stage and wasn't able to make much ground up on them. Nice bit of hail came down just to remind you of the weather and there was a nice open mountain section on a rocky trail to bring you down the the finishing straight. Had to settle for 3rd but a good ol ding dong battle.

Another very well run event especially with the conditions. Plenty of marshals out on the course which was probably the most difficult job of the day so fair play ! Hot drinks and food after in the pub in Blennerville warmed everyone up. Another great day out in the Kingdom.