Euro Vision Memories

23 March, 2025 - Brian Mullins

Eagle eyed readers will spot the space and capital letters in between Euro and Vision in the title of this report so as not to confuse it with what Millstreet is generally known for. The Green Glens Arena and Niamh Kavanagh winning the Eurovision (see what I did there!) for Ireland for the umpteenth time with In Your Eyes.

However, In My Eyes (ok I’ll stop now), for anyone getting started into a bit of mountain running Millstreet and Claragh Mountain is the best educational lesson you can get. This race is about as close as you can get to those races all over the Alps where someone in some pub or church decided that it would be a splendid idea to see how quickly one could get from the village centre to the top of the mountain, that towers over said village, and back. Marathon du Montcalm, Dolomites Skyrace and Monte Rosa Sky Marathon are classics of the genre and I’d encourage all to try each at least once, you won’t regret it, honest! The only thing in Ireland I think that rivals the Claragh experience is Donard as you run down the Main Street of Newcastle with the sea on your left and Donard on your right knowing every single metre is being climbed from sea level. Claragh isn’t that horrific in the ascent stakes of as Millstreet is a nice bit above sea level but it’s no less brutal.

Claragh is only about 20mins away from me and I usually use the 6mile loop (not the race route) as a training outing once a week in winter and summer as you’ll always get a different experience such is the mix of peat, rocks, fields and forest and besides it’s one of the few places close that I can get 500m of climbing in 6 miles.

Anyhow back to the race. Having spent the day before inside an MRI machine I wasn’t too sure what to expect from the body and with the heavy rain on Friday night I thought the very springy turf on the mountain that I ran across Thursday would be nothing but peaty slop by now so I was bracing myself for a rough outing. A quick warm up around the community field with Tom and Tim followed by a good few chats with the assorted congregation (to be fair the race starts outside the church) is always a tonic for the soul. The take away from all those conversations was how everyone present today was only playing at this running lark as we had all been upstaged by Dee O Gorman winning the Chianti Wine Trail in Italy, rubbing shoulders with no less than Jornet, Walmsley and Co!

Rob started us on the button at 12 and the initial mile or so on the road seemed to go quick enough, actually it went too quickly but that was because of the strong northerly wind at our backs. That would not be pleasant for the final mile as this is an out and back course. Tim moved ahead and drove on as the road got steeper to the turn off and Henry followed not far behind. I settled in for a steady climb as I know if you go out hard on the road here you’ll pay big time on the mountain. Off into the forest entrance with an enthusiastic clap from Brian Byrne, who is in great form, set us up nicely for the steep ascent to come. It turned out the rain wasn’t as bad down Millstreet direction as it had been chez moi and the going was good. Henry pulled away in the forest before the first stile and I hung on with Tim until the second stile where he very gentlemanly apologised for holding me up going over it and then stepped off the track at the start of the mountain to let me pass! I would have thanked him but I was barely able to breathe such was the amount of redlining I did to try and stay with him up to this point! It’s no surprise he has finished this race sub 30 behind Tim Donoghue many years ago and his form hasn’t got that bad in the intervening years!

By now Henry was 20 secs or so ahead and I started the mental bargaining with myself about the cross on top getting closer, and it was until we reach it and Micheal McSweeney decides that this years race will now go to the trig point and cairn which are a nice bit beyond the cross, so much so that I only met Henry on his way back down as I was on my way out to them. Normally that sort of curve ball would mentally destroy a fella (and all of ye doing the Beara Way Ultra be warned, Micheal tends to be very loose with his course distances!!) but knowing the mountain well I just started cursing him, as Gaeilge obviously, under my breath until I started coughing as I was fecking out of breath!

The downhill here on the mountain section is brilliant and great introduction to mountain descending as you can really turn the brain and brakes off and runners close behind in the form of John Paul and Tim told me that the hammer would have be down for the full mountain descent. Flying passed all those still ascending gives you a great buzz but is also amazingly distracting and you really have to concentrate to keep your eyes seared into the ground watching your next foot placement so your descent doesn’t end in a pile of broken bones. I could see I was just about keeping pace with Henry on the downhill but I knew once it got to the road it would be all over as a chase. I would then be in protect what I have mode. Jeremy, who was manning stile No.2, shouted that I needed to put the hurt on Henry now but my legs were the only thing hurting and would soon turn to lead, god help me on the road! Being cheered on by the many walkers as I did my best impression of running a 5min mile down the road looking at Henry disappear, as he was obviously doing a 4min mile, brought a smile to my face until I heard the sound of feet.

And they were going quicker than mine! Astonished, flabbergasted and generally disorientated I ignored it all and just focused on the church steeple. Ah yes it’s getting closer I’ll be there any minute. I don’t have a minute, those feet behind me are going even faster, Jaysus it would be a sin to drop a place so close to the finish now I told myself. I’d have to go straight in to the church and go to confession!!! I had resisted the temptation to look behind me, a lesson well learned at the Galty Crossing last year where I was tormented and chased down by a pack of hounds all day and enthusiastically written up in a forum post not long after that race which I encourage you to read but it may require a stiff drink beforehand! As I crossed the low point of the road before the final climb up to the church I looked around. Nooooooooo! John Paul was right on me, it was all over. I sprinted the sprint I usually save for the last 50m before the line (I was still 300m from the line) and miraculously it worked. It turned out John Paul was all in too so had nothing left! Thank God! He saved me a trip to the confession box!

A brilliant morning out in blazing sun and the always present MMRA enjoyable experience has me collapsed on the footpath heaving for air wondering why you do it but also wondering why others don’t, sure it’s brilliant! Thanks to Rob and all the volunteers for making it happen. Congrats to Henry and Eve on the wins, I think it will take at least a week for the quads to recover after that road descent!