Unknown

28 November, 2009

<b> Results </b>
<a href="http://www.wfra.me.uk/541.pdf"> Results link </a>
</br>
Well done everyone, a hard climb and descent.
</br>
Team scores (only counting elite athletes running for national teams)
</br>
<b> Men </b>
6 England (1,2,3)
27 Spain (8,9,10)
31 Scotland (6,12,13)
44 Wales A (11,16,17)
45 Italy (4,5,36)
70 Wales B (19,24,27)
71 Northern Ireland (21,22,28)
76 Ireland (20,23,33)
80 Royal Gurkhas (25,26,29)
</br>
<b> Women </b>
3 England (1,2)
9 Scotland (4,5)
15 Wales (7,8)
21 Italy (10,11)
25 Northern Ireland (12,13)
30 Ireland A (14,16)
35 Ireland B (17,18)
</br>
<b> Actual placings in the race </b>
28. John Brooks 80:12
38. Brian Furey 83:37
83. Turlough Conway 89:59
128. Richie Healy 96:25

155. Aoife Joyce 99:08
181. Jackie O'Hagan 102:45
252. Rachel Walters 108:22
317. Niamh Ni Cholmain 113:57
369. Tressan McCambridge 126:44
</br>
134. Jason Kehoe 96:35
230. Cormac O'Ceallaigh 105:33
361. Tommy Galvin 119:27


<b> Quick History - An Irish Perspective </b>
It was time again for the annual running up the highest peak in Snowdonia or "Eryri" as the locals call the stony range of mountains East of Anglesey. The local club is, of course, named after the region and would have many runners in the 400 strong field.

It's a magical race from an Irish perspective. Not only did Robbie Bryson set the all-time Summit record of 39:47 in 1985, he did that the year Kenny Stuart, the Flying Gardener, set the overall record of 01:02:29 (Kenny was less than 10 seconds behind at the top).

Arguably the greatest year, however, was when John Lenihan won the race in 1989 with Robbie and current Snowdon team manager John O'Connell also finishing in the overall top-10. This result was not enough to secure the team prize as England beat Ireland on last team across the line having drewn on points!

5 Irish and Northern Irish teams were competing against Scotland, Wales, England, Italy, Spain and the Royal Gurkhas! (the Irish team being presented as "Southern Ireland" in the programme, brought a few giggles!).


<b> Race Report - From the Sidelines</b>

Bernard and myself could get a good look at the race from the sidelines. We jogged to the top with about an hour and a half before the race start and conditions were very warm, except for the last 2 kilometres where Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa, was well covered in a thin mist (and tourists!).

Having taken a quick break, we ran back down and positioned ourselves about 3km from the top at the viaduct where the Snowdon Railway crosses the "Llanberis Path" that leads the runners to the summits.

This is one of the steeper, hotter bits, and we scavenged for water as best we could and readied for our teams to start arrive. First man up, and steadily gaining on 2nd, was, once again, Englishmen Andie Jones who would go on to win the race for a third consecutive time. This makes him the first to do so (Ian Holmes has likewise claimed the race thrice, but over a period of more than a decade, a remarkable achievement in its own right). Ian Holmes, now well in his Forties, claimed overall 3rd, and one did not stop to wonder why he was once elected "Greatest Fell Runner of All Time". Is there a race he has not won? Not many.

The Irish team brought one of the sport's other greats with it in the shape of Scotsman John Brooks, former winner of the even harder 10-miler "Ben Nevis", or "The Ben" as he refers to it in familial manner. John has previously finished this race in as little as 66 minutes, and while he had to joust a bit further down the field today after his break, he was still first man home on the Irish team.

Snowdon is one of the most runnable of all hill races around and the main challenge of the race lies in pacing yourself through 10 fast miles, as well as keeping good form on the 5 miles ascent which leaves few breaks to recover until the turn-point at the top. The descent offers a similar challenge; while not the most difficult, it has to be run at great speed to compete and your legs need to be conditioned for at least 25-35min of downhill running or they'll turn to jelly long before you hear the crowd roar as you enter Llanberis and the final 500m of flat parade runnning.

We had worries from the sidelines about some runners, as the sweltering heat, especially at the midday time, meant heat stroke was a very likely risk for any runner pushing to hard too soon. Brian Furey looked overheated when we saw him, but a minimum of water staved off the crisis and he had an impressive run, being second Irish man home and 38th overall which must be one of the best debuts in a long time.

Alwynne Shannon, the experienced Northern Ireland runner, was less lucky and had to be ambulenced off after suffering heat stroke on the final parts of the descent. Her team mate Frances Orr likewise had bad luck and finished the race quite bruised after a series of bad falls.

Special notice should go to newcomer Jason Kehoe, who ran Richard Healy so close in Llanberis that yours truly had time to run between both runners on the final 500m to encourage them. Jason made most of this opportunity, conjuring a big Irish flag and waving it at the crowds (which only eliceted on faint "boo" among the cheers).

The ladies team likewise saw great performances, Aoife Joyce bettering her time from the previous year, while being run close by a flying Jackie O'Hagan in her debut for Ireland. other debutantes were Rachel Walters who had a good solid run and Tressan McCambridge who ran through bad stomach cramps to complete the gruelling course. Brian Furey complained about the same, and I was confined to a bad for 20 hours with the same symptoms in 2007 after the race. Choose your diet wisely if you are expecting more than 30 min of downhill pounding into your system!

Unbreakable Tommy Galvin completed yet another race, after tripping at the summit and hurting his ribs, and former IMRA chairman Cormac O'Ceallaigh, known as a big fan of this great race, and wife-to-be Niamh ni Cholmain had solid runs. Yes, this is not a race for the weak or meek, congratulations to all finishers. It was a great show to watch, almost as good as doing it, hope we will all meet again at the start line next year for another International outing.

Gerry Brady

20 July, 2009

Reports by Gerry Brady and Rene Borg

Results: http://www.wfra.me.uk/541.pdf

Well done everyone, a hard climb and descent.

Team scores (only counting elite athletes running for national teams)

Men
6 England (1,2,3)
27 Spain (8,9,10)
31 Scotland (6,12,13)
44 Wales A (11,16,17)
45 Italy (4,5,36)
70 Wales B (19,24,27)
71 Northern Ireland (21,22,28)
76 Ireland (20,23,33)
80 Royal Gurkhas (25,26,29)

Women
3 England (1,2)
9 Scotland (4,5)
15 Wales (7,8)
21 Italy (10,11)
25 Northern Ireland (12,13)
30 Ireland A (14,16)
35 Ireland B (17,18)

Actual placings in the race
28. John Brooks 80:12
38. Brian Furey 83:37
83. Turlough Conway 89:59
128. Richie Healy 96:25

155. Aoife Joyce 99:08
181. Jackie O'Hagan 102:45
252. Rachel Walters 108:22
317. Niamh Ni Cholmain 113:57
369. Tressan McCambridge 126:44

134. Jason Kehoe 96:35
230. Cormac O'Ceallaigh 105:33
361. Tommy Galvin 119:27


Quick History - An Irish Perspective
It was time again for the annual running up the highest peak in Snowdonia or "Eryri" as the locals call the stony range of mountains East of Anglesey. The local club is, of course, named after the region and would have many runners in the 400 strong field.

It's a magical race from an Irish perspective. Not only did Robbie Bryson set the all-time Summit record of 39:47 in 1985, he did that the year Kenny Stuart, the Flying Gardener, set the overall record of 01:02:29 (Kenny was less than 10 seconds behind at the top).

Arguably the greatest year, however, was when John Lenihan won the race in 1989 with Robbie and current Snowdon team manager John O'Connell also finishing in the overall top-10. This result was not enough to secure the team prize as England beat Ireland on last team across the line having drewn on points!

5 Irish and Northern Irish teams were competing against Scotland, Wales, England, Italy, Spain and the Royal Gurkhas! (the Irish team being presented as "Southern Ireland" in the programme, brought a few giggles!).


Race Report - From the Sidelines

Bernard and myself could get a good look at the race from the sidelines. We jogged to the top with about an hour and a half before the race start and conditions were very warm, except for the last 2 kilometres where Snowdon, or Yr Wyddfa, was well covered in a thin mist (and tourists!).

Having taken a quick break, we ran back down and positioned ourselves about 3km from the top at the viaduct where the Snowdon Railway crosses the "Llanberis Path" that leads the runners to the summits.

This is one of the steeper, hotter bits, and we scavenged for water as best we could and readied for our teams to start arrive. First man up, and steadily gaining on 2nd, was, once again, Englishmen Andie Jones who would go on to win the race for a third consecutive time. This makes him the first to do so (Ian Holmes has likewise claimed the race thrice, but over a period of more than a decade, a remarkable achievement in its own right). Ian Holmes, now well in his Forties, claimed overall 3rd, and one did not stop to wonder why he was once elected "Greatest Fell Runner of All Time". Is there a race he has not won? Not many.

The Irish team brought one of the sport's other greats with it in the shape of Scotsman John Brooks, former winner of the even harder 10-miler "Ben Nevis", or "The Ben" as he refers to it in familial manner. John has previously finished this race in as little as 66 minutes, and while he had to joust a bit further down the field today after his break, he was still first man home on the Irish team.

Snowdon is one of the most runnable of all hill races around and the main challenge of the race lies in pacing yourself through 10 fast miles, as well as keeping good form on the 5 miles ascent which leaves few breaks to recover until the turn-point at the top. The descent offers a similar challenge; while not the most difficult, it has to be run at great speed to compete and your legs need to be conditioned for at least 25-35min of downhill running or they'll turn to jelly long before you hear the crowd roar as you enter Llanberis and the final 500m of flat parade runnning.

We had worries from the sidelines about some runners, as the sweltering heat, especially at the midday time, meant heat stroke was a very likely risk for any runner pushing to hard too soon. Brian Furey looked overheated when we saw him, but a minimum of water staved off the crisis and he had an impressive run, being second Irish man home and 38th overall which must be one of the best debuts in a long time.

Alwynne Shannon, the experienced Northern Ireland runner, was less lucky and had to be ambulenced off after suffering heat stroke on the final parts of the descent. Her team mate Frances Orr likewise had bad luck and finished the race quite bruised after a series of bad falls.

Special notice should go to newcomer Jason Kehoe, who ran Richard Healy so close in Llanberis that yours truly had time to run between both runners on the final 500m to encourage them. Jason made most of this opportunity, conjuring a big Irish flag and waving it at the crowds (which only eliceted on faint "boo" among the cheers).

The ladies team likewise saw great performances, Aoife Joyce bettering her time from the previous year, while being run close by a flying Jackie O'Hagan in her debut for Ireland. other debutantes were Rachel Walters who had a good solid run and Tressan McCambridge who ran through bad stomach cramps to complete the gruelling course. Brian Furey complained about the same, and I was confined to a bad for 20 hours with the same symptoms in 2007 after the race. Choose your diet wisely if you are expecting more than 30 min of downhill pounding into your system!

Unbreakable Tommy Galvin completed yet another race, after tripping at the summit and hurting his ribs, and former IMRA chairman Cormac O'Ceallaigh, known as a big fan of this great race, and wife-to-be Niamh ni Cholmain had solid runs. Yes, this is not a race for the weak or meek, congratulations to all finishers. It was a great show to watch, almost as good as doing it, hope we will all meet again at the start line next year for another International outing.