Lost and Found

27 October, 2024 - Ed Payne

Wicklow Way Race, Ed Payne.

I don’t know what it says about IMRA but I have only partaken in two runs with them this year, registration for the first was in a casino and for the second it was in a bar!! As they say, run responsibly!!
What is it about an evening start to a race that just plays with your head?? What to eat? When to eat? When leave the house? Attempts to get last minute nano naps in, cause God knows your gonna regret not trying in a few hours’ time. Race day started as nearly all days do for me, wake up, milk cows, drink tea, do jobs, eat. This day was to be a little different, after all above was done and the boys were sorted Jen, and I packed the crew car with the usual array of crap you need to self-propel your way through 127km of running. We headed East on a nice clear Friday afternoon, drove through some showers of a biblical nature, had diner (How civilized!) and arrived at the bar for reg in good time. Jen tried to keep me off the phone as she drove over that day but failed to convince me sleep was more important than telling people who don’t really give a shit that we are on a road and it’s raining!!
Reg was a well-oiled machine, from an organisation point of view, I however was my usual mix of nerves and excitement which plunged straight into embarrassment when I had to be corrected by John-Joe that he was actually, John-Joe and the guy who looks absolutely nothing like him is Rowan. Open up and swallow me now I asked!! Quick mention of my dress sense, compliments of same! Over to bag check then and asked to show three random items. I don’t know who the young girl on bag check was, but she was very keen to see I had my compass with me, I keenly showed it and put it away again!! Little did we all know how big a part bearings and sense of direction was going to play in the night to come.
We left the warmth and temptation of the bar and walked back to the car and start line. A bit of shut eye, a few quick chats, a few nibbles, a crew plan, a few familiar faces, many nerves, much excitement, a race briefing and we were ready for off. Go the boss said but not before you all complete some sort of
“After you”
….
“No no, After you”
…..
Then you both go at once and get stuck at the hips together!!
Repeat this a few times
Add a few onlookers!
And finally, you put manners aside, squeeze out through the wall and just go ahead of them!!
“Thanks” you shout into the darkness and then your off for real!!

As always, the nerves dissipate with the first few meters, thoughts turn to the task at hand, the past cannot be changed. From here all you can do is write a story you’ll be proud of.
IMRA hid the Wicklow hills in darkness from me again but maybe that’s is when they are at their best I don’t know…..yet. The night was beautiful, the sky clear, the moon full, the air warm and city lights brought Dublin to life.

Footsteps feel into time with mine,
“I think I recognise you! Your Ed Payne, right?”

Oh, shit I thought, either I owe this lad money, or he wants to talk to me and cause my heart rate is probably running 40/60 beats faster than his, this conversation is gonna hurt either my wallet or my lungs!! Thankfully he wanted to talk and didn’t notice me easing the pace to hold the chats and it felt good to clip a few KM with him and just roll along. He ran outta patience and outta my view a while later and I was back inside my head.

I was rolling ok, passing an odd one, being passed by an odd one, CP1 came, Jen on it as always, all good. Course was great, we were doing our thing. However, in the back of head I knew my watch was not in the game, a few glances at the map screen and it had just felt odd. Somehow or through some silly upgrade I hadn’t noticed I now had a slightly annoying voice speaking to me and telling me about some of the turns, not them all but some. More chats, and more alone time, all good. 40km done.

Then a crossroads, no yellow man, go right sure, looks kind of right, glance at watch, trot on. 500 meters glance at watch ….. oh shit, turn around, run back uphill, yep up hill. Same crossroads, turn right again, now I’m going straight, right? Why didn’t I go straight first, Ed you are a dumbass. Trot on, glance, am I still off?? No, I’m right, my watch is definitely playing up, trot on. A Kilometre, maybe more maybe less…. Cul de sac!! But I’m right?? I’ve tried 2 of the 3 possible options, I know it wasn’t left, so was I bloody right when I went right first?? No way, Oh Ed you are a dumbass. Glance at watch.

(Right here was where I made my worst ever trail running decision, to date)

If I just go through this bit of forest, the trail is just the far side of it, I’ll be back on trail in a minute, great cause I was in an ok position, knocking around 10th place I’d say. Let’s go!
Thick forest wrapped me up, I was going downhill, I had to crouch, an odd clearing for a massive rock or random steep dip but generally it was just thick downhill forest. Out I came, no trail, a hedge, a fence, on the far side of that just a big open field, homely but not the trail!!
Phone rings, Jen,

“You’ve gone wrong!”
“You’re stating the obvious”, “Which way now?”
“Go back”

(Right here was where I made my worst ever trail running decision, to date)

“I thought the trail was out here, ok I’ll go back!”.

Uphill now, crouching, how far did I come? Straight up, I’ll be there soon, climb up, head down, I hate big Christmas trees, I must be there, it wasn’t this far! was it? that was downhill so this will feel harder, this is harder, I don’t need this, I was in a good position, where am I now? Go right, you’ve missed the clearing, I go right, still going up, must not be there yet, keep going, battery pulled out of headtorch, thrown into full darkness, find cable, reattach, keep going, Hair getting pulled, backpack catching in branches, fuse getting shorter …..
Phone rings, Jen,
“Your still not right”
“You still are right” ……. Oh the irony of how many times I had already gone right but was yet very wrong, a real life Ultra running Zoolander!!

At this point I’m crouched on one knee my headtorch only fit to light a very small area of what at that point felt like a forest that reached all the way to Clonegal! I flick my live location to Jen so she can track me, I needed to hang up so as my phone would use internet and track me, show Jen, and await a phone call back to tell me which direction to go next. Screen wet though, every action a test! We tick tacked a few calls.

Lillian calls, lets me know I’m lost, she is right too.
Reassure her that we’re sorting it.
Comforting call though!!

Jen calls, I’m going downhill again. I move faster than the four-way information triangle we have and just like that, like as if the world wants to show how tiny I am in the whole scheme of things I come out of the forest EXACTLY where I went back in from. Yes, I was back at the hedge, fence and open field, my two worst ever decisions while running had both ended me up at precisely the same point, an achievement in itself.
Phone rings, Jen…
“Where are you now?”
“I thought I was meant to be asking the questions?”….. “I’m where I was God knows how long ago, and I am not going back in that forest no matter what.”
“Go Right!”
The definition of insanity and all that but right I went, we stay on the phone,
“Look up”
“I see small tress!”
Newer tress, a weakness!!
“That must be it Jen confirms”
Short scramble upwards, forest track….. found again.

“What now?”
“Track back!!”
“At the crossroads?”
“Go Straight!!”
“Love you, Chat soon, Thanks!”

What just happened? How long have I been off trail? I was in an OK position, better than I was expecting!! I’m running now, I feel angry, how could I be so stupid. Straight back through the crossroads that I should never have even been at, no wonder there was no yellow man, anger/fury fills me!
Meet a runner, she corrects me, she knows things, she knows the turn. I shine my headtorch at the yellow man that I missed when I first passed, we are not friends!!
The hammer goes down, I’m moving now, fuelled by anger, dirty fuel that!!
I roll on again, road section, downhill, stretch them out, galloping now!! Someone says my name, quick glance!!

It’s Eoin, we fought battles together once, although on different fronts, but we won the war. Never met him, but I know him. He was full of good fuel, we had little in common just now, I was self-destructing!
“I got F**king lost”
“Man, you need to slow down!!”
Hammer down!! Run down, my breathing slows down, I'm calming down.
I gather myself….. a little. Pass two, Two pass me, catch two.
“Are you…..”
“I got F**king lost”
“We thought so!”
We’re pacing the same, I’m able to think again, I must. Two options from here, relax to a possible finish, sprint to a DNF.
Liam, Sean and I get to chatting, they knew the trail and they knew how banter works, we had a laugh, well they had a laugh at my decision making. I’m back now calming but damage done, I push a little again, I go wrong again…. Yes again. Dumbass.
Liam and Sean call out, my saviours, phone rings, Jen.
“I Know” I say
Call ends.
By now my mother-in-law as she always does is watching my dot from Scotland and my sister is watching my dot as she waits for her flight home from Las Vegas. I’ve said it before, I have a good team…. I need them all.
Liam and Sean are amused now, I deserve the stick I’m getting. Schoolboy errors!!

CP2
Had I not met and fell in with Liam and Sean when I did, I’m convinced my anger, and disappointment would have taken me outta the race at CP2. The thought of sneaking out under darkness and being home for breakfast would have brought me the murky comfort I was looking for. Instead, I was back in control (Mostly), new targets, came to finish, pass a few maybe, enjoy it, you’re a finisher. It’ll be bright soon.
It wasn’t long before I realised, I had burnt some important candles while I was in self-destruct mode and climbing was getting tougher and tougher and going up a steep section of boardwalk than was like a sheet of black ice I had to step aside, allow three pass and get my breathe back. It was time to steady the ship, and I did, smile on, the finish line the only goal and away I went.

CP3
Daylight surrounded us, Jen was in good form, my getting lost didn’t fill her with confidence but I was back on track and depending little or nothing on a wonky watch, daylight was a place of safety, and the job was on. Running nicely now, eating well, hiking strong the other runners around in great form and knowing that the darkness was behind us and the toughest of this thing was done. The general mood was lifting at this point.
Plenty of chats, the course was busy never long between passing or being passed so kilometres were disappearing.
DPD drivers out to cheer us along, other crews offering words of encouragement and I landed into the Dying Cow. As a farmer its not my most favourite place name, that said I did wonder if they do a good beef burger!! Met Noel, no intro needed, he’s a soldier too. Think he is trying to rob my crew, we’re ten years married next week, Jen likes living in the country, I’m safe, I hope, he’s cool though!!
25km to home. Time to get stuck in, I was maybe 10th before you know what happened, dropped to mid/late 30’s. Wonder am I near top 20?? Ring Jen!!
“Do me a favour please”
“Your 22nd overall”
Tom and Jerry, game on!! Pass two to be able live with myself!
Up and down we went, caught one here, caught two there.
One came back at me, wow he is moving, are they all coming back?
Lift the knees, hike strong!!
5km left, watch telling me I’m 132Km into the 127km already!!
Clonegal, where the hell are you??
Spent more of this last 5km looking back than I did looking forward, not sure what I had left if I saw a body closing in. One last turn shows that sign I needed, Clonegal is found, I see Jen ahead, she is happy, she is always happy, where is Noel? Good banter!!
Cousin and crew Robbie there too to bring me home.
“All the way, round, touch the sign!!”
Done.
138Km my watch tells me but when it comes to this activity, I don’t and won’t believe a word that retched thing says!! 17th place overall, something to be proud of, a school day like none other, a piece of granite I will love to hate until I get it a more deserving twin.

Goes without saying thank you as always to all the volunteers who helped to bring this night to life for us all. A pleasure as always to start and finish an IMRA race, I’m starting to realise it’s a special kinda thing is IMRA.
Although in the heat of the moment I was “Lost”, the team had an ever-watchful eye on me and I was in no danger, only that of my own stupidity. I unpacked the maps and compass from my pack the next day and smirked at them and thought of that very important and accurate kit check and said to myself, Wicklow Way Race your unfinished in my book!!

From DNF to Clonegal

24 October, 2024 - Darragh White

This year’s Wicklow Way journey began the moment I decided to DNF last year. The Eco-Trail two weeks prior and a cold I was trying to ignore, left me shivering outside Glenmalure, waiting for a rescue. I’ve never subscribed to the ‘death before DNF’ philosophy. There are far worse things in life, but it taught me to respect this race and vow to make WW24 my sole focus for the next year. My training would be all about hills and distance; speed could wait. This was personal.
Fast forward a year to Marlay Park. It’s much warmer, but the memory of that unexpected cold night lingers as I wait. I’m giddy and eager to start. I know I’ve trained enough. I know if I can do it, I will do it. I really hope I can do it. I remember someone finishing last year well outside the cut-off. Fair play to them; I admire that. If it comes to it, I vow to do the same this time. There are no gates in Clonegal to stop me.
Lillian gives us the talk, and I picture the gates she warns us to close. I imagine myself closing them with a smile, knowing I’m not far now. It feels good, like Jonny Sexton seeing the ball go over before he kicks it. I’m brought back to reality by the crowd moving toward the gate. We’re off. Grand. Let them go; I’ll spend the first 10K loitering at the back, just warming up for the first hour. See you later, boys!
It’s ridiculously warm for the time of year. I’m sweating buckets just walking that first hill, but I’m grand. Happy to tuck in and let myself drift until I reach the top. Once there, I know I need to stay alert. I’ve fallen on that stretch many times during the day. This is not where I want my race to end, so I keep my eyes and lamp on full beam until I reach the road and can start to pick up the pace a bit.
Down the road, over the bridge, up into the woods, and I’m feeling great until suddenly I’m not. My stomach starts to spin, just a little at first, then a whole lot. Everything’s gone a bit miserable as I continue towards Crone. I remember reading not to underestimate the first leg, but I’m being careful and still feel like death. Not again. I think of last year and how that went. Oh no!
I make it into Crone car park and go straight to Derek. He asks how I’m doing. “Grand, stomach is a bit rough though.” I see him looking at my face, and I know he can tell. “Just run like you’re out for a run,” he says, stuffing my pockets with Tailwind and water. “OK,” I say, unsure of myself, and start the hike up to Djouce. On the way, I meet Declan, and we talk for a while. I can feel my spirits lifting along with my stomach as I get violently sick mid-sentence. Once that little indignity is over, I think back to my instructions and go for a run with my mate Declan. I couldn’t be happier. Coming down from Djouce, I feel invincible and push on while I can. I ignore my watch and admire the stars, the moon, the sounds of the deer, the headlamps stretching out like pearls as far as the eye can see. What a privilege it feels to be in this moment.
On I skip to Glendalough, where Derek is waiting. The look of concern is gone from his face. I must be looking better, I think. Onwards and upwards! And upwards and upwards and up and up, then down a bit, and past Glenmalure with a little smile. Then I notice someone shouting at me from way up high. “You’ve gone wrong! Go back and come up.”
Ah, FFS! But not to worry, he’s caught me before I could go too far wrong, and be in no doubt, I was on my way to too far wrong and beyond. “Is that you, Eoin?” “Yeah.” “You absolute legend, I owe you big time.” The two of us run on for a few hours into the dawn. A few others pop by, and I’m beginning to get into my groove little by little. My stomach is still in ribbons, and misery seems to come in waves, but I notice I’m only feeling miserable. I’m still able to keep going, whether I’m miserable or not.
This realisation gives me another lift as I enter Ironbridge, knowing the hardest part is behind me. Barring a disaster, I’m getting to Clonegal today. As I descend the steep slope, I see my little boy waving and ringing his bell. What a sight! It lifts my spirits ten feet high, and as we run together for a bit, I notice the lad’s got talent. He must think so too, because I can hear his howls echoing off the hills when I leave him and the family at the bridge. Not the first time I’ve left Elaine minding the kids while I head into the woods for a run.
I eat a blue slushy, and I can assure you, without a doubt, it’s the single greatest culinary experience of my entire life. On I go, smiling as I shut those gates behind me. On the way to the Dyin’ Cow, I pass the time doing a few sums in my head. If I run at this pace and spend that time at CP4, might I be on for 19 hours? I think I could, maybe I could. Could I? I ask the others; they seem sceptical. Maybe they’re right, but who cares? It’s worth a shot.
Up the pace, too fast, slow down, that’s better. Feeling good now. Feeling good? You shouldn’t be feeling good at this stage. Up the pace, see how long you can sustain it. On and on and on. This is silly. No, it’s not. Keep going. You can do it, and if you can’t, who cares? At least try.
Into Dyin’ Cow. Quick change. I look Derek in the eye, thank him, and tell him I’ve got this. I say to Eoin, “I think the 19 hours is gone.” “NO, it’s not!” he says without hesitation. I’m not sure if that’s what I wanted to hear, but I know its what I needed to hear. OK, onto Clonegal. 19 hours, let’s be having you! I run hard, give it everything. I pass a few and get passed once. Constantly looking at my watch, constantly asking my muddled brain to do sums. Just have to get there by four, I tell myself. Legging it out of the last wood and onto the road, I’ve got half an hour to run 5K. I know it’s not possible, but I try anyway. At about 15:55, with a KM to go, I finally accept it’s not going to happen and ease up. I use the last KM to gather myself and reflect on what I’ve achieved. Were I not so dehydrated, I might have even shed a tear. I picture myself as an old man looking back on my life, knowing today would be one of the days I remember. I think of my family waiting for me, how they were proud of me the day I DNF’d and how they would be just as proud of me today. I think of the volunteers, the race director, my fellow athletes, and all who worked so hard to allow eejits like me to feel extraordinary for a while. And I did feel extraordinary as I waddled into Clonegal and touched the sign in a beautiful 19 hours, 5 minutes, and 45 seconds.
Thank you to everyone and see you next year.

Keep on trucking

24 October, 2024 - Aideen Burke

I arrived at the start line beside myself with nerves, asking anyone in close proximity for last minute tips. This was twice the longest distance I had ever run and I felt like a total imposter standing amongst the great and the good of the Irish ultra running scene. The bright moonshine was promising though - it felt like the perfect night for a race like this.

I took it handy on the way out from Marlay to Crone. On the way up to Kilmashogue I ran with Clare Keeley for a bit who mentioned in passing that it was possible to finish in around 17:30 if you arrived at Crone in 2h50. This was much faster than I expected to run the race in but her words stuck with me and I stayed patient and took my time on this first leg. Arrived at Crone in 2h40 with an army of IMRA volunteers at the ready to help with water refills and my drop bag. I decided against a crew as I had no idea what time I’d arrive at each checkpoint but in hindsight, I’m not sure a crew would have done as good a job as the amazing volunteers. After a bit of faffing I headed out of Crone, struggling through a ham sandwich on my way up.

Crone to Glendalough was just spectacular. To run among my favourite hills in Wicklow under the stars felt so special, and the moonlight was so bright that I turned off my headtorch for large chunks of this section to enjoy the night sky in all its glory. I didn’t feel like eating any of the snacks that I had packed so I just kept going with gels, water and an energy drink. The climbs somehow felt easier in the dark and I just focused on taking the next step up, not thinking too far ahead. I passed Imogen and then Nicola along this section but can’t recall where and they both seemed so strong I was convinced it was only a matter of time before they’d catch me again. I had some nice chats along the way and didn’t feel the time pass at all.

Before arriving at Glendalough I was told that I was first lady which was slightly terrifying but also a little exciting. I was also told that my eldest daughter (who was at a sleepover) had been sending messages to my tracker profile during the race, which gave me a huge boost. Glendalough aid station was magical - fairy lights, a big fire, potatoes, huge encouragement and, again, a super team of volunteers at the ready. Transition tactics let me a little but I was eventually out. I spent most of this section alone, headtorch off, enjoying the stars and the sounds of the deer (stags?) around me. I struggled through a ham sandwich as I hiked out of Glendalough but otherwise stuck to gels, expecting my stomach to turn but it didn’t.

Mucklagh was a lovely, low key affair and it was a wonderful surprise to see some familiar faces at the CP with lots of encouraging words and help with water bottles and some chats. I did not feel like eating at all but was encouraged to do so and am glad that I did. I somehow managed half a pack of tepid, sticky noodles and headed out again.

The next section seemed to pass quickly. I hadn’t recced anything past Mucklagh so it was all a surprise to me. The sunrise and low-lying cloud in Tinahely was magical and I enjoyed this section so much more than I expected to - not so many hills but not as much road as I thought there would be. I couldn’t eat anything so kept going with the gels which, inexplicably, were still going down well. Met a few runners on this section and was so grateful for their encouraging words, which definitely helped me to keep going.

Arrived at Dying Cow knowing that Nicola was behind me but was not sure by how much. I badly needed to changed shoes as I had a few blisters so threw on some new socks and road shoes - faffed too long but was on my way eventually. After a quick text to my brilliant coach Lianne, it seemed that Nicola wasn’t far behind at all. After some initial panic I just focused on staying at my pace but tried to push, especially on the flat and downhill. This was the only section that I really struggled with, especially the last 5km as I had miscalculated how far away from the finish I was, and had been led to believe that the last 5km was all downhill (it’s not!!). I spent the entire leg convinced that Nicola was going to come around the corner and pass me out, or that my legs would seize up or I would take a wrong turn. A very stressful leg overall!! I was dismayed to reach the ‘Welcome to Clonegal’ sign only to realise there was further still to run (probably not more than a few hundred metres but it may as well have been 10km)! I eventually reached the finish and arrived to a lovely, low key welcome and an impressive lump of granite that will take pride of place on the mantelpiece for years to come.

This race was a means to an end for me - a big enough goal to distract myself for another few months of what has been a really difficult year, having lost my brother unexpectedly back in March. Things took a turn for the worse a few weeks before the race when my husband became seriously ill and then, a week before the race, another close family member passed away suddenly, all of which left me unsure of whether to start the race at all. In the end I did, and made sure to savour and be grateful for every minute of it - the magical moonlight, the wildlife, the sunrise, the random chats along the route, the people out supporting at the CPs and along the route at all hours of the night and morning.

Winning this race - even finishing sub 20 - was so far beyond my expectations. I’m not sure if I could ever repeat it. However, my biggest take away from the race wasn’t the win but the experience itself. Anyone who has run this race - even supported it - should never underestimate how lucky we are to be in the tiny minority of people who get to do so.

God bless those quads

23 October, 2024 - Joan Ryan

Where do I start? I like the idea of ultra running and I dipped my toe in it doing the Sli Gaeltacht a couple of times a few years ago. The first time I got a stress fracture in my foot and the second time was during storm Denis - I pretty much lost part of the heel of my right foot that day. After that I didn’t think too much about long trail distances.
Late last year I read Angela Flynn’s report on her 2023 Wicklow Way. I really love her attitude and she didn’t let a thing like 3 little letters stop her from completing this route. Thanks Angela for being an inspiration to me and giving me the courage to give it a go.
I decided the more people I told I was planning on doing it the more pressure I would be under to do the training and actually do it. This seemed like a good plan but as months passed that pressure did start to build little by little until I wasn’t looking forward to the prospect of entering the race. Other things in life were making things hard going for me and even though I was pushing on with training I was feeling like I was just not at all fit enough. Good friends got me back on track mentally/emotionally and great running friends assured me I was in great shape for the race. So finally in late Sept I started to look forward to it without any pressure. I was going to start and see how far I got.
Race day arrived and the sheer volume of volunteers at registration was amazing. All helpful, smiling faces. Aileen was my crew and she got reassured from Avril about parking etc at Glendalough, which is the first point I’d meet Aileen.
Lillian gave a short but apt race briefing and we were off… very slowly filtering though the start stone style!
We were so lucky with the weather – sandwiched in between two storms. It was so mild that I ran the lot in t-shirt and shorts. The rain coat, leggings hat and gloves stayed in my bag untouched.
Some things that I had decided were key factors for me - keep my feet dry for as long as possible and they might last me for the full race. Try bank a good bit of time before Glendalough. Make time on the downhills. Keep an eye on my list of distance turn points – this was a short cheat sheet of places where sharp turns off fire roads could be easily missed in the dark and this worked really well.
Chatting to Richard for a nice bit of the earlier section. He did this last year, completed it and his longest run before that was 75km. That’s the farthest I had also run so that was nice to hear.
Rowan Walsh passed me at the barrier into Kilmashogue forest. He is the one friend that I knew that was in the race – we have a leap frog thing at races where he is faster up and I am faster down - and we wished each other well and he said he’d see me on the downhill.
I was chatting to Laura going up to Two Rock. There was a guy carrying his poles in one hand in front of us with the pointy end aimed backwards. I got completely zoned in on them. I neatly got hit in the face twice in the last few months where someone had slipped carrying poles like this and now I was picturing the nasty injury that was in my near future (please stop brain) so I bid my farewell and ran a few meters to get ahead of the danger. I ran along until there was a snaking line of people along the rocky section so progress slowed right down. I was conscious of time as this is the type of ground that I can make good progress. I tried to make a bit of time up once out on the road. Back into forest and then as we got closer to the Wicklow border I passed a few lads just before entering the single path there. From a recce I had done earlier in the year I knew there was another single track, technical section after you cross into Wicklow. Right there was a large puddle which I took my time to navigate around to keep my feet dry. Sweet. I made good progress here and on the fire-road after that I passed Rowan. I’m not good at recognising people in the dark so thanks for spotting me! ‘Good lucks’ traded again and I bounded on down, delighted with the long downhill.
Crone checkpoint with 15mins to spare and the place was buzzing. The help from the volunteers was amazing. Noel took my bottles and filled them while I tracked down my drop bag.
As our line of headtorches made our way up Djouce the sound of the rutting deer was amazing and frightening. They were screeching down in the valley. I was a tad concerned that some of them might get attracted to the lights and decide to attack but fortunately this didn’t happen. Any time I caught deer eyes reflecting back at me I would redirect the light down onto the track in front of me. I was glad that there were people to the front and behind me as I would have been scared to be up there alone in this scenario.
As I descended into Glendalough, while I was climbing over a timber style I was looking at the trail ahead and managed to catch my toe on the top of the style which immediately started a cramp in my hamstring. I managed to get my leg down and the cramp disappeared quickly, but it left me scared about if and when this would return.
Aileen was ready and waiting for me at the checkpoint in the car park. I checked in, admired the unbelievable spread of food on offer, grabbed a handful of blueberries and an orange segment and headed over to Aileen’s station. She was so organised and got me fed, water refills, batteries topped up and a sock change. Even though I thought this was a quick stop I got really cold. I put my extra buff around my neck and was fairly confident that I’d heat up again once I started moving. After a herd of deer crashed through the trees beside me I caught up with Eoin Mac before the long ascent started out of Glendalough. After the long climb up from Glendalough there was a very slippery boardwalk section followed by a downhill, bright gravel track. This track has the steepest camber or both sides so makes overtaking difficult. I passed two lads here with a bit of advance warning and as I passed the second lad he said “God bless those quads”. In hindsight maybe I should have eased up a bit on those downhills … but no, that’s where I enjoy myself so I’ll always speed on down.
Reaching the half way point I was feeling very good. I don’t run at night very often and I was really loving this experience. The moon had come out in full force early on and was lighting up the whole countryside. The hills didn’t seem so steep in the dark. Somewhere along the way I met Gerry and we ended up doing leap frog all the way to Mucklagh. Respect to anyone that gives this race a go while still recovering from a chest infection! Thanks to Andy or was it Gary, who described the section that is parallel to the military road before the forest to Mucklagh. I hadn’t realised it was parallel to the road for so long. That section is not nice underfoot with holes and bad camber. At this point the sun was starting to come up and light was getting better. I could see maybe 3 headtorches coming up a road to our right – I reckon they must have missed one of the arrows and gone down then wrong road. I felt bad for them. No one needs extra kms in this race.
On the climb up the forest road after leaving Military road a robin started singing wildly. He flew down and landed on the track right in front of me. He sang a short tune and flew on about 5 meters ahead landing on the track, looking at me and singing. He repeated this about 10 times. It was amazing. My Dad passed away in May this year and it felt like he was there encouraging me on.
Mucklagh was a few kms from here. I checked in and got a wonderful reception from the volunteers and Aileen! Aileen had a spread laid out on the side of the road between two cars. I changed all my clothes here and a change of runners. Eating wasn’t going great but I was keeping food down. I told Aileen I reckoned this section to Dying Cow was going to be the hardest. I decided to eat half a sandwich on the descent to Iron Bridge while I tried to get my legs moving again. Of course a bad inhale and part of the sambo tried to come down my nose. Unpleasant.
Some miles later there’s a long road section that ends with a nice downhill before you turn up a lane. I rounded the last corner before the lane and saw a dancing, purple dinosaur on the road waving and cheering. WTF?! It was Aileen!! What a crew I have. What a partner! That gave me a great boost as the next section from memory seemed like a never-ending, slippery, grass path, followed by a lane with millions of gates. That lane seemed much shorter this time, and less gates.
I had read on previous reports about an ice-cream van and getting a cone but I figured it was an in-joke and that it wasn’t fact. I was wrong. There was the ice-cream van! A beautiful cone while I was walking up the steep steps to the Worry Stone. On the road after these steps there was Aileen again, standing with cardboard?! She unfolded it and it said “There is a flight later. Hurry up” with a drawing of a paraglider in the corner! Class. Of course I wouldn’t be flying later but she knows my motivation buttons. (I‘m a paragliding pilot) She really lifted my spirits there. After the grassy track through the farm my legs did seem to get going again before I got to Dying Cow. Quick toilet break, in an actual toilet, and washed my hands and face with soap and water – oh the luxury!
Aileen had gone shopping as she knew I wasn’t eating much or well so she bought the shop. The great variety in the back of the van was hard to take in but my eyes fell on chocolate raisins. Oh heaven. Those I could eat. She threw handfuls into a small bag while I was changing into road running shoes and fresh socks. With that I had a half a ham and cheese sandwich in my hand and the raisins stuffed into my vest. It was almost impossible to eat that sandwich while trying to hike up the steep hill from Dying Cow.
I made my way slowly and eventually got to what I figured must be cardiac hill. A lad passed me here moving very well and we gave each other some encouragement that we were getting there. As I neared the top of the hill there was a unicorn dancing to Abba’s Waterloo. No, not a hallucination, it was Aileen again in a unicorn onesie. What a laugh!
Making my way uphill through the last forest I spotted Aileen again at the top of the hill. She was wearing an orange onesie this time and standing still with her arms above her head pointing to the left. She wasn’t moving at all and I figured I’d better up the pace as her arms would get tired. Then I realised it was a dead fern. After another while I thought I spotted her again but that once again was another dead fern! From here it was down to join the tarred road. Aileen was there again (yes actually her) with a sign saying “Are we there yet”. I was pretty spent at this stage and couldn’t stop or I wouldn’t get going again. She shouted encouragement and I shuffled along the road. That road to Clonegal is short but long. It was a mixture of walking, shuffling and possibly jogging. I was going better than I thought I would be and was thinking that I was so lucky to have gotten this far without injury, blisters or any niggles. I took a photo of the ‘Welcome to Clonegal’ sign and walked a bit to have the reserves to shuffle the last part into town. The cheers from the volunteers, supporters and Aileen rang through the air and I was so happy to round the corner and slap the sign. John-Joe from Primal gave me a great hug before he came after me with the scissors. A big hug for Aileen and said to her that we did it. Someone shoved the lump of rock into my hand – I had forgotten about that! Aoife took photos.
It was a great journey and I couldn’t have done it without my wonderful partner Aileen. She was amazing. Thanks to everyone that I met to along the way and chatted to. It made the road shorter.

THE LEGS,THE LEGS, WON’T SOMEONE PLEASE THINK OF THE LEGS

22 October, 2024 - Sean Forsyth

What an epic Night and day out on the Wicklow Way, hard to believe that its happened at all now that I’m able to sit and think a bit about it.
It wasn’t even on my radar for this year, I had other priorities early in the season that resulted in a DNF and many, many weeks and months of mental demons living rent free in my head.

A further health set back meant I lost a lot of opportunities to banish them over the summer leagues. After contemplating it briefly around May and a chat with Clare Keely about it then, I think it was end of July when I floated the idea to my family….fully expecting a F@#K off, after the previous training regime…I don’t know whether I was delighted or devasted when they said ‘Yeah sure, we believe in you and you have our full support’.
It was all about the training then, with very few chances at competitive level mountain running. Hey ho, I set about planning..fitting runs/hike/walks in wherever, whenever and with whoever I could (and that was a lot of people). A big thanks to all those who came out to play.

Anyway it all led to Marlay Park on Friday evening, a wonderful night weather wise. My wife and girls dropped me off and saw me through registration, then there was some tearful goodbyes for my youngest, and then back in to have wait it out. There was a great buzz and some good chat going around, which settled the nerves somewhat. It was a pleasure to meet Liam Costello and John Murphy, runners with WW experience and seemingly calm heads on them.

Down to the race line, some well wishes from various runners and volunteers, Dave Docherty Lillian and Alan Kennedy in particular, the race brief and then we were off.
It had been a bit chilly in the park but upon leaving I was feeling the heat already, so jacket off and tried to steady the pace and not get caught up. I’m a regular 140 %er so back of the middle of the pack (a true underdogs tale this), so I know my own strengths and heading out fast ain’t one of them. I caught up with Liam Kenny, and based on a previous recce, we agreed a seemingly good strategy to get us in and out of CP1 in good shape and hoping to bank an hour or so at CP2 and then go from there.

The going from Marlay was good, a nice ’balmy’ night (for October anyway) with a lovely moon above, helped plenty. We had a steady climb up and over Fairy Castle and down to Bonaralty bridge, all in good order, met a few other familiar faces from recces and races and some brief chats. At this point the food started to go in, pizza wrap bites and a berry, smarties and nuts trail mix, washed down with tailwinds…a steady rotation of these over the next few hours was the plan. We hit Price William Seat and headed down to Cloon wood at an easy pace, through ‘Lacken wood’ where we met a determined Aideen Burke, with whom we swapped places a few times. Onto to Crone CP and there was Derek, everything ready to go, words of encouragement buzzing from all volunteers and Kate Flynn kindly topping up my tailwind. Out we went with 20 mins to spare on cut off….Pressure off

Next up, we knew we had 6 hours to get to CP2, and some serious ascending to do, so it was a head down and push up towards Dargle valley, we passed Eoin Kelly doing some sterling work with his poles and went on climbing, Aideen caught up again near the top and again we swapped back and forth up to the Djouce stile…now normally this is my most hated part of the WW (not anymore) and I want it out of the way asap, so it was head down and grind it out until the boardwalk, no talking, no joking just pushing, eventually the bliss of the sleepers and some relief for my quads. Pace was picked up and away we went down to robbers pass…Aileen passed us here for the last time on her way to an amazing victory. On we went, making good time through to Ballinafunshogue portion of WW, at this point, the pizza wraps were not a friend, it took a long time to chew and swallow one bite. To my relief, we decided to slow the pace to a walk for a bit, in fairness I was starting on a bit of a low, the head was thinking about bed…already only 4 hours in. I just had to plough through it. We turned the head torches off and the moon light up our way, which it did to great affect…but not so much that it would reveal the stone I tripped on, for a big over dramatic fall, not much damage but with my head in a low, I was sort of hoping that it was a broken arm and I would have to pull out. No such luck, soon after we got running and hitting that narrow down trail through the woods actually lifted the spirts, more trail mix in and I was feeling okish, down through more woods to the fields and then the lane to the road to Oldbridge and I was coming up again. Stopped for a nice water break and felt refreshed, we met Ed Payne, and lopped along together for a wee bit up Gaffneys Lane and over Paddock Hill, running well, Ed left us there. On across the roads to Brockagh woods and the cross paths, when we seen a light heading off the wrong way, a shout and low and behold, it’s Ed again we kept together to CP2, having some good chats and a bit of a laugh. Kept the mind of the stomach. Into CP2 and we were well ahead of where we thought, we had banked 2 and a half hours and hour up on our target. Between that, some cold super noodles, Derek and all the other volunteers, the spirits were up..off we went.
The additional time was great and we decided to use it by keeping it easy out of Glendalough (I decided there that that was my new most hated place on the WW) up and up and up and up and then done, an absolute slog and my stomach was not in a position to take anything but water. Down into Glenmalure at a very decent pace and then up towards Drumgoff (I take it back…this is my most hated place) the going was slow and tough, we met Dave O’Brien with who we would swap positions with on and off for the remainder of the day. Onwards we went to Mucklagh CP and a lightened sky with sunrise fast approaching.

I’m sure of the physiology of the change the body goes through but once the sun hit the skin, my mind and stomach decided it was breakfast time and I was starving…bananas, fruitcake thick with butter and a bottle of coke and I was brand new. The encouragement from Derek, Lillian and other volunteers was unreal, a change of t-shirt and buff and I was raring to go.

Off we went, I hadn’t been tracking time or anything at this point but some one told me it was quarter to/past 8, still not sure which but I knew we defo had our 90 mins cushion still there. The next leg was were I started to hit the low again, we made decent progress through the 1st woods and down the roads to the lanes but they seemed longer than when recced, the constant change of surface was starting to take it’s toll and the sugar rush was wearing off..the long grassy climb around Ballycumber Hill was another head down and just march affair, we were caught up with by John Gary Moore and that gave some impetus to get running again, so off we went through the gates until we seen a hi vis volunteer at the last one. Now, there had been some talk of ice cream trucks in previous years but as nothing had been mentioned in race pack etc, I assumed that it wasn't a goer this year but the joy on hearing there was was unreal. A 99, what a treat, myself and Liam pushed on up the dreaded steps, I didn’t even think about them as I slurped away, a little rest at the top and it was walking again in good spirits. We knew there was a fair bit of road to the Dying Cow and the legs were sore, Liam's calf was giving trouble and I could feel the skin on the soles of my feet beginning to disintegrate from wet socks, I was fearing the worst that I had some blisters..also my shin started paining but as it was a distraction from the pain in my quads I though it was a good thing then. On we hiked, hit the road down from the lane and made good time running, until we didn’t, I had to move into a hybrid fartlek type run (sans the speed part) but in we came to CP3 and the welcome sight of Maria and my 2 girls (Éabha and Saoirse) banners aloft and welcomes all round. A bit emotional but I got over it. A foot check revealed no blisters, so dry socks and road runners on. Liam’s calf was at him and he was bandaged up. With many a cheer and mouth full of fruit cake, coke and more noodles we headed up that poxy hill from the dying cow..I mean why would you even put a hill here.

Now if anyone could design a more evil last leg for an ultra they couldn’t do much worse than this one. In all my excitement of seeing family and friends, endorphins must have kicked in because I forgot about my shin until we were about 50 meters up the hill, then the pain hit and the mood dropped and so did the realisation we have 26ish km to go. I wanted to just turn and go back, get the hugs and back slaps for 100km done and a DNF with no shame but the demons in my head still hadn’t paid any rent to this point either, I had a quick chat with Liam, it was a little after 12, we were doing well timewise, if we had to walk it in, we had 6 hours to do it…time to start paying demons. So I mustered up the resilience planning I had being working on, pictured that yellow person plaque, the even bigger hugs for finishing the race and remembering the feeling and disappointment of the last DNF..right we can do it. I tested out the leg, not good. I started shuffling from post to post and then walked. Liam's calf wasn’t much better but we kept going walk, shuffle, walk ,shuffle, walffle…this was ridiculous, we couldn’t face 6 hours of this. We knew the route, we knew where the hills were so we tried to just grit the teeth and shuffle to the start of each one, get up as best as possible and try shuffle down, saving ourselves until those last 5km and then run it in. Off we went, ticking off the KMs and getting by, it was actually less painful to run than it was to walk (for me anyway) so we ran as much as possible…stuffing myself full of winegums, a chocolate chew bar and tailwind, we made good time and then…Dah Dah Dannnnn THE MOST EVILEST HILL IN IRELAND..that road section up to Raheennakit..THE LEGS, THE LEGS WON’T SOMEONE THINK OF THE LEGS!!!!!...now my this really is my most hated place. Just had to get up, I decided I’d crawl if I had to but really I think I done the side to side drunk man stumble up it. Onwards, I checked my watch, some 15km to go or so and it was 2pm, amazingly we had made some decent time all things considered (please note I may be misremembering a lot of this part) we could get a sub 19 hours..for me that was beyond imagining in the weeks leading up to this. I had the bit between my teeth, I wanted that.

The next few km were good, mostly down from Strooken hill making good pace and watching the clock, We covered the road sections and hit the Moyisha woods by 2.30ish…wow 90 mins to cover about 8/9 km..man we could even do a sub 18 h 30 mins……….what was I thinking (well only that the wood section was 2.5 or 3km long as I remembered, how wrong I was) that bloody forest is the most awful place on the Wicklow Way..time stops, distance has no meaning, the mind bends and everything comes to life…at a distance of about 500m I could clearly see a Chinese girls in a green tracksuit meditating with a white dog (a tree stump and a big plastic bottle) Liam seen a big dog about 300m away ( a bush) and finally 3 performance artists posing in the bushes in yellow rain coats and hats…this I seen for about 600m until I was about 10 m away (turned out to be a dying fern)…whenever I looked at my watch the distance was always 13km to go for some reason. At some point we came out and passed the barrier, 2 kids jumping in puddles (couldn’t even fathom what that might actually be)..well actually it was 2 kids and another and a Lillian Deegan, we were at the road. I looked at my watch 35 mins to go to break 19hours (that bloody forest robbed me of 30 mins somewhere). Right time to get running, if we covered the 1st 2.5km in 12 mins or so we could then shuffle for a mile and finish with a run in for the target. Off we went and that’s what we did, with 5/600m left, Liam was greeted by his family, mine were a bit further on, we would run it home with the kids. Liam was magnanimous as ever told me to go ahead 1st. 2 girls and 1 very tired Dad coming in to those amazing cheers…so much relief, so much congrats and so much not realising that I still had to actually run on and touch the ww sign at the end….whooops. Liam came in seconds after to the same rapturous cheers.

That done, it was time to topple onto a bench with the warm glow of congrats from everyone, my wife, kids and in-laws looking after me and that wonderful, wonderful little plaque.

What a journey…there is a line from a Beastie Boys song that I think is very apt to an experience like this ‘until your backs up against the wall, you’ll never know yourself that much at all’. Well this year I have had my back against it twice and thanks to all the support I received and the WW race, I’ve come out knowing a hell of a lot more of myself than I could ever imagine.

Well oiled machine

20 October, 2024 - Andy Keeling

Last year after I did this race I told myself "Never again". It was a painful experience. Blew out my quads running leinster league style down the very steep descents between Clonegal and the Dying cow. And paid for it the rest of the 100 odd kms home to Marley park. But after a while I thought that maybe I needed to go back and try and give it a go running a bit smarter.
After a busy race season building up my races trying to complete leagues and chamionships I was on for 100 races soon so it seemed fitting to aim for the WW to be my 100th race. And with the aim to take all the learnings from mistakes made last year and have a more positive experience at the race this year.
I set out training on mainly the Dublin Mountain Way and Wicklow Way trying to harden my legs to the harder compact trails and roads. (Not doing this was mistake #1 last year)
The starting lineup was full of familiar faces with some very strong ultra running names. I resigned myself to not get caught up in the race and to just stick to the plan and run my own race. As we climbed out of the city it was clear it was going to be a great night. The lights of dublin were a lovely sight from the top of Kilmashogue and a full moon too. Over the first hump and passed some cheering supporters on the Glencullen road the snake of headlights moved up towards Prince William Seat and over the border to Wicklow. The pack started to stretch out here and the first Cp at Crone seemed to come quick enough. With the help of volunteers I was in and out quicky and up into the woods. The jacket was put on for the night here. I knew once I got out onto the open mountain it would be quite exposed and with not much cloud it was probably going to get chilly (Mistake #2 last year was realising too late that I was cold).
Over Djouce shoulder, I took in the clear night sky and was lucky enough to see a wee shooting star. Down the boardwalk and was starting to get a steady pace going. A nice bop. Not overstretching myself. After getting through pier gates I was starting to get cramps in the ribs and abdomen. Too much tailwind and not enough water. I told myself I'd get some in Glendalough soon enough and bundled on. On past lough Dan and along the edge of Paddock Hill and down towards Glendalough.
Here, like some sort of wild moose, i crashed the wrong way through the beautiful, fairy-lit aid station that the volunteers had curated. I was helped by the volunteers and was quickly out again and on my way. But, in my stupid race brain i had fogotten to get the water and now with belly and chest cramping I climbed up towards Mullacor with nothing but strong sticky tailwind onboard. D'oh! This next leg was tough and I really didn't consume a lot from my pack. I did however realise that the night was bright enough to run the fire roads without the torch which was really cool. I was accompanied by bats flying quite close and not too far off I could hear stags calling out in the forest. Through Glenmalure and up over Slieve Maan I kept the momentum up through the cramps. I felt like I had loads of nutrition in me but not enough water to process it all. But Mucklagh wasn't far. I'd get sorted there and as I ran through the woods towards Iron Bridge I kept it in my mind that I was well into the second half of the run now.
Mucklagh Cp was a very calm experience and was helped out by the crew to get myself sorted and was in and out quickly enough. But, BUT, i had forgotten AGAIN. I had just taken my premixed tailwind bottles and loaded up. Ah jaysus. Feckin eejit. But I was ok...ish. Not consuming much had kind of levelled me out though I knew I would pay for it on the long leg to Dying Cow. I tried to remember where there was clean water sources along the way but couldn't remember. And after a bad experience drinking river water this summer I wasn't brave enough just yet to fill up there.
I bopped on, past Ballycumber at first light. Absolutely stunning. A low mist clung to the lowlands with all the hills of south Wickow popping up through. Then, Zing! In the back of my right calf. Look down, big dirty wasp stinging my leg. Cheers mate, I was just admiring the beauty of it all. But, over the next while it actually served as a nice distraction from the chorus of other pains building up in me.
Through the gates of Tinahely and down towards the bridge. Thought I was dreaming to see Andre and an ice cream van by the road crossing. Amazing! Was offered a cone but decided water would be a better choice right now and filled a bottle. This really sorted me out and I was feeling great. On through the grassy bohareens I was keeping it steady and now the Dying Cow was coming up soon. Again stellar volunteer service here and left with two full bottles of delicious cool, clear water. Having gone from 5th position to 6th and back to 5th race mode had kicked in and it was time to hit the sugar. I had a gel set aside for the cruel ascent to Raheenakit. Must be one of the steepest road sections in Ireland. After a recce weeks before I drove up this section in my fiesta and with just two people in the car had to drop from 2nd to 1st to get up. The well timed gel really helped. As I was on the bottom of the impossible slope I could see Rory up ahead. I hoped he hadn't seen me (later he told me he had) and followed up the hill with 4th position in sight. He wasn't far ahead in distance terms but on this gradient that was still a big gap time wise. The 90° angles of Raheenakit proved for good stalking and I managed to get ahead into 4th after some digging deep.
I had one gel left for Moylisha Woods and I barrelled on. Over Moylisha and on to the tarmac. Clonegal was now playing a cruel trick on me. At every bend in the road I expected it to be there and every time it dissapointed me. This section was so long. Finally I started to pass the first houses and signs that a town was nearby. And then, there it was, I could see the hi vis bibs of the finish line volunteers. Around the corner and touched the sign marking the southern end of the Wicklow way.
What an amazing journey it had been with many more lessons learned this time. And aside from belly aches it had been a very positive experience and a real privilige to be able to do. To witness the moonlit night sky roll slowly into day while travelling the Wicklow hills under your own steam.
Thank you so much to all the hard work of Lillian and the team of selfless volunteers who are the life blood of this race. Many come back year on year to be a part of this well-oiled machine. It was great to see so many friendly and experienced faces along the way. Thanks to IMRA for 100 great races and heres to many more.
To anyone thinking of giving it a go, after all the pain and lessons learned, it's worth it.
Now, where's the Epsom salts? I'm in biiiiiits!