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28 November, 2009

In 1999 Sorrell Hill was my first race with IMRA. Running up through that ride and coming out into the lush green of the open ground with endless views I knew I was no longer in the Appalachians. Stunned by the views I had a bit of a leisurely run, run down by Eva at the finish if I remember correctly, and disappointing the then chairman, that though I was from another country, I was not an international quality runner. As the mist cleared that night, 6 years ago, leading to probably the longest stretch of good weather I have yet seen in Ireland, and I met the assortment of characters back at the Zellers, for the first time I thought maybe it had been a good idea to come to Ireland.

So 6 years later there I was giving the instructions and giving out the prizes and the course is still one of the nicest we run. Though I still love the views I have gotten old enough to be competitive in my category, so there was no time to enjoy them. 133 were out on the night , nearly double the number 6 years ago, in relatively clear and dry weather. Jim Fizharris, in addition to doing a great job marking the course, somehow got the ride quite runnable for the first time in my memory, so my instructions about things to trip you and hit you in the face was really old news.

Kevin Keane led the normal suspects up the ride and out onto the long grassy track leading up to the summit cone. It never seems like you are going down for very long, until you head back and realize it is a long way back up. From my vantage point in the middle of the pack , Kevin looked to have a big lead from the beginning and was never troubled in getting his second league win, with a terrific time of 41:21. He was followed by a strong run from Gearoid Towey, and then the recovering Connaght champion Eoin Keith.

The woman?s race was much more exciting as Becky Quinn led to the summit. Vaness Lawrenson caught her on the descent and they ran together until Becky?s shoe got stuck in the mud, leaving Vanessa clear for the victory. When Becky finally extricated the shoe she was still in second place , which she held until the run-in when the speedy Laura McGinley finally passed her.(Thanks to Laura for additional reporting on this part)

Aonghus O?Clerigh, who had almost given up running after injury, showed that he is still a force as he made his first appearance on the mountains in more than a year and finished 6th overall and first over 40 , just ahead of league leader in that category, Gerry Lalor. Roisin McDonnell, Connacht woman?s champion, shook off the weekend and showed her strength with a powerful run up the grass on the way back and then put on a speedy display in the run-in to be first woman over 40. I was awakened from a bit of a nostalgic stupor on the descent , by being passed by Henny Brandsma, which spurred me to run harder and I was able to win the M50, while Ger Power had a strong run to win the F50. Brendan Doherty showed his experience and fitness in holding off Mick Kellett for the M60 and when we straightened out the times Claire Walsh was the winner in the F60 category.

Thanks to Joe Lalor , Cormac Corrigan and Charlie O?Connell for doing the results and to Charlie for securing parking in the field. A wonderful night that further confirmed the feeling I had about this stuff those many years ago.