Kicking quartzite

09 October, 2023 - Rob Tobin

https://www.strava.com/activities/9991944623/overview

It’s Day 2 of the annual racing festival at the Kilmacanodrome and the atmosphere is palpable. My transfer from registration to the start line involves a right turn out of Kilmac GAA, taking in the finishing straight for all three races on Saturday’s packed race card. My fingers feel an autumnal chill as I start out along this tree-lined trail. I wonder to myself whether gloves might have been warranted in October. After a few hundred metres I part with that thought, hitting a pocket of warm dry air, a strange Sugar Loaf scirocco that reminds me of running in more arid climes. After a few strides I break through this bubble but the relief is short-lived – here come those Santa Ana winds again. My reflections on this warm-up are that I haven’t raced in such oppressive heat all year and this isn’t going to be your average October morning running in these hills. With that, I pivot and head down the lane towards the race start.

At the start line, RD Graham briefs the field on marshall positions, road sections and road crossings and gives instructions for the all-important turnaround at Long Hill, keeping it concise and making sure to send us off on the stroke of half past eight. I lead out as we run uphill on asphalt for the first hundred metres. As we turn a right-hander we pick up two runners who’d just missed the race start on an extended warm-up. We turn off asphalt and at 300 metres I spot IMRA ticker tape leading up along single track to the left. For a split second I study both prongs of this fork and while the ticker tape gives greater confidence, the chasing pack are shouting to keep me on course and away from what had been the final stretch of Friday’s Womens Night Challenge. I should know better – I’d been on marshall duties around here just 11 hours earlier. The difference is night and day.

We turn left to pass through metal gates among houses and only now I realise the Friday and Saturday courses have merged. Over the next 2 kilometres the course climbs steadily at about 1 in 10 around the northern and western slopes of the Sugars Lump and Loaf. I break my stride for some of the steeper stuff and glancing over my shoulder I see Donatas is giving chase within about 30 to 50 metres. Reaching the crossing on the main route to the summit I am glad of a break from climbing and we turn right for a fast downhill section which will lead us to the car park. Donatas is now on my shoulder. Racing side-by-side downhill, we agree this is an exceptionally warm October morning for running. As Donatas assumes the lead my big toe snags on a loose lump of quartzite. I try to conceal my pain while keeping running and Donatas looks to his right as this rock hurtles downhill towards Calary. I’m speed hobbling and as we leave the car park for the first road section Donatas has built a lead of almost 100 metres.

We cross the main road at Calary and rattle across the cattle grid into Ballyremon Commons. At this point another 8 kilometres of speed hobbling is seeming just about manageable. I resolve to shape my pain into a determination to close this gap on Donatas. As the road undulates I lean into the inclines and reaching Long Hill I’m encouraged to find that the gap has been preserved but not extended. In Graham’s pre-race briefing we’d heard this was to be the turnaround, but reaching the summit I also recalled seeing a map with a small loop at Long Hill, so duly followed the race leader past the summit for a few hundred metres thinking we’d soon loop back around towards Calary. Instead, we soon reached a public road and I recognised this as the edge of Djouce Woods. Checking my watch for distance covered and estimating at least 6 kilometres from this point back to Kilmac GAA, I eventually figured there might not be a loop for us to close out here. Realising our mistake, I called after Donatas as he began his descent into the woods, made an about-turn and started heading back towards Long Hill.

Having added a little over a kilometre to the course, I make it back to the turnaround to find the race lead changing hands again. The race is now with Dave and as we run for home I continually wonder whether we’ll soon have Donatas chasing us both. I ignore all pain and push as hard as I can along relatively flat paved roads, regaining the lead on the way back to the cattle grid and pushing on to the car park at Calary. I stagger my pace again for the climb from the car park and looking back briefly I see two chasing within 100 metres. Up at the crossing, the marshall directs us to turn right and to keep left at a boulder. I wish I’d had the sense to keep to the left of a certain small boulder running around here 35 minutes earlier.

The trail leading back to Kilmac GAA begins with a rollercoaster kilometre-long descent at 18%, first through ferns on grassy hillside, then through gorse on a gravel track, skirting around the southern and eastern flanks of the Sugar Loaf before levelling out to a flat, fast finish. I work hard to extend my lead here but each time I plant my left foot on the steep downhill I’m painfully reminded of the earlier boulder-kicking incident. As the course levels out I meet the Sugar Loaf scirocco once more but I’m generating my own steam at this point. I roll through and over the finish line to take my first IMRA race win. I get lost in a haze of adrenaline, dopamine, finish line goodies and fresh sausage butties and I briefly forget any possible damage to my left big toe. Finalising this report with the benefit of 60 hours’ recovery time, I’m confident it’s just a bit of bruising and nothing a few days’ rest won’t mend.

Thanks to RDs Graham, Angela and all the crews who volunteered to make this bumper weekend of mountain running action so enjoyable and memorable for everyone who took part.