The Time I Passed Peter O'Farrell

26 January, 2025 - Brian Kitson

When I arrived at the business end of the Carrick Winter race I found myself in a desperate neck and neck tussle with…*checks notes*…Peter O’Farrell. This is a first for me, and tragically for Peter, a first for him also. Peter has the same amount of Category and Overall Wins as I’ve entered races. He runs to the sound of his Championship medals jangling in his pockets. I’ve never finished within an asses roar of Peter, yet, somehow, Peter managed to find himself behind me on the fire road descent. I thought nothing of it when Peter passed me and expected him to disappear into the distance. Then a strange thing happened. He didn’t. Instead, Peter maintained his pace just a few meters ahead. I was fairly shifting it but after a while of running behind him began to dream about attempting to pass him. At first, I dismissed the thought as a foolish notion, “don’t be daft Kitson", I thought, “it’ll end in tears”. Yet, still, there he was. So more for the laugh than anything else, I decided to go for it. A have-a-go-hero in Hokas. Before making my move I wonder what passing etiquette these fast fellas have. Should I say, “Hi Peter”, or maybe “What’s the craic, Peter?” might transmit friendly, casual indifference vibes? I resolve not to say, “Nice running, Peter” because that would probably make him mad. When I’m back in my usual position racing the lads in coach, and I’m passing Robbie Costello, I give him a little slap on the arse and cry out at the top of my voice, “Get up the yard, Costello!”. He loves it. As I have never passed Peter before I decide not to try that. Better to just run passed. To my astonishment, it worked. I passed Peter O’Farrell! Unfortunately, he immediately re-passed me and for a second time, rather than kick on, he just held his position a few meters ahead. I ran the numbers in my head (note, when running I am unable to run numbers in my head) and figured there were only 600 metres left to go (there are in fact almost 2 kilometres to go) so I decided to make a decisive move and pass him again (re-pass). Having done it once already, I’m used to passing Peter so I don’t worry about the etiquette side of things and go for it. I re-passed Peter O’Farrell! The feeling of being ahead of Peter this close to the finish (see above*) was incredible. It was like an elixir. My chest and biceps filled out like Popeye when he had some spinach, the pain from my rolled ankle disappeared. “Now this is what it’s all about,” I thought, “Me and Peter, just a couple of high-performing mountain runners duking it out”. I can’t wait to get to the pub later and hear Peter tell me how great he thought my move was. Then I think, “Hold on a second, the pub is a long way off yet. There’s plenty of work to do before then” as I imagine that before the pub everyone at the finish line will want to congratulate me. Naturally, they’ll stand around applauding for ages, tears of joy will streak tracks down the muddy cheeks of some of the more emotional runners. RD Niamh is so organised she’ll probably have the local Glenealy pipe band lined up to perform a small ticker-tape parade through the Village as the male and female race winners, Ben Mangan and Nicola Soraghan, carry me aloft. President Maher will want to say the old cupla focal to the crowds gathered outside The Hurlers (I don’t speak Irish but I hope she lays it on thick with the full Michael D bilingual approach). I’d run the last 600 meters during my warm-up earlier (as it happens with Peter) and know what’s ahead. Fast trail and a nasty incline to the end, “600 metres, Brian, you got this”, I think as my excitement levels reach Carrick mountain heights. I round a bend and face a hill I hadn’t seen before. Two things immediately occur. I realise my mistake and Peter, seemingly oblivious to the enormity of my potential achievement, breezes past (re-re-pass) for the final time. I’d later discover that Peter had taken an incorrect out-and-back detour earlier in the race that resulted in him being five minutes behind rather than five minutes ahead of me hence the reason he found himself back with yours truly. Peter is no doubt chastened by the close call. He surely appreciates he’s just a miraculous improvement in my running ability combined with a slew of navigation errors on his behalf away from handing me that brass band parade I was denied at Carrick.

Legs eleven..

25 January, 2025 - Mikey Fry

So it’s my local and one of my favourites even though new route boom were off left instead of straight to the top flying along trails sharp turn right into the jungle turns muck ducking hadn’t done this part before hit a fire road nobody ahead crap which way oh yeah nobody left nobody right must be straight through the gap Stephen Mosel and Gavin potter on they drift off slightly got to say I’m a little better then last week but still not where I want to be eventually I know where we are the 5 way junction up to first summit walking might have to happen here think Paul passes me I kept up with him gavins still around hit top down we go after Paul he dosnt like being passed right at the bottom towards real top pass Paul he passes me again follow him to real top we fly down pass him again lovely around here dome new bits haven’t done before I going fast on the downhills a break left thanks to Paul called me back damn you mikey off after p as il again nice trails pass Paul again on some great technical bits here pass Gavin and on we go flying down the hills trying to get ahead as much as I can know the trails around here really just fire roads now I had to really keep a good pace for a couple of k some dude passes me near the end over the line wow glad I’m finished that super race apart from the flatter bits at the end thanks so much Niamh and crew for a super race one of my favourite places to run….well done mikey…

Carrick WL

25 January, 2025 - Peter O'Farrell

Niamh and Paul, and possibly others, brought us a lovely new course on Carrick. Picking up Liam Vines en route brought our car pool hero Mike's car up to 4 persons with Andy riding shotgun, the chats were good and there was no talk of hard from start this week.
I was frankly astounded that we took (yet another) turn onto a climb after the long steady second climb, that seemed to have gone on long enough to bring us to to the summit. I was having the ye olde mighty battle with the same two lads as last week Hugh and Shane and found myself just ahead of them at the top, or one of the tops as I later realised. The marking was all there and with so many very sharp turns you had to keep the eyes peeled, I duly did this and kept asking the 2 lads behind to keep an oul eye out also. I saw tape out of the very edge corner of my eye twice. We passed a friend of one of the two lads who told us there were 2 ahead. I knew there should have been at least 7 ahead, possibly 8 so now we were either in a race for 3rd OR the friend had missed some of the course. On we went, I kept watching for the sharp turns and somehow missed the 1.3m long piece of bright tape fluttering right in front of me - maybe it wasn't off course enough for me, maybe the blood had drained from my eyes with the leggies asking for all available help, anyway we missed it and instead took in a very cool single track for a while which popped us out on a fireroad turn, but no fluttering tape. A brief meeting "what do we do" "it's probably over there" brief temptation to give up or go over there... "sure let's go back up to the last piece of tape we saw" and we climbed back up and rejoin the course, passing a 1.3m long piece of fluttering tape....... Caught up to the course marker Paul at some point..... it wasn't his fault unfortunately so just kept running to see how much of the damage I could claw back. Got up to Brian Kitson, passed him. Then he passed me with great leg turnover, Valencia marathon I believe, then I passed him, then he passed me with turbo speed on a fireroad flat and and sure I thought that was that but I think he thought the finish was there but it wasn't so I passed him. Got up to Gavin but the cute racer waited till I was on his shoulder and then ran away from me, I could see Mikey Joyce Fry ahead of Gavin but the gap was too big and the finish came. We got amazing weather, it's cold and wet now a few hours later. Thanks to all the volunteers but most especially Niamh, who is the absolute definition of a busy person and yet found time to RD a race the day after a storm. And also Paul Mahon, cleared the storm debris yesterday and marked the course.