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28 November, 2009

Midgie Massacre on Maulin!!

I am writing this report in the hope that it might purge the little blighters that I think are still eating me. I look like I have some horrid medieval skin disease... yuk!!

But anyway... here goes the purging.... ?twas another amazingly warm and dry evening - I am afraid we are all starting to get a bit too used to the good weather. Maybe even Corrig might be drying out by this stage!! 160 runners made it out (the exams must have finished as UCD were out in force) so once again there was plenty of jostling for early positions. In the absence of boggy paths to send us along we had to cross a little stream, but with only 2 tiny stepping stones it was either wait in queue or just run across... oh well it wouldn?t really be an IMRA run without wet feet!

The first part of the race was a steady climb, mostly runnable with a bit of ducking to avoid branches. And people got into their rhythm... with plenty of energy still to chat. Ercus gave out to me for not mentioning him in my last report... so there you go Ercus you get in this week!!

As we came out onto the Wicklow way, familiar paths were beneath us, and the long run down towards Crone woods was a good chance to stretch the legs. Someone had mentioned to me that there was a steep climb after this, but hey, why save energy, how bad can it be!! Ha ha... well now I know. Izzy had wisely advised me to try and keep running.... So her words echoed in my head - ?little steps, drive your arms, little steps?. Well that worked well... for about 10 yards and then... blow out! Reduced to a walk I desperately tried to hang on to the back of Justin and prayed ? I wonder if he noticed he was pulling extra weight up? Maybe someone can explain why it is called the ?Ride? (sp?)... I can think of plenty of names I would call it, most of them not publishable on a family website *$$%&%$!

But apparently to prove than all humans are not made equal, Eion Keith ran the whole way up.. eeek - so informed by Paul Nolan who was out on a leisurely training run and also jogged up! Apologies to anyone else who managed this and I haven?t mentioned.... You deserve to be congratulated/ admired/ locked-up!

Once at the top of the Ride it was (mainly) downhill, and thank heaven for gravity. The only cruel part was the little uphill at the end... how much momentum do you need to generate to make it up without stopping? Answer: lots!

And for the official bit - Eion Keith won the men?s race followed by Cormac Conroy and Bernard Fortune. In the women?s race Beth steamed ahead followed by Karen Doyle in 2nd (only her 4th race I think, and she passed me running like a mountain goat) and Orla McEvoy in 3rd.

And so as ever, the euphoria of the finish takes over, the pain is forgotten, and we hope that next week will not hurt so much. Thanks to all organisers, markers, helpers etc. Before next week can someone post a recipe/ suggest a suitable toxin for midge repellent! Darn, almost made it through the race report without mentioning the ?M? word! Still scratching!

From Midge, ex Ultravox

Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges Midges...

and more Midges.