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28 November, 2009

On Sunday February 27 the Winter League finally lived up to its name, as a true winter landscape greeted the 79 runners. The course started out as the normal rock and dirt but after 150 yards the way was covered in snow for the remaining 9.7K. The snow was generally ankle deep but places found two runners as different as Jane Cahill and James Higgins sinking in up to their waist. The conditions lead to considerable slower times, in fact despite the course being a bit shorter this year, today?s winning time would have placed 27th (just ahead of Graham Porter) last year.

Joe Lalor had marked a very nice course that rose gradually and did a complete loop of the Ballinastoe Woods, offering great views of the massive snow fields on Djouce, with just the tiniest trace of arcing ski tracks visible in the distance. In many places the snow had blown onto the track so the course was often on side hills above the main track, making for even more sliding. Part of the course included the paved road to Sally Gap past Lough Tay but no one complained about tarmac today as it was well covered in about 5 inches of snow. Gallantly, (or probably he was not thinking clearly on s Sunday morning) Brendan Doherty set out about 15 minutes before the pack and rapidly found himself blazing a trail through deep snow. I am quite sure this was not what he had in mind when he set out early. Kevin Keane surged to an early lead and eventually found himself breaking trail through the deep snow. Despite the bloody scratches from the granular snow, he held on for the victory over Richard O?Donnell and Peter O?Farrell that gives him a win for the league. Katharina Baldinger, being from Austria, used her well developed sense of snow to forge a comfortable victory over Aisling Coppinger , who did not look dressed for the weather. Jane Cahill was third in the women?s race. With her victory Katharina won the women?s category of the Winter League.

Gerry Lalor ws not asked to show his birth certificate so he was awarded victory in the M40 division and Kevin Grogan was the winner in the M50 category. There were no F40s but Ger Power won the F50 and Claire Walsh won the F60.

Behind the leaders the rest of us skidded along, enjoying the well packed snow, but still getting lots of icy bits in the socks, trying to remain vertical (though I would say most people fell at least once) and dodging snowballs from the freezing race marshalls. Joe even discovered some caravans housing Russian lumberjacks which added to the Siberian nature of the scene. A good time was had by all , it was a fitting end to a great 2005 Winter League. We will see you all at the Winter league prize giving at the Goat Inn on Wednesday March 2.