Intense from the start..

26 May, 2022 - Graham Ahearne

Circled a few target races in the calendar for the year and this was one of them. It was all I hoped it would be.

Most of my racing to date has been on the roads, and I generally tend to not run many hills as part of my weekly schedule but truth be told, I find trail races exhilarating! I enjoy getting out to Howth from time to time and generally tend to run the bog of frogs loop (mostly coastal trail). As far as I knew, this was mainly what Howth had to offer in terms of trail routes.

While soaking up the atmosphere beforehand around the registration area and chatting with some of the volunteers, I started to get some appreciation for how much work goes into organising an event like this. IMRA is an amazing organisation and I vowed to myself to do my bit by volunteering at an upcoming race. I knew Phil since we both coach juniors at the club and was great to see him in action running the show, with his family all there to help out too.

In general, was feeling good – some nerves but more relaxed than I expected. I’d no idea how the race would go for me, but whatever happened, I was happy to be there and be part of the experience.

Was so good to see a strong turnout from our club and especially to see so many juniors there, ready to take to the hills! Hats off to their coaches and parents for encouraging and supporting them on taking part.

For the last few months, I’ve been recovering from an injury, and gradually building the fitness back up.. last week was the first time in a long time to pick up the pace in training, and now this was going to be my first attempt to sustain a higher intensity for a longer period of time.

Since I was there early and had a decent amt of time before the start, I took the opportunity to walk the last 2k of the course one last time. I’d recce’ed the course twice in the last week (1st attempt I got completely lost, 2nd attempt less so) and was starting to get comfortable with the course layout and key turns, but wanted to be as clear as poss on the nav of the last 2k as I knew my brain would be mushy at that point and I’d be running on fumes. While up on the top overlooking the golf course, I met another runner, who was telling me how he’d bloodied himself last time while climbing up over the rocks. Reminded me that an important goal for this eve was to put in a good effort, but equally as important, aim to finish without any new injuries!

The crowd started to make its way down toward the start area. Short warmup jog and some light drills and I was ready, for whatever was about to unfold. Louise suggested getting out near the front early would be a good idea, to avoid congestion at bottlenecks along the way, so once we set off, I made sure to position myself somewhere near the front, and would assess then how sustainable that pace was. As we set off up the hill toward the golf course, I was following Baz and the field started to string out near the front. The effort level felt a little hot for me, at this early stage, since I knew there were many tough hills ahead, but I decided to keep up the effort level for the moment and assess as I went.

Into the gardens we went… At this stage, Baz was out of sight and Neilus was hot on my heels. Managed to get up onto the rock top cleanly and swiftly. Tricky section to navigate up there. Neilus passed me and I decided I needed to be realistic about what effort I could sustain for the race and was already running a bit hot so kept my effort steady and didn’t force it further, to chase him down.

As we ran along the boardwalk, I took a moment to look over my shoulder… spotted 3ish runners close behind (one was Kate)… pushed on, trying to make the most of the flat sections with some injection of pace. Up we went again, over the cairn and onto another runnable section. At this point, I could see Baz and Neilus in the distance.. they were running their own races.. I focused my efforts now on staying clear of Jennifer and Niall, who were keeping very close behind me, even as I kept what I thought was a good pace. The section that follows a narrow trail downhill towards the road makes for a thrilling experience.

Over the next few k’s, Jennifer, Niall and I jostled for position. They really kept me moving! Its times like this in races that help you get the most from yourself… when the runners around you challenge you and force you to push. At so many moments, I wanted to ease off and catch my breath but I knew that would mean letting them get past me and start to gap me.

Over Ben of Howth (felt easy ish since we were already high up at that stage) and down the boardwalk (I knew I’d been seeing that again, eek). I was holding 3rd place but they weren’t far behind. Round the reservoir we went (nice section to have in the course) and then started the struggle back up the hill. I was almost spent at this point and I knew there was still a decent bit to go. As I trudged up trying to keep some momentum, Jennifer and Niall moved past me. I let them go and in my mind, I conceded to keeping the effort at a decent level from here and I'd happily take 5th. Met Edel and a good few of the club juniors along the way over the next stretch. Cheered them on. Was so good to see them doing so well and getting close to home. Gave me a small mental boost heading into the final section (if the kids can do this, I can.. gotta show them what you do when it gets tough).

Entering the forest, I could just about make out Jennifer ahead and then shortly after, lost sight of her. I kept up the effort and started to push more as I knew it was nearly time to put in one last surge towards and through the gardens. As I was starting to barrel down the sloped trails of the forest, I realised Niall was right behind me and moving fast! I had to turn off the safeties and run the downhills faster than was anyway comfortable or rational for my brain, to stay ahead of him. As my feet rapidly moved across the terrain and momentum was carrying me down faster than I could control, I just went with the flow and hoped for the best.

As we reached the sharp right turn onto the gardens path, Niall was still right behind me. In the space of a second or two, I was continuing straight and very quickly corrected and ran to the right. Niall gestured for me to go on. I think he could have taken the opportunity to pass me here so I thought that was very gracious, if I read the situation right! With Niall continuing to press the pace behind me, I threw everything into the last few 100 mtrs, determined to finish with no regrets.

At last, the finish line was in sight.. such a welcome sight. I guessed I’d crossed in 5th or thereabouts but was in no state to be sure. Phil handed me a voucher and said I’d finished M3. I was very surprised to see Jennifer finish after me and seems she took a wrong turn somewhere near the end, when she was out of sight in front of me.

Was delighted to see Kate and Zoe come in shortly after. Looking at Zoe’s face as she finished, I could totally empathise as that was exactly how I felt too as I finished.

Unusually, I was in no rush to be somewhere after, so I got to hang out and enjoy chatting with ppl I’d met before and ppl I hadn’t. There was a nice vibe, as there always tends to be at IMRA events, but this one was special since it was local to us and had a lot of participation from the club. Chatted briefly with one of the juniors and her mother in the car park while on the way back to the car - the junior apparently was buzzing after the event and loved it! (so good to hear)

Overall, being honest, I found the race very intense from start to finish and due to that, didn’t find as much time or headspace as, in a way, I’d like, to enjoy the experience, but maybe that is what’s needed to compete. I did feel like backing off the intensity quite a few times but kept pushing - think I'll take some mental resilience gains from the experience. On reflection, perhaps if I started out a little slower, I could have built into the effort and it would have felt more controlled and enjoyable, but who knows!

This race opened my eyes to a lot of new trails in Howth that I wasn't aware of, which is a side benefit of such races. The gardens and forest past the golf course have a very magical feeling to them - recommend them to anyone for a short hike / explore.

Thankfully after the race, later that eve and the morn after, my leg feels fine - I rolled the dice and managed to get through the experience without any new injuries or flared up older ones. I take a lot of confidence now from this, on how ready I am to keep building up the training load and intensity over the coming weeks and months.

For anyone that hasn't tried out an IMRA race or any sort of hill/trail event, I really recommend them. Great way to mix things up and if you are a road runner, I guarantee you, after running hills like these, you will be more conditioned to cruise over undulating roads that used to feel more difficult.

Huge thanks to all the volunteers for putting on such a great event, and well done to all that ran it. This race, for me, brought together all that is great about Howth and IMRA, in one event - what a combination it makes!