Mount Claragh- A Hell Of A Slide.

17 March, 2024 - Martin Cooney

I've wanted to do Mt. Claragh for about 5 years but never got the chance. Now; a very wet and dreary day was upon us when I met with Frankie C at the usual carpark. Frankie decided to drive which I was happy with as I drove down beyond Mallow 3 times in 3 weeks for various reasons, races included!

We get on the road and make it to the Limerick Tunnel toll. Frankie throws in the money and next thing he says "hold on to this!". I have no idea what he is on about but next thing a rake of coins are thrown into my hand. The change-basket from the toll booth is full- three handfuls of money are got before setting off again. "It was worth the morning already buddy, we're up €9", I tell him. On we go delighted with ourselves- we were like 2 teenagers finding £20 (in the 90's) and deciding we were going on the lash for the day! The roads were quiet all the way to Millstreet apart from all the Slow Sunday Drivers who decided they were getting a head-start on the weekend. 30km per hour in a 100km zone- they'd have driven us demented if we weren't so happy with our toll winnings. We land in Millstreet just after 10.30am just as a deluge of rain starts lashing against the car.

Out of the car & on with our best rain-jackets. We head over to the IMRA Munster van to check in. Most of the volunteers are there as Lisa checks us in. I start chatting with probably the best IMRA volunteer ever, Damien McDonnell. He has been injured for a good while now but his happy demeanor always shines through. Michael McSweeney walks by and a bit of chat had; he is heading the Maurice Mullins 50km next week- no doubt going to kick it's bum! Ide Kelleher commends me on my Rahan Woods race-report, I am happy to know that someone actually read it! As we get changed, my hero Ted Feehan comes over to me and asks if we have a spare pair of runners as he has forgot his. I am only delighted to help him out & it turns out we've the same shoe size so one fitting later, another happy runner is sorted.

"Will we go for a warm-up?" Frankie says just as the the wind picks up and the rain gets heavier. I look over at him with a confused look as we could nearly starts swimming now instead of running. I give Frankie the same look that Brendan Gleeson gives in that scene from 'The Guard' when he goes off on a rant; "if you think that standing on a f**king pier in Rossa-f**king-veal in the f**king rain at 2 o'clock in the f**king morning, waiting on a f**king boat that isn't going to f**king show is exciting"... Frankie knew the look so we just sat in the car for a while!

Eventually it gets to 11.30am & we bite the bullet. We go for a warm-up for the first kilometer of the race. We pass the grotto and meet a couple of volunteers saying a decade of the rosary, possibly asking that Noah's Ark doesn't pass by any time soon. We've had enough of the warm-up so back to the car. By the time we get back, the rain has eased & we are actually feeling warm. A slight change to our gear with lighter rain jackets decided on. I am even brave enough to leave the jacket in the back of my hydration vest. Jeremy (RD) calls us all together for the race briefing which is well detailed and has backed it up by having volunteers at every intersection- brave souls one and all. Then tells us to line up as a lead car will take us down the road for the first kilometer.

3, 2, 1, Go- and a flurry of feet start pattering down a wet road. I take off easy enough as just not feeling it in my legs yet. I count the people in front of me and I stopped counting at 20. Michael McSweeney is just in front of me and Frankie C just ahead of him. We ease our way down the road before it flattens & then goes upwards. Michael and I are inching along slowly catching up with some of the runners in front of us just as we hit the intersection of the grotto. We turn left onto a boreen road which takes us up a slightly steeper gradient and after 600m more, we are marshalled into the woods section by Caroline O'Sullivan.

I am just hanging onto Michael as we pass another couple of runners. It is a steep muddy section but it could've been worse but for the shelter of the trees. We get up to another junction and are turned left out along the edge of the woods. I can now feel the chill of the damp wind as it rushes in from our left side. Michael asks me my age & I tell him. He is delighted as we are in different age groups so he reckons he has a chance at a category win. Me, I will be glad to just finish uninjured! He also tells me that it is only 1km from the gateway to the cross at the summit. We turn right & I decide that I need to tie my lace before hitting the open mountain- this has become like a ritual during races for me now. By the time I am going again, Michael is 30m ahead of me as he is going through the junction out onto the open mountain.

I get to the junction and realise just how wet it is- fair dues to you Jeremy, you weren't bull-craping when you said it was really wet. It is pure slop underfoot with a sprinking of rocks and mini-streams thrown in. I trudge my way up along this section, not even able to run as it is too slippy. I can see 5-6 runners ahead of me which includes Michael and Frankie. I pass 2 of them by simply power-walking. As we hit a small plateau, I can see a marshal and the leading runner coming down against us. Onwards I go knowing that in about 500m, I will be turning to make my way down. I am not losing or gaining ground on the runners ahead of me. As I hit the summit, I have worked out that I am in about 13th position. We traverse around the cross and start our descent- and what a descent it was!

I pass out the guy who was just in front of me just before the terrain gets really technical. I am running/slipping hard but trying to be careful as one fall & you will be wiping blood off you. I power on down as best I can, navigating through the runners coming uphill and the limited lines of terrain which you can safely go down. "Go on you mad thing", I hear as I pass Frankie in a muddy section. Go on? - it's just that I am not able to stop! I see Carol Finn in front of me & she is staying on the gorse-edge for grip so I follow her. It is ideal- I gain some control of my descent and eventually pass her. This descent is like one of those home-made slides that parents came up with to shut their kids up during Covid- no safety statement required for this, just warning and hazard signs!

I can see the gateway back in off the mountain but then take 4-5 slides that I manage to control. I start laughing, mainly because I haven't fallen but also feel like I am 12 again and carefree. Either that or maybe I am just losing it. We go back into the section at the side of the tree line and I can see Michael is in front of me again. Up the little bump and it flattens out. I can see we are just about to go into the forest section and I am only metres behind Michael. As I catch him which is very rare, he encourages me to run hard as all the runners behind me are road-runners. We descend downhill through the woods, turning left, then right before going down a steep slope to exit the woods. I struggle to slow down but manage to stay upright before exiting with encouragement from Caroline.

Out onto the boreen road with 1.5km to go, I run as hard as my recovering hernias will let me. I turn right, pass the volunteers who are still saying the rosary and continue pushing until I get to the uphill finish with 300m to go. I hold onto my position as I cross the finish line as Michael is further back than I thought... Then I stand over under a doorway with a father and daughter. The man just starts laughing at me as I am soaked to the bone and covered in muck... and now I am looking to stay dry- a bit late he reckons!

Frankie gets in a minute or two later. We squelch back to the car and get changed, delighted with ourselves that we made the decision to travel the hour and a half. What a buzz this race was! Next time, it such be organized when it icy, just to make it difficult!
Congrats to Kealey and Finn on their race wins; to Frankie C on his category win and to Michael McSweeney (on his 2nd place in his Category- sorry but Joe O'L got the win there)!

Many thanks to Jeremy as RD and all of the volunteers who showed up so that the rest of us could race. The volunteers who were on the upper section should get extra volunteer credits after staying up there on such a wet and windy day!

See you Mount Claragh in 2025 and remember to always check the toll booths for change!