Peter O'Farrell

20 January, 2025

This race seemed to have it all, perhaps it lacks a pub for consideration in the which is your favourite post race pub discussion but it has the vital requirement - an actual mountain. Up we toiled, down we flew, it was both quite short and quite long. Mikey's fireroad did seem to go for a while longer than I'd like but that was a function of the pre-race advice in our car-pooling car of Orla, Mike and myself. The consensus was to try the classic approach, Go out hard, go hard in the middle and finish hard. I don't really go out hard, I prefer to pass early bolters after a kilometre or so but at Brockagh I embraced my inner optimist and went for it!
Disappointingly this resulted in Enda, Niall and Con still disappearing into the far distance and two other lads sitting on my shoulder awaiting their moment.
They both passed me after a while, I got one of them back on the steeper hill, another lad steamed past on the steeper climb and the then 2 more flew past on the descent with John Bell in particularly fleet footed form. All this passing and being passed finished at the finish line and we were a happy bunch of exercised folk. Young Cian beat his Dad Tim by about 1.8 seconds, a very sweet 1.8 seconds indeed I would say. Orla won her sprint finish and we went for the cooldown/chats and I think I didn't go hard enough at that as my leggies are in bits today.
Thanks to Rob and all his very good volunteers and all at the good ship IMRA for providing a fantastic excuse to run up a hill in Wickla and in the Broackagh Resource Centre we had a very pleasant post race experience - I really liked the pepper soup, very warming. Kilcoole AC packed very well for the non existent team prize.

I managed to give out the last two of the 2024 Irish Champs singlets, a very coveted piece of kit that is available to all in 2025 at the low low price of the doing 3 of the 5 amazingly amazing Irish Champs lined up for your consideration.

Bursting fire

19 January, 2025 - Mikey Fry

Well now that’s what you get for lack of running mountains nice small one to start boom and we’re off after Rob’s dj’s task enda fly’s off as usual runners everywhere man that fire road punished me badly no sooner I got to the first hill which I can normally run up it was super fast walking going on John and Pete ahead to far to catch passed by a few Mike gets pased at the top a bit easier to fall down the hill nice tracks at the top some turns eventually got to lovely down hill bit Tim passes me I push after him I catch up and pass Mike going as hard as I can hit fire road can’t keep Tim after he disappears I struggle on just at finish look back Mike trying to pass me manage to hold him off by two seconds nice chats super fun race thanks to rob and the whole crew for all the racing super wrecked …Gooday mikey:))