Bweeng (01/01/2025): Clip, Clop ‘Til You Drop In The Slop.

02 January, 2025 - Martin Cooney

By Martin Cooney

The first race of the year on the IMRA Munster calendar is Bweeng or at least has been over the last 5 years. I arrive early at the Laharn Heritage Centre to get a decent parking spot as space can be tight here. I am greeted by a couple of local volunteers as well as RD for the day; Mariusz Luczak. I get out of the car and am hit by a bitter wind- it is fair cold! Into the Heritage Centre which has two stoves, both are blasting out the heat- it is toasty in there. I register my name and get my IMRA number for the year. I meet Damien McDonnell who has to have volunteered for nearly more events than I have raced.

Back out to the van & get my gear out but can’t brave the cold so get changed in the van. Running gear on & go back out to meet some of the other runners. Sean Quirke; Rowan and Aoife Walsh; Ide, Joan and Aileen from Mallow AC and Barry Hartnett who always has time for a chat with me. I go for a quick trot to see how cold it is. The cutting breeze seems to have eased to it is not as bad as earlier. I make a decision to go with my light jacket but bring a heavy jacket for after the race. Slowly I jog up to the start to warm up- it is about one kilometre. Everyone has gathered at Laharn Cross for the start. Stretching, jogging, chatting- the crossroads is a buzz of sober runners (and maybe a couple who wish they were).

Mariusz (RD) gives an overview of the courses which consists mainly that we are all going to get pretty wet and dirty. He tells us that there are first-aiders on the course but best practice is just not to fall or get injured; hence no injury- Simple really!!
3, 2, 1, Go- and off like lambs to the slaughter, we all go. The front runners take off at a good pace led by Barry Hartnett; who sprints off like he stole someone’s wallet. After 200m, we are turned right into the wooded area as an incline of fire-road meets us. The fast start means that it is not as bunched as we make our first ascent on the sweeping, rocky path. I look ahead and work out that I am probably in the top thirty positions just as I pass Ide Kelleher. I hold a steady pace and keeping my position as we pass IMRA Munster legend (and Chairman); Robbie Williams, who gives us all encouragement. Into the narrow, single track which is normally damp but now has a little stream coming down against us. Twenty metres into it and Mariusz was correct- we are all now wet and dirty! Clip, Clop, Clip Clop can be heard as trail-running shoes slap against mud & stones which are semi-covered in water. No point in trying to avoid it now, just plough on upwards through the muddy terrain. There is now a steady line of runners in front of me, plodding along like Lemmings. There are only a couple of brave souls willing to overtake when given the opportunity. I get to pass one or two runner as they tire with the constant, steady uphill.

It slightly open out just around the 2km marker before flattening as we get back on a rocky fire-road and are turned left by a cheery Sorcha Kearney, who is marshaling for the day. I am in a little group of five runners which includes Liam Sheehy; as we make the long, slow descent of about a kilometre to the base of “Stairway to Heaven”. We are all together running steadily- myself, Liam, a lad in a dark top & 2 guys in bright yellow Dingle Adventure Race tops (now known as DAR1 & DAR2). DAR1 is leading the way, with dark top guy next and followed by Liam, DAR2 & myself. As I turn right at the bottom of the “Stairway to Heaven” at around 3km, I can see a line of runners. I keep trotting for as long as I can but inevitably have to change to a steady power-walk as the shaley ground underfoot is sapping my legs. Most of the other are either jogging really slowly up the hill or power-walking- either way the pace is similar. I pass one or two runners and Liam is staying with me. As we get to the top of the shaley ascent, we turned left & start jogging again. The ground plateaus before turning right uphill again & finally left into a muddy single track. Liam and I are working well together up this hill as we can see the antenna on the summit which is the highest point on today’s route. Just before the antenna, I pass a guy in a West Waterford singlet. My watch beeps to let me know that I have just completed 4km. The path passes to the left of the fenced-off antenna and I pass a marshal on “The Shiddy Way”, which most definitely can be called “The Sh**ty Way” today. Absolute slop greeted all us runners over the next kilometre. At the start, it is just trying to keep your balance as the extremely narrow path has a higher fringe on its right. It is hard to know which is the slippiest. I am pulling away from Liam, WW singlet guy and DAR2. I can see DAR1 in front of me but not close enough to make any real ground on him. The path narrows and I step on neither the path nor the higher fringe. I hardly realized that I have taken a big tumble onto my right knee and slide into the thorny bushes. I am stunned for a second but bounce back onto my feet and keep going. I feel no pain so I tell myself to just plough on through the muddy carnage. A left turn is coming, I know it is coming & then oh my, it comes. I plunge knee deep into the softest mud-path for the next 40m & emerge at the far end as a dark shade of brown on my lower half. They should really bottle this mud and sell it as a skin exfoliator.

My watch beeps again for 5km distance as I thank a couple of marshals, who are directly me right up along a fire-road. I see DAR1 about 50m in front of me. I try to get a decent rhythm going after that last energy sapping couple of kilometres. Slowly, I start to gain ground on DAR1 as we go up a long, straight, steady gradient. With every stride, I am gaining and as we get to the highest point, I am beside him. But not for long cos as soon as we start descending, I struggle to keep with him. He is moving really well and I know that we have about 1.5km on this descent. I keep him within about 20m of me. After about a kilometre (now around 6.5km into the race), we turn right where it flattens before descending again. I can hear footsteps behind me and am surprised to find that it is not Liam Sheehy but instead DAR2 has now joined us. He is absolutely flying it and has made up around 30 seconds on me over the past kilometre.

Just around 7km now gone in the race, we get directed right and up a hill by more local marshals which means we are now heading back towards where we had been 30 minutes previously. DAR1, DAR2 and I are now all together as we ascend this last incline. There is little between us & I manage to squeeze myself in between the two of them as we pass Sorcha for the final 2km descent down the muddy, slippy, slimy single track. DAR1 leads again, followed by myself with DAR2 breathing down my neck. We are going “balls out” at this stage and there is no room for a mistake as an injury, a position and pride are now all at stake! We are moving in unison on this descent and one wrong step and an ankle sprain awaits. There is a sharp curve to the right coming and as it does, I almost lose my footing. It straightens and as I look ahead; I can see the legend that is Ted Feehan is about 50m in front of us. Any man still completing race like these who is in his 80s needs to be mentioned & especially when comes to Ted. He is nearing the end of the race himself. I give a big hello to him as he moves to one side to let us through.

About 100m farther down the track, we take a wide left turn and are back onto the fire-road. This means we have about 1km to go. I glance over my shoulder to find that DAR2 is about 20m behind me now. So I am hoping his legs are gone. I concentrate on catching DAR1 and a couple of runners who are just ahead of him. The fire-road sweeps gently down to the right, then left. As I take this sweeping left turn, I pass another runner. DAR1 & another runner are 10m ahead of me as we leave the woods and are back onto the tarmac. Everyone pushes hard now as we have 300m to go. There is only 5m between us all as we take a left turn for the final 100m uphill finish. Robbie Williams roars at me to go, everyone shouts at me to go, I tell my legs to go….. My legs clearly tell me to “F**k Off” and that “They are done for the day”. So I run on to the finish line, stops my watch and gasp for air. I put my hands on a fence and lean over trying to catch my breath. I check my watch and later am happy find out that it is my fastest time around the Bweeng route over the years.

A great chat with my running compatriots afterwards about the race as DAR1, DAR2 & Liam asking what we thought of the route, etc. A slow jog back to the Laharn Heritage Centre, a change of clothes followed by cups of tea, noon-alcoholic mulled wine, sandwiches and treats. There was a real buzz around the room after the race, New Year’s greetings & laughs to be heard. IMRA- what an amazing group to be involved in!!

Big Congrats to Barry Hartnett and Keely Tideswell on their race wins.

Sincerest Thanks Bweeng Trail Blazers who hosted the race; to Laharn Heritage Centre to providing parking, warm fires and toilet facilities. Massive thanks to Mariusz, Nick Hogan who was first-aiding and driving the IMRA Munster Van and to all the volunteers who gave up their New Year’s Day so that the rest of us could race- I really appreciate it as I am sure all the other runners do too… Here’s to a brilliant 2025 for IMRA Munster- onto Corrin Hill a we will go!