Unknown

28 November, 2009

<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Total.htm">Total</a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg104.htm"> Leg 1 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg2.htm"> Leg 2 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg3.htm"> Leg 3 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg4.htm"> Leg 4 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg5.htm"> Leg 5 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg6.htm"> Leg 6 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leh704.htm"> Leg 7 </a>
<a href="http://www.imra.ie/ad-hoc/Leg804.htm"> Leg 8 </a>

Wicklow Way Relay Three

The third running of the Wicklow Way Relay was dominated by one team, The Blister Bunch lead by Gerry Healy. They led by a margin of 38 mins. at one stage and got so far ahead they even managed to arrive at a stage end before the official marshall. But in the end although they finished with a record time of 7.17.21 the margin was a relatively modest one of 13mins.

However this does not tell the whole story, there was many a battle along the route, as a perusal of the results will show. Eoin Keith a past winner won three stages only to finish with a bronze medal. Last year?s winners Setanta Scallywags had a very consistent relay coming second without any stage wins. The now Ex Chairman?s Team made another valiant attempt to show that the event can be won by a team of eight but some late changes and injured runners thwarted them in the end. The prize for the most encouraging / demanding manager must go to Kevin Grogan who followed and hectored his runners all along the way, yet in spite of a stage win by Paul Moran failed to make the medals.
Notable good runs by members of teams not to figure in the first few were by Wieslaw Sosnowski of Eagle A with one stage win and one second and Laura McGinley of Team The Wicklow Way Luas.

In the final few days before the race there were many team changes but at short notice if you can call upon Bill Fairmaner, Una May and Liam O?Rian who is complaining. One consequence of the late changes however was the noticeable neglect of the rule, which states that you know your route with many runners seeing it or a description of it for the first time.

There was a carnival atmosphere in Shillelagh where a large crowd gathered to cheer in the finishers and the anecdotes of the day began to filter through. The most common one concerned keys which as usual played a huge part in the WWR. To improve on previous performances one team managed to lock two sets of different car keys in the boot of a very well made car, which was relucant to give them up. The speed merchants The Blister Bunch were down one car after loosing car keys at stage two, competing teams were unkindly heard to say how would they manage if they lost a second car? A missing mobile phone, recovered at stage two end moved down the line, stage end by stage end to arrive quicker then its owner?s team.
Some took the briefing notes too seriously like the pair who were seen furiously seen looking for the green post box (should read letter box) mentioned in notes to leg 4 while overlooking the WW signpost. However the many runners who ended up in Tinahely must have read no briefing notes. As the evening wore on the Tinahely story gets better with anecdotal evidence of many runners accepting a lift from a farmer down Mangan?s Lane through Tihahely to Derry River.
The small number who stayed the night, mainly in tents courtesy of Shilelagh GAA club, finished off a great day in style.